concussions and kids

[Noreen Claire]

DS7 (turns 8 tomorrow!) sustained a concussion on Friday (along with a nasty gash on his forehead and several fractures to his frontal sinus bone) in an abrupt meeting between bicycling boy and tree. This happened right after lunch, and the rest of the day his speech and thought processes seemed very sluggish; he answered every question and had no problems with memory, it just took him longer to form his thoughts and to speak them. The next morning (Saturday), his language and processing speed seem to be back to normal. He was initially a little unsteady on his feet, but that seems to have resolved (we are still going up/down the stairs with him, just in case). He read two pages in his book before bed last night, (Sunday) which is much less than his normal amount of bedtime reading, and went to bed a bit earlier than usual. As of this morning (Monday), he's no longer complaining of a headache, and he doesn't seem to be having any issues with bright lights.

I've eliminated all assigned reading/writing lessons this week, and promised him read-alouds and one science/history documentary every day that he feels up to it. It is going to rain today and tomorrow, so that helps with staying inside and resting. We always have had a quiet time after lunch, where he can read and/or listen to audiobooks in his room, and will make sure he continues to get that time away from his brothers so he can rest his brain.

If you have had a child who has had a concussion, what are other signs that I should be looking for? We were told that he could seem fine and then have symptoms again, possible off-and-on for up to eight weeks. What else should I do to help him heal that I might have missed?

[sbgrace]

Well, we were told to have as complete brain rest as possible until all symptoms were gone. (dark/sleep/coloring in a quiet room...it was impossible to do entirely with a young boy after the initial day or so that he just slept, but we tried) 

I know the last symptoms to go, and it was much longer than I expected--I actually think well over, but at least 8 weeks--were headaches that would come on as the day went forward and speech articulation declines. We didn't do any school at all until he was 100%. I should add, my son had a severe concussion...the doctor couldn't stop his vomitting, he couldn't see properly, couldn't walk well, wasn't answering questions well, etc. Head CT, though, was ok. I'm sure recovery time varies based on the kind of damage. I think it's common for headache to be the last concussion sign to stop. 

If you feel comfortable,  n-aceytle cysteine is a safe supplement that has some good evidence for helping with traumatic brain injuries, including concussions. I didn't know of it initially, but I did put my son on it when I learned. I think it helped him. I wish I had done it sooner.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by sbgrace
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[PinkTulip]

I have 4 boys, so we have had a fair amount of concussions in our family between all of them. 

We, too, we’re told complete mental rest - no screens, books, music, etc. So I would even hold off on the read-alouds for a while. 

One other symptom that my boys almost always had was they would often get easily frustrated or irrationally angry over things. Once we recognized it was their brain’s way of expressing difficulty keeping up, we dialed what they were doing way back when that happened. 

[....]

I can tell you about my daughter's concussion, but I'm hoping your case goes better than hers did.

I've posted this before on the educational boards.  She's 12 now, but when she was 8, she was jumping around on her bed, fell and hit the top of her head on the wall and knocked herself unconscious.  She was ok right away.  She was actually ok for a couple of days afterwards.  Then, she started having a horrible headache and it became so bad that she was walking in a circle, crying.  We took her to the children's hospital.  They wouldn't do an MRI, because she was so little and they said there's a cancer risk, so they weren't sure of the extent of the concussion.  They just went by symptoms.  I think they told us no screens, no reading....nothing where she has to focus on something for 30 days.  It was about a month before she was allowed to do any sports or physical activity, too.    

She basically missed almost an entire year of school.  Seriously, it was so awful.  There's been 3 major times in our lives that I'm thankful we homeschool and that was one of them.  She couldn't read in the first month at all.  I tried reading her a story and she would start crying and say her head hurt.  For almost a year, she was getting daily headaches that would start around lunchtime and she would need to lie down and take a nap.  She would basically just go take a nap every day after lunch.  She had post-concussive syndrome - I think that's what it's called.  You can google it - there's articles on what to look for, etc.

The doctor ended up putting her on a medication that was an antihistamine/migraine pill for kids.  It helped a lot.  It was about 10 months of headaches and problems after the concussion.  She ended up needing baby bifocals this winter and I wondered if it had something to do with the concussion, but the optometrist is thinking its genetic.  So, I don't know, but four years later and I still wonder if stuff isn't from the concussion.    

Anyway, she doesn't get headaches every day anymore - that stopped.  She still does get headaches sometimes.  She caught up on school.  We actually ended up skipping her a grade anyway last year.  I was so glad that she was able to stay home during that time and rest, through.  I didn't push it if she said she didn't feel well.

[PrincessMommy]

My youngest sustained his 4th concussion just before quarantine started.  😞    In some ways it was good timing because one of his classes was dance and he's been able to take and extra long break. Of course, dance is still not back to normal, but he can do it in the backyard via zoom.   

He took complete mental break - but did listen to music/audio and doodled.  He napped a lot too and laid down in a dark room for large periods of the day.  Light sensitivity seemed to be his most lasting symptom.

A couple of things we learned this time.  When he was allowed to begin activities he was instructed to go slowly and if symptoms occurred to take a 24hr break. Also, they were less concerned about screen time at this point than they were physical activity.  He had to do physical activity slowly.   We figured out his resting heart rate and calculated his Max Heart rate.  Each day (after the initial period of no screen, activity etc.)  he was to increase his heart rate (eg. 40% of his max heart rate the first day).  If he had no symptoms he could proceed to the next level the next day.  If symptoms occurred then he was to rest until symptoms went away and then the next day try again.  On his sheet there are 5 levels to get to before he's back to normal activity.  

@sbgrace - thanks for the tip.  I will definitely get the NAC for my son.  He's still struggling with school.. It's hard to know how much of it is because it's now all online including labwork and how much of it is still the concussion.   He is struggling with frustration too.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by PrincessMommy

[PrincessMommy]

oh, I forgot to mention.  I would recommend a PT who specializes in concussions.   I realize now is not the best time for elective health appts, but it might help her in the future.   

[wintermom]

So sorry your son sustained this injury. Even though it wasn't nice for your son to have broken facial bones, it was probably a blessing as it could well have diminished the damage to his brain by absorbing part of the impact. A friend of mine feel out of a tree onto his face, and it was the absorbing power of the broken facial bones that saved his life. The facial bones act like the front end of a car on a head on collision. They are meant to absorb the forces over time and space.

My ds sustained a bad concussion from an assault and it has taken several months to recover. I've learned that each head injury is different and how an individual responds and recovers is different. You will have to proceed according to how your ds feels. There is research to support that children can recover quicker than adults from concussions by introducing light physical activity as long as the child is asymptomatic. 

All the best with your son's recovery!