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Hidden Dangers: What Everyone Needs to Know About Concussions · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking Facts, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  If you or someone you love has ever had a severe bump on the head,
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  you probably spent a sleepless night or two worrying about concussion.
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  But the reality is concussions can occur even when bumps aren't severe.
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  Welcome to Talking Facts. We have information you can use to strengthen your
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  family, your community, and our state.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  My guest today, Catherine Drury, Extension Specialist for Family Health,
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  is here to help raise our collective concussion awareness. Welcome, Catherine.
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  Thank you for having me. Let's just get right down to the basics and define
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  concussions. What are they?
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  So, broad-based concussions are a kind of brain injury that alter how our brain works.
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  And they can be caused from a variety of kinds of incidences.
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  It can be bumped to the head, being hit by an object, or a strong jolt.
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  It can be caused from a fall or even hit to the body or an injury to our body
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  that also causes our brain to move back and forth inside our skull.
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  So concussions can come from a wide variety of incidents and injuries.
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  Who is most susceptible to concussion?
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  Well, anyone can have an injury to their brain as a result of some type of fall
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  or other kinds of problems.
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  But specifically children and adolescents, teenagers,
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  people who are still growing and developing are most at risk for having more
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  serious effects on their brain from this type of injury because their brain is still developing,
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  their brain is still growing and making those connections.
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  And so, particularly our children and teenagers are most at risk from those
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  head injuries and need to be watched more closely.
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  You know, that's something that we often hear if we're watching an athletic event.
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  Concussion protocol has been started or they're watching for concussion protocol.
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  But what should we do if we suspect a concussion is happening in ourselves or our children.
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  Right. And so our kids and teens are also,
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  they're most at risk because of their development, but they're also most at
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  risk because they participate in those activities that come with increased risk for head injuries.
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  So anyone can experience these signs or symptoms as a result of a head injury
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  or body injury that's significant.
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  And so we really want to kind of look for those specific signs or symptoms of
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  a concussion, especially if we know that one of those types of injuries have occurred.
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  So we want to look for, obviously, if there's loss of consciousness,
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  if someone blacks out, that is definitely a cause for concern as a result of a head injury.
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  But additionally, even if the event, the bump or the jolt or the hit, whatever the thing is.
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  If it causes afterwards some of these symptoms, we want to be particularly aware.
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  So things like if the person or the child appears dazed or stunned, if they seem confused,
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  if any of their typical communication patterns are disrupted.
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  So you know what your, your family members, your friends, you know what their
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  typical communication.
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  Speech patterns are, their typical speech cadence.
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  And so if they are just acting off, sounding off, that is a cause for concern.
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  So if you're asking them questions and they're answering really slowly,
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  or if they're having a hard time coming up with the right words,
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  if you're asking them things and they're repeating your words instead of responding,
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  Anything like that is definitely a cause for concern.
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  If they can't remember events or things that happened before that hit, bump, or fall,
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  if they don't know how that injury happened, they can't tell you about those
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  events, of what caused it, or if they can't recall things that have happened since.
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  And then also looking for things like behavior or personality changes.
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  They seem really anxious or agitated. You know, they get frustrated or upset easily.
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  Things that are outside of their personality, you know, responses that are just not normal for them.
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  Those are all causes for concern and definitely reasons to talk to a medical
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  provider. Are there things that we can do to help prevent concussions?
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  Absolutely. So, I mean, sometimes concussions come as a result of sheer accidents, right?
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  A trip and fall, just doing normal daily activities. And so sometimes there's
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  nothing we can do to prevent those things.
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  However, particularly with kids and teens, if they're participating in a sport
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  or an activity, that does have a risk for head injury, we want to make sure
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  they're wearing the right equipment all the time.
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  That means always a helmet.
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  There's also really cool technology available that has shown research and evidence-based,
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  even headbands that help prevent concussion injuries First,
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  you know, contact sports that don't typically require a helmet.
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  So definitely things to talk to your child's doctor about.
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  If your child is engaged in sports, knowing what that equipment is,
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  being aware of those potential risks, and then how certain equipment can mitigate.
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  So being aware of not just, you know, is a helmet required for your child if
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  they play baseball or softball, but what is the best type of helmet to prevent head injuries?
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  And then also looking into that additional equipment for kids that play contact
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  sports like soccer or lacrosse that don't have a required headgear or helmet,
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  but those headbands that can help prevent concussions could also be a great
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  addition to their typical uniform wear.
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  Okay, so what can I do to support concussion recovery? If you suspect a concussion,
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  you want to get that child, teen, or adult medical care.
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  If it's within normal circumstances, normal business hours, calling your primary
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  care provider, calling your child's physician, getting them in to be seen that
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  way is totally appropriate.
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  There may not be a need to utilize your emergency department or emergency room
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  if the child isn't having severe symptoms, but we do want them to be seen.
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  And following that medical advice, there may be specific recovery protocol based
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  on that specific injury.
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  But in general, beyond that specific medical advice,
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  what concussion recovery needs, is time to heal and relief of,
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  concentration. And so thinking about those activities that we do that require
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  a lot of our brain, require a lot of concentration and a lot of brain energy,
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  are things that we may need to.
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  Reduce or remove completely from a lifestyle for a short period of time.
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  So we think about, you know, things that require a lot of concentration,
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  things like reading for a long period of time,
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  concentrated computer work, even things like video games that require a lot
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  of concentration and just brain work can be too much for a brain that's also
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  recovering from a concussion.
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  Again, depending on the specific type of injury, it may mean things like avoiding.
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  Places and spaces with bright lights, with loud noises,
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  with sharp noises for a short period of time, just to allow our brain to heal,
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  to give it some time and space.
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  And then moving back into those activities slowly, again, giving our brain time
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  to adjust is really important.
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  So it may mean for your child or your teen, having conversations with their
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  teachers and school administrators about appropriate workload and how to reduce
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  some of those activities.
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  It's likely going to mean sitting out of sports, at least for a short period
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  of time, again, while their brain and body heal.
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  And then for adults, it may mean things like a reduced workload or having to
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  be creative about how we get tasks done.
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  So the important thing to note is that it's not going to be an overnight fix
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  and give yourself some grace as you are moving through the process, right?
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  Absolutely. I think it can be difficult and frustrating, both for kids and adults alike.
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  We want to heal quickly and get back to life as usual, as normal, as fast as possible.
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  But healing does take time. And even though we can't see our brain,
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  we don't see a bruise or a cut or a scrape.
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  Those physical injuries are definitely there. And so they take time to heal too.
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  So just being patient and giving time and space.
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  If you're a parent of a child or a teen who's had a concussion and is having
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  to reduce their activities, it can be frustrating for them.
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  And they may not understand why they're not allowed to go and do and be,
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  especially if they feel fine.
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  They may say, you know, I feel good. Let me go.
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  But just being mindful of that healing that's happening inside,
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  inside our skull, in our brain, is important, again, for that long-term health
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  and recovery that we want for ourselves and our kids.
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  Our brains are amazing machines and we need to make sure that they can do all
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  of the work that we need them to do.
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  Absolutely. And at this point, we have really solid evidence that when concussions
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  aren't taken seriously, you know,
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  right after the fact, if that healing isn't allowed to take place,
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  that there really can be long-term damage, long-term effects.
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  And so it's important that even though we may not see that damage immediately
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  or feel those effects right now, that damage can have a cumulative effect over
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  time. And so it's important that we treat those injuries seriously.
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  Katherine, thank you so much for your time today. Absolutely. Thank you, Mindy.
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  And you have shared the health bulletin that we will link in the show notes
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  whenever they access the podcast.
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  Absolutely. More information is definitely available there.
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