Thursday, October 31, 2013

Is it safe to let a person with a concussion go to sleep??

A concussion is a mild head injury secondary to blunt
force trauma. The brain sustains a mild jarring when the brain tissue comes into contact
with the interior of the cranial vault.


All head injury
patients should receive a proper physical exam and if warranted a CT (computed
tomography, cat scan) of the brain. Whether or not to perform the CT scan is decided by
the examining physician. To answer your question I will assume that the person has been
examined by a physician and a correct diagnosis has been made. If this is the case, then
yes, it is perfectly acceptable to allow the person to go to sleep and actually sleeping
will speed recovery time.


Years ago it was accepted that
you should keep the patient awake to continuosly assess their neurological status.
Present day standards of care reject this theory if serious head injury has been ruled
out by a qualified physician.

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