If you experienced a blow to the head a while ago and started to recently experience weird symptoms, you may be asking yourself “When do concussion symptoms start?”
Concussions are severe and can cause long-term effects, but there is still a lot to be learned about these injuries. Experiencing a concussion is different from any other type of bodily injury because the symptoms are not always clear, and this is due in part to their timing.
The truth is that concussion symptoms can manifest immediately after the impact, be delayed a few days, or gradually onset over the span of weeks. Click to find The Most Common Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms.
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1. Immediately After the Impact
If you’re wondering how to check for a concussion, your best bet is to seek medical attention. Medical specialists in the emergency room will be able to confirm whether or not you’ve experienced a concussion and provide treatment for the head trauma.
In many cases, the symptoms of a concussion start appearing immediately after the impact, within minutes or hours. Some symptoms that tend to appear right away include memory loss, migraines, and blurred vision.
2. Delayed Symptoms
The body’s healing process takes time, so a few days may pass by before you experience additional symptoms related to your head injury. These are known as delayed concussion side effects and they range from mild to severe.
Delayed symptoms usually include sleep disruption, emotional changes including mood swings, short-term memory problems, and sensitivity to light, among many others. But, remember that every injury is different, so delayed symptoms can vary from one person to the next.
3. Gradual Onset of Symptoms
Checking for a concussion just after a head injury is essential because you can catch the symptoms and start treatment early on.
However, symptoms of a concussion are known to appear weeks after the initial blow. So, you should seek medical help and check for concussion symptoms if you feel side effects even weeks after your injury took place.
How to Ensure You Have the Best Chance at Recovering Fully
Around 98% of patients recover from sports-related concussions after 8 weeks, so it’s possible to make a full comeback with the right support system. Here’s how to increase your chances of recovery.
- Prioritize Rest: Your road to recovery starts with plenty of rest, so make sure to get both a physical and cognitive respite.
- Ensure You Have the Right Resources: It’s difficult to focus on making a living while injured, so make sure that the responsible party is held accountable for your injuries.
- Complete Your Rehabilitation Program: Even if you feel great after a few sessions, take the time to complete your rehabilitation program and see it through till the end.
- Hydrate and Adhere to a Good Diet: Finally, adhere to a good diet as having a balanced nutrition supports optimal brain function.
What Determines When Concussion Symptoms Start to Manifest?
While you may be able to pinpoint the moment in which you suffered the trauma, understanding when the symptoms start manifesting says a lot about your injury.
Therefore, it’s essential to understand the factors that affect the timing of your concussion symptoms. Let’s take a closer look.
Impact Severity
Concussions take place when there’s a heavy blow to the head, and the impact severity influences the degree of the injury.
The harder the blow, the more likely there are to be medium-term symptoms like mood disorders and difficulties concentrating. These symptoms can take days or even weeks to manifest, thus making it difficult at times to associate them with the injury.
Likewise, severe blows usually present a longer recovery road and are more likely to produce multiple prolonged symptoms.
Location
The location of the impact can greatly affect the severity of your injuries, especially when it comes to long-term symptoms.
Blows to the frontal lobe cause immediate symptoms like disorientation, but they can also cause compulsive behavior down the line. If you get hit directly on the temporal lobe, your memory may be affected right away, plus the swelling may also cause hearing problems down the line.
Additionally, localized impacts that take place when one area receives all the force of the blow, tend to produce medium and long-term effects. Diffuse injuries, which occur when the blow is softened by hitting multiple parts of the head, are more likely to only produce immediate symptoms.
Age and Overall Health
Your age and overall health also influence the severity and timing of your injuries.
Younger individuals are more susceptible to damage during trauma because their brains are in development. But, they also experience a faster emergence of symptoms, which makes treatment more straightforward.
Adults have well-formed structures and are more resilient, but take longer to display symptoms and recover from long-term damage.
Generally speaking, individuals who are in better physical shape tend to be more resistant to brain injuries. However, this can also cause a delayed onset of symptoms that starts accelerating once you start bumping up your activity levels.
Existing Conditions and Deficiencies
You may also be wondering “How long does it take for concussion symptoms to appear if I have a pre-existing condition?”
Pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure can complicate the recovery process and cause symptoms to manifest at a later time.
Cognitive conditions that were present before the injury tend to have a slightly different, yet negative impact on concussion symptoms. Anxiety and similar conditions may be exaggerated after an injury, evolving into emotional symptoms like depression.
Get the Help You Need to Make a Full Recovery
Recovering from a concussion can be a long, challenging journey, so it’s important to have the right support system as well as the resources to make a full recovery. Concussion symptoms don’t always show up right away, so keep an eye out for symptoms like headaches, loss of the ability to concentrate, and other symptoms even months after the incident.
If you believe your injuries were due to the actions or negligence of a third party, you may qualify to get remunerated for your loss. At Brain Injury Law of Seattle, our team of legal experts specializes in helping victims who have suffered cognitive damage due to concussions and similar injuries.
Get in touch with us today to book a consultation and discuss the details of your case with our team.
