Another question on minor hits
 

Good morning everyone,

I am 7 months into my PCS. My only symptom at this point is headaches, which I finally had under control by moderating my activities and taking paracetamol when necessary.

Yesterday I received another hit to the head: I was seating in a bus when another passenger indvertently hit my head with his elbow. That was a very minor hit and I am pretty sure that I would not have caused any issue at all for a healthy person. However, today I am feeling worse than ever - nausea, fatigue, dizziness, very strong headaches...

I know that there might not be any "objective" answer to that question but I am nevertheless looking for advice, if any. I was determined to ignore this event (with the idea that anxiety was my worst enemy here, not the hit itself) but my strong reaction today makes me think that I should treat it as another concussion, even if it wasn't one objectively. At the moment I am therefore planning to spend the next days, or perhaps the next weeks lying in a dark room without any visual or auditory stimulus. Is is the best course of action? Do you have any advice to share? Do you have any idea on the long-term effects of such a small impact?

Many thanks in advance.
Best regards
Vania

If you go into a dark room for weeks, then you will feel these symptoms for weeks.

If you go into the dark room for days, then you will feel these symptoms for days.

If you accept the fact that bumps are a part of life, that you will get more in life and that they do not affect you with any significance, then you will not experience any of these symptoms.

There is solid and current research that suggests 2-days post concussion, any time in the dark room does not speed up recovery, and in fact, it could possibly delay recover. JJ Leddy has published several research papers between 2012 - 2017 investigating this. He seems to be a proponent of 'Active Recovery'.

My advice is to continue living a normal life and within a few days your resurgence of symptoms will disappear.

Hains

Thank you very much Hains for the answer and the reference to scientific evidence - I was apparently wrong in saying that there was no objective answer.

I will try to calm down and follow your advice. I am sure that others have experienced this situation and the endless questioning ("is it another concussion? is it just a regular bump?") and it is a difficult situation to dealt with.

Best wishes
Vania

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