mother's head injury
 

Dear Neurotalk,

I'm posting because my mother, who lives abroad, age early 70s, tripped and banged her head against a brick or concrete wall while out walking last year.

Apparently she didn't lose consciousness or go dizzy but a friend who had accompanied her reported that the collision resulted in an audible crack as her head struck the solid surface. She wisely got to the hospital within an hour or two to get herself checked out but no concussion or fracturing was detected.

However during her last visit in England I found her noticeably irritable and I have read elsewhere that aggressiveness is a common symptom of head trauma.

So my question is: could this moodiness be the result of her fall or is that unlikely given that the medics found no concussion?

Thank you,

-- cogfunny

(UK)

Hello cogfunny and welcome to Neurotalk.

We have a forum for head trauma.....https://www.neurotalk.org/forum92/. I will copy your post there as well as leave a copy here in New Member Introduction so that you can get as much coverage as possible.

I hope your Mom is alright and that there is no lasting damage from the fall. She's fortunate to have family members looking out for her. :)

cogfunny,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

The medics cannot rule out a concussion like they did. They could rule out a bleed and other injuries but a concussion is a process, not a single event. For some, symptoms do not manifest immediately. They can take up to 48 hours, sometimes a bit longer.

But, an accurate diagnosis of what happened is not as important as learning what her current symptoms are.

At her age, the impact could have caused an injury or she could have experienced an injury that caused the fall. I'm thinking of a TIA, a Temporary Ischemic Attack. Many seniors experience them and fall and break bones due to osteoporosis. A momentary loss of motor control caused by the TIA can the fall.

They can leave no lasting symptoms or they can cause some personality changes similar to the changes that can result from a concussion and some other mild symptoms.

It may be worth having her checked by a specialist who can give her a Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) and observer her walking gait. A Neurologist or a Physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) or even a stroke clinic may be helpful. Under standing her changes can be helpful as she plans her life.

Both of my parents experienced changes in personality as they aged. My mother had a few mini-strokes over the last 10 years of her life resulting in falls. Her gentle personality got very harsh. But, she could do the New York Times Crossword Puzzle up to her 90s.

Her moodiness can make it difficult to get her to submit to getting assessed. That is unfortunate. Sometimes, stubbornness will be part of the personality change. They sometimes term it as rigidity of thought. Realizing that these changes are likely due to brain condition, not attitude, can make it easier to not take offense at her responses.

I wish you the best with this.

>It may be worth having her checked by a specialist who can give her a Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) and observer her walking gait.

Thank you, Mark! It seems that concussion isn't as simple as I'd assumed and walking gait definitely seems like something worth checking out.