Immediate symptoms after headbump
 

Hello all,

I have a daughter age 2½ and after I had changed her diper this morning and while she was laying on the changing mat, I was snuggling my nose to her belly, which she loves, but the tickle made her make a kind of nerve response, and she quickly lifted her head and headbuttet the top of my forehead. Those of you that have children can probably imagine.

The collision itself made a bump-noise, but it didnt really hurt. I mean I felt it and heard the bump-noise, but there wasn't really any pain, and no goose-egg, sore spot or similar. Normally I would be in doubt whether this was a new concussion.

The problem is that the first second after the collision, it was like my brain was rebooting or recalibrating. A little hard to explain but I definitely felt something weird, that I normally dont feel when bumping my head. It only lasted a second, and after that I was fine (but shocked). No blurry vision, dizzyness etc.

I read somewhere that immediate symptoms after af hit means that a concussion has occured, which makes me pretty sure, that this was a new concussion, and not just my brain reacting to memories from previous traumas (I now have more brain fog, small headache and a little dizzy - and it is only 4 hours ago).

So my question is, is it possible to get a concussion from beeing headbuttet by a 2½ year old? And is the immediate sensation I felt a sure sign, that a concussion has occured? Anybody tried getting immediate symptoms that did not evolve into a concussion?

All thoughts are welcome, and I really appreciate comments.

Plenty of people get immediate symptoms from contacts that are not concussions. Startle response can cause the symptoms.

What you likely read was 'A concussion cannot occur unless there are some immediate symptoms.' But, immediate symptoms to not mean a concussion. They can also mean a subconcussive impact or just a startling bump.

Another way to put it is, All concussions have immediate symptoms but not all immediate symptoms are concussions.

A 2 1/2 year old's head is too soft to impart any serious force.

Any serious force
 

As always Mark, thanks for taking time to answer me. And thanks for explaining "immediate symptoms".

When you write that "A 2 1/2 year old's head is too soft to impart any serious force", do you then mean that it is not possible to get a concussion from a 2½ year old, or do you mean that concussions is possible but not skull fractures etc.?

And should I consider this a concussion or sub-concussive impact? I have a hard time figuering how many G's was transferred but will try to move on.

If you bumped a child so hard that you got a subconcussive impact from a 2 1/2 year old's skull, that child's skull would be seriously injured.

This was just a mild bump, nothing more. No injury, no damage, no worries. You better get used to these because raising kids means you will experience the head bumps from time to time.

Thanks Mark for sharing knowledge, putting things in perspective and taking time to answer me. And I know you are right. It seems extremely unlikely that a hit like that would normally constitute a concussion.

But the thing is, I got immediate symptoms, which I normally dont get when bumping my head, and I havent been as bad in 3½ years as I am now - I can almost only stay home and rest. It has all the hallmarks of a concussion!

In the weeks up to the bump with my daughter, I worked far too much and slept to little, and I was generally overdoing it with social activities, and I hadn't completely recovered from a bump with a lamp a month ago. I knew it was too much, but I thought I could catch it later, which I normally can. But because of this perhaps my brain was in a weakened state, and therefore my brains tolerance/threshold for concussion was lowered. I think that makes sense.

I will go for a walk, and try to be positive, but thanks for listening.

Your brain's tolerance for a concussion does not reduce by over-doing it. Your tolerance for a triggering event is reduced by lack of sleep, fatigue, and all of the overdoing it issues.

This was at most a relapse, sort of like bumping a pre-existing bruise. It does not need to cause injury to cause symptoms.

From what you say, it appears you are hyper-aware of any symptoms. This is not good. You need to learn to ignore minor symptoms. Or, at the least, acknowledge the minor symptoms and just move on.

Your mind may also have a ready to go set of memorized symptoms to play back when a startle or other non-concussive trigger happens. These are like PTSD flashbacks. Try to recognize them as flashbacks and move on.

I routinely have balance issues, sort of a light headed balance issue. I just stop, regain my balance and clear head and go on. I play ping pong and routinely have to stop after leaning over to pick up a ball. I just stand up, grab the corner of the table and wait until my brain is ready to return to action. I don't dwell on it.

So, learning to move forward despite symptoms that come and go will be to your advantage.

My best to you.