Hi all,
I know this sounds impossible but I'm wondering if it's at all possible for a 13-year-old to have shingles in April and then a concussion in June? My niece was accidentally knocked down and hit her head on a carpeted basement floor. After all the symptoms of a concussion (including bruise on left temple) she was diagnosed with tbi/concussion. Oddly, she had shingles two months ago. And she was born with glaucoma, which was discovered early and treated by one of the nation's pediatric glaucoma specialist.. She's fine now but has had headaches from time to time (perhaps due to puberty).

Could a viral infection (shingles) trigger a concussion from a mild fall? Could treated glaucoma have anything to do with this? The fall seemed so mild: a larger girl than my niece accidentally knocked over my niece and she hit her head on a carpeted basement floor.

Niece is having third MRI today after a week of sleeping, dizziness, vomiting, etc. Diagnosed and treated concussion, but shingles two months ago? Just wondering.... Thanks!

Don't really have any idea regarding the shingles, but don't discount the apparent nature of the injury. Just the right hit in the right spot can cause a concussion. My daughter's concussion - was from stepping on the end of the big metal arena rake at the barn. You wouldn't think it would have done the damage it did, but it did. Some people (and doctors included) somewhat discounted her issues and/or tried to chalk them up to psychological issues because of the nature of the injury. The fall she took in the shower last weekend appeared far worse - big bump on her head, stitches in her chin - but no new or worsening concussion symptoms. Go figure.

I do wonder if when your body is under stress - from an illness, being run down, overworking, etc - make the length of the PCS issues worse. I have no idea, other's on this board might be able to give you more guidance regarding that issue.

My daughter had a CT and 2 MRI"s that showed nothing out of the ordinary. My understanding is that they usually don't with a concussion. The only benefit from my daughter's imaging is that it gave me piece of mind that there was nothing structurally wrong - like a brain bleed.

Hang in there. Have your niece get lots of rest and no stimulation.

I had three small concussions in one day. Symtoms lasted for about 2 weeks. After that I felt fine.

Three months later I got a viral infection. I got not only the regular symtoms from an infection, but my concussion symtoms came back at full force. After the infection had cleared so did my concussion symtoms.

This led me to understand that my head wasnt fully healed even if it felt like it.


Im not sure I understood your question correctly but anyhow, infections/cold etc reveals the weak spots on your body for sure.

Your daughter suffered a concussion that may have been made a little bit worse if her system was still under stress from the shingles.

Correct me if I am wrong but I assume your daughter got the chicken pox vaccine when she was younger. This likely was the source of the shingles virus. If so, her immune system is weak. Studies show that people who get the chicken pox vaccine are more prone to getting shingles at earlier ages than those who actuality got the chicken pox illness.

If your daughter has a weak immune system, she might tend to have a relapse of concussion symptoms when she is ill as the illness with take her system more that with others.

The carpet over the concrete does not provide much protection. It would have to have a very dense pad to make much of a difference. 1/8th inch of shock absorption will lessen impact forces by 50%. 1/4 inch of shock absorption will reduce impact forces by 75%. But, this shock absorption material will need to be very dense, not like the normal carpet pad.

I ran the numbers years ago because I only fell 8 inches onto a hard surface. The impact force was about 64 G's with 1/8th inch of deformation for cushioning.

Puberty is a sensitive time to get a concussion. The hormones can throw the concussed person for a loop.

Your niece needs to find a new neurologist. The MRI's will not show anything from a concussion unless she has access to a high Tesla MRI of 6 or 7 Tesla or higher. Normal MRI's are usually only 1 to 1.5 Tesla. They can show a 1 to 2 millimeter object at best. A CT will show a brain bleed better than an MRI.

With a concussion that causes a small brain bleed, the optimum time for a CT is on the third day. Earlier and it will not show up. Later and the body will have started to absorb it and move healthy brain tissue into the spot.

I would not worry about the shingles. Mentioning it to a doctor will likely be counter-productive. Just having it entered in her medical record is all she needs.

My best to your niece.