[postconcussion]

Hi!

Anyone have any experience with a Gath Helmet or can recommend any other water helmet? Any surfers out there?



Thank you!

[Mark in Idaho]

If you are thinking wearing a helmet will protect you from further concussion injuries, you are mistaken. Your brain will forever be more sensitive to impacts.

It may offer a small amount of protection from some very intense impacts from other boards but not a hard slap on the water. In fact, the larger surface area may make a hard slap on the water more damaging.

You would be better learning some ways to break the water surface with your hands or arms. It does not take much to greatly reduce the impact by breaking the surface of the water with your fist or elbow or forearm.

[postconcussion]

Mark,

Do you think that I should not surf until I'm without any symptoms?


And say I have headaches the rest of my life...

Anytime I get another concussion will that be 2nd impact syndrome(concussed while still dealing with symptoms) or will that be multiple impact if the time between the two is a really long time and that is as "healed" as I'm going to get?

[Mark in Idaho]

If you are still having bad head aches, you are at risk of Second Impact Syndrome. If your head aches are less of a problem, Second Impact Syndrome is less likely. But, Multiple Impact Syndrome would be ready to rare its nasty head and smite you across the face.

SIS is when the brain has not regained control of blood and fluid flow. This can cause an over-pressure of fluid to the point of brain damage and even death.

MIS is when the brain has been left sensitive to impacts. The threshold of minimum impact force to cause brain injury will be greatly reduced. For example, if it took a 80 G force to cause the first concussion, a later impact force of maybe only 30 G's could cause as much injury or even more. The weakened axons and other tissue injure and tear with much less force. For some of us, a simple shaking of the head can be problematic.

My thought is to choose the surf conditions and line-up very carefully. No wave is worth a further loss of lifestyle opportunities. No battling for a wave with other surfers.

My best to you.

[postconcussion]

Thank you Mark for answering my question. I tried to ask my doctor the same question recently and he looked at me like I was speaking another language

As far as the surfing goes, I am so careful because I know what a risk it is. I just caught a couple waves in a empty lineup longboarding. I'm pretty comfortable with not wiping out I'm just terrified of someone hitting me. I know that it will be many years before I can handle a normal sized crowd and maybe never will again. I am now almost two years recovering with significant headaches and other symptoms so I know that no activity is really worth it ... even though it is hard to give up surfing completely.It just takes time to give something you love up.

As far as the helmets go I know that they will never completely protect me and to be honest I haven't been wearing one the last few sessions (if you could call them that) but I figure I should if I can.

On a postitive note, yesterday I saw a beautiful sunrise, a turtle and a monk seal. So nice!