Hello everyone!


I have a question regarding concussions. I've had two or three the past year with a whiplash that keeps on getting worse with each accident.

A week ago my boyfriend jokingly threw a heavy blanket thing on my head while I was sitting bent over reading, my neck got really bad afterwards and it felt like a new concussion too, I'm not sure if it was though, maybe just neck issues that cause the feelings.

I've been feeling better each day but today he happened to hit my jaw with his head while we were resting in bed, my teeth hurt but my head didn't really move it was more just the force of the impact that felt not my head being swung to any side.

Now my TMJ is acting up and my jaw is a bit sore, my question is, could this have caused a new concussion and even worse, a bleed or any risk of second impact syndrome since I may have gotten a concussion only a week ago? I am very worried about this and so scared right now :'(, probably overreacting but I'd love to hear your input. :S

Thank you!

Welcome enoko.

Someone will be along to help.

Neither a heavy blanket or an accidental head to the jaw should cause a concussion. Could irritate neck muscles or exacerbate a previous concussion, but no permanent damage should have taken place. Others will answer also but I am pretty confident you have nothing to worry about.

enoko,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

It sounds like you are over-reacting. If you are not having head aches, you are not at risk of Second Impact Syndrome. If you had excruciating head aches, I would be concerned and tell you to go to the ER. That sure does not sound like the case here.

It sounds more like a whiplash and TMJ issue.

Thanks for all your support, so nice of you!!

One thing that has gotten worse since the jaw bump is my dizziness. It's been here since last weeks incident. When I get up from lying down or when I move my head quickly especially lying down I get very lightheaded/dizzy for a few seconds. Now I can trigger the same thing with my eye movements. Could that be neck related you think? My tinnitus is also worse and my visual snow too. I really hope this isnt serious I tried icing my neck but it seems to aggravate the dizziness and visual snow I always have visual snow to some degree normally too though.

One of the problems with any head injury symptoms is they can cause us to focus on little issues that previously, we just overlooked. It is a natural part of how the brain works. Once we start indexing the concept (basically making a mental and memory image of the concept), the brain starts to see and pay attention to these concepts much more frequently. This is why we tend to notice a car model 'everywhere' after we have just purchased that model.

This is the same way TV doctors can cause mad rushes to the doctor for benign symptoms.

It could be a vestibular issue. or I could be wrong. why don't you see a neurologist and get some testing done if you are that worried. a videonystagmography could answer some questions. no headaches is a good sign.

What I think you're saying is that I am overfocusing on my dizziness and symptoms due to my previous concussions? Which I take as a good thing since that should indicate that I can let go of some of my fears of being injured again! Is that what you meant?

Your momentary symptoms do not concern me. I had to learn to move slower. If the dizziness was longer lasting, it might be worth getting checked. But if it is just momentary, give it some time, weeks or more before being concerned.

You make a good point, it makes sense that it could be vestibular. Too bad the neurologydepartment on my local hospital really sucks and has some unprofessional staff. About a month ago I was in an almost-car crash, no impact only quick hard stops, and my whiplash acted up again really bad, I also that time got a similar type of dizziness. I had forgot about that until now. I did try the exercise to relocate the crystals in the ears and it did help a bit. Maybe the little crystals in my ear got scrambled with my first concussion & whiplash and new whiplash things causes them to get out of place again. Maybe not, but it doesnt hurt to try the exercise again perhaps. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advice, really appreciate it!