How Soon to Be Treated

Not every concussion is an emergency, but some head injuries call for an immediate trip to the emergency room. Any individual who suffers a head injury followed by any of these serious symptoms should be evaluated in an emergency room:

• Unusual behavior or confusion
• Progressive or worsening symptoms
• Weakness, numbness, slurred speech
• Difficulty with eye movements
• Worsening or severe headache
• Seizure
• Vomiting multiple times
• Difficulty waking up or arousing
• Discharge of clear fluid or blood from the nose or ears

If none of the more serious symptoms are present, the patient may have a concussion not requiring an ER visit. The hallmarks of concussion are:

• a temporary sense of confusion or disorientation, or feeling “foggy” or “out of it”  
• an inability to remember the injury itself, or what happened just before the injury (retrograde amnesia)
• an inability to remember things after the injury (post-traumatic amnesia)

Those three symptoms are the hallmarks of concussion, but if none of the more serious symptoms above are present the individual should call our concussion hotline (212-746-1112) or use our online form to request an appointment. Patients are seen within 24 to 48 hours; our expert team will diagnose the concussion and provide evaluation and treatment as needed. (See other Symptoms of Concussion.)

Even if no serious symptoms are present, any athlete with a suspected concussion should not return to the field until after being evaluated.