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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.