Concussions

Today's public service announcement is that concussions are much more common in the elderly than formerly realized, that they are typically unrecognized and untreated, and that they are much more severe than a similar injury on a younger brain. 

I'm feeling frustrated because I don't believe my aunt ever got treatment for her multiple concussions - despite my giving her sister a head's up, despite my giving my aunt a head's up - and she has deteriorated significantly. I'm certain that Hillary Clinton got the very best concussion care, and there is very good concussion care to be had given all the research that has been done over the past ten years, but most doctors have not kept up and most patients do not get decent care. 

People over the age of 75 have the highest rate of concussions. Some people have obvious symptoms, others seem to display no symptoms. You can have a concussion without hitting your head as long as you snap your neck hard enough. Symptoms of dizziness, balance issues, memory problems, and anxiety are often assumed to be related to age and ignored. 

Common symptoms include:
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Balance problems
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Memory problems
• Sensitivity to light or noise (which seems to be worse when shopping because of overstimulation)
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Sleep problems (standard, even if they think they are sleeping fine)

• Fatigue (very common)
• Vision problems (that may not be strong enough to realize they are vision problems but are strong enough to make fatigue, dizziness, and balance harder than they need to be)
•  Oculomotor problems (about a third)

•  Increased clumsiness increasing the chance of the next fall


Rant complete.