Post Punk Kitchen Forum

on the overhang under my building's stairwell when i was retrieving my broom and dustpan which i'd stashed under the stairs when i was taking my christmas tree to be mulched.

wasn't paying attention, totally smacked above my forehead on the overhang. it's now swollen and achy, but i don't actually have a headache or anything. after hearing about cases like natasha richardson's, where people bang their heads (much more traumatically than i did, i'm sure) and then are fine but suffer disastrous and sometimes fatal effects later, i'm really paranoid. i'm icing it.

does anyone have experience with concussions and/or (minor) head trauma? i don't know what to recognize as alarming signs or something that would suggest i should head to the emergency room, which is only two blocks away. i'm fully aware that i'm probably being totally paranoid about it, but i'd rather be safe than dead.

i'll google it for myself, of course, just wondering if anyone has firsthand experience or insight. (nurses? doctors? etc.?)

i've had a few concussions. a tell tale sign of severe brain damage is when one pupil larger than the other so you can just look in the mirror and notice that you aren't crazy. did you black out? i wouldn't worry so much, my worst concussion - i couldn't even remember how i hit my head and blacked out 3 times successively. even my mildest concussion i felt extremely nauseous and disoriented.

Concussions usually make you puke, so that's a tip off you may have gotten more than a just a bump. Just for reassurance's sake -- either my head is make of solid rock or I'm the luckiest person ever because I've hit my head really, really hard more times than I can count and have never needed to go the hospital or anything. The worst I can remember was when I was probably about 12 -- I had a loft bed and was standing on the arm of a rocking chair trying to reach something in the bed (smart, right? maybe those hits on the head did do damage), and of course, the thing was off balance and sent me flying off whacking my head full force against the oak frame on the way down. I was pretty dizzy for a minute, then I went out and played. Another time I was sledding (on ice) and sledded head first into a tree. That knocked the wind out of me -- otherwise, I was fine. Sure I had sore knots for a while, but my brainz seem ok! Now who are you and what am I doing here?

But they don't always make you puke! I had a friend I was skating with once who wiped out and she was fine for probably ten minutes and then started acting really disoriented and scary. She didn't know where we were... I just had to get her home quickly. Maybe the nausea, though... I don't know how she was feeling, I just know I was scared.

We were fourteen, so this is largely based on overdramatic teenage memory.

I hope you're ok!

In my (extensive) experience with concussions if this is something you're worried about you'll be fine.
In my worst cases people had a hard time convincing me to go see a doctor because I really didn't realize how messed up I was.

If you're worried though, go see a doctor.
Lists online show possible symptoms, I've never had all and usually not more than 1-2. Just because you didn't black out/throw up doesn't mean you don't have a concussion

for all of you who have hit your head hard, it's possible to have a brain injury and not realize--even years later. Here's a video on the topic I edited last year for Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

thanks, all! i'm feeling pretty okay. but now i'm going to watch jillw's video and probably FREAK THE fork OUT!

thanks for posting that video, jill. it's really fascinating. i wonder how close the statistic of 7 in 100 is to the reality of how many people have suffered brain injuries.

it made me think of john wayne gacy, who suffered a brain injury as a child that went undiagnosed for a long time. i mean, i know that's a really extreme example and i'm not attributing his crimes to his injury, it's just the first association i made, thanks to sufjan stevens...

if youre not at the moment, stay around people as much as possible. i got funny and fell down the stairs after an iron fell on my head and i'm bloody glad somebody was there!

I've only had a concussion once, it was quite a while ago...I remember feeling very dizzy and disoriented, quite nauseous, and my vision was blurred. I also felt really tired, probably because I wasn't allowed to go to sleep...haha

I hope you're still okay! I slammed my head into the corner of my car door so hard that I saw stars once, and got a huge nodule on my forehead, but it turned out I was okay. I did go to the emergency room because I was paranoid, but they didn't even bother doing any fancy tests.

i think i'm okay. i have a bump on my noggin, but i was really excited that i woke up this morning!

all jokes aside, i really was worried, even though i realized from the start i probably hadn't conked it hard enough to do any critical damage. brain injuries are so frightening, i feel like you can't be too cautious or paranoid about them.

Glad you're all right calcy! I was worried and wondering.

When I bump my head really hard (I seldom do, thankfully) I'm usually kind of nervous about going to sleep soon afterward because I know that sometimes people try to keep you up for a time after you've bumped your head in movies, at least, and I figure there's something to it.

Glad you're all right! I've heard (though who knows how true it is) that it's generally a good sign if you get a bump after whacking your head. I had a few hard knocks as a kid, and I remember the doctors and nurses who looked after my klutzy self saying that to me... though maybe they were just trying to make me feel better that I had a giant goose egg on my head.

This summer I whacked the top of my head hard enough to get 11 staples in it. The nurses just kind of looked at me and said, "nah. no concussion." didn't seem very scientific and now I'm scared I'm going to fall out dead. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd post the shots of my head before and after staples. Yikes.

Christ now I'm all nervous ... I used to snowboard a lot and whacked my head on solid ice many times. I remember once leaving a head shaped indent on the side of a bunch of ice. I seem to be fine..?

So....I hit my head rather lightly and did manage to get a concussion. It's been two weeks now, and I still get easy mental fatigue and occasional nausea. The dr. knows, but is telling me to wait it out & rest. Unfortunately, I'm on tight deadline for my MA thesis and have to work. What have you other concussion sufferers done to help yourselves?

(Moo.)


ps, calcuhater: Thanks for letting me hijack your thread! I hope your head is ok.

Metal Health will drive you mad!!

ya'll are making me cringe with your head-hitting stories, I have an exam tomorrow over the various types of head trauma. go see a doctor!!

In Japan it was the bus.

Last friday, in Korea, the train . . .

fork you public transport. fork YoUUUUuuuuuuuuu

You're too tall for Korea. You need a helmet

I slammed my head into one of the upper level bike holders at target. embarrassing AND painful.