I was recently involved in a car accident; luckily everyone involved walked away fine and all I suffered was whiplash and a slight concussion.

But it doesn’t have to be as drastic as a car accident – a simple bump to the head can cause concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury that usually happens after a blow to the head.

It can also occur with violent shaking and movement of the head or body. A concussion can show symptoms within minutes, but sometimes is only recognised in the days after the incident.

Some people can have long-lasting problems

Symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, memory loss, trouble with balance, clumsiness, struggling to stay awake and blurred vision. It usually only lasts up to a few days or weeks, though it sometimes needs emergency treatment and some people can have long-lasting problems.

If you are diagnosed with concussion in hospital, you’ll be able to go home when any serious brain injury has been ruled out and you’re starting to feel better.

Most people feel back to normal within a few days or weeks, and there are plenty of ways to help your recovery such as getting plenty of rest and taking paracetamol or ibuprofen if you have a headache. Avoid alcohol and contact sports for at least three weeks.

Sometimes, such as in my personal experience, there can be complications after a concussion. I started suffering from vertigo, which is something I have never experienced before.

Scarily, my first experience of it happened whilst I was driving on a busy main road. My vision became blurry and the road in front of me was moving from side to side. I had a ringing in my ears and became flustered and pulled over to vomit. I remained at the side of the road for 20 minutes before feeling able to drive home.

Post-concussion Syndrome

Since this attack, I have experienced many more and my fatigue has increased, so a visit to the doctors led them to diagnose me with Post-concussion Syndrome.

Post-concussion syndrome symptoms include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, loss of concentration and memory, insomnia, blurry vision, ringing in the ears, noise and light sensitivity.

Structural damage and psychological factors

Some experts believe post-concussion symptoms are caused by structural damage to the brain or disruption of the messaging system within the nerves, caused by the impact that caused the concussion. Others believe the symptoms are related to psychological factors.

In many cases, both physiological effects of brain trauma and emotional reactions to these effects play a role in the development of symptoms.

As with all head injuries, make sure you consult a Doctor, monitor any new symptoms and make sure you always wear a seatbelt, whether you’re the driver or a passenger.