It’s every parent’s nightmare: watching your son or daughter playing a sport and seeing heads collide hard, a bad fall or a teeth-jarring hard hit. If your child is playing football, or another sport, and takes a blow to the head, it is not likely that his team will have the luxury of having a neurosurgeon in attendance to watch out for his health, like they do in pro ball. Coaches may not even realize the severity of the injury.
What this means is that you have to be the vigilant parent—the bodyguard—who notices a hit to the head and sees symptoms that might indicate something is not quite right with your athlete.
A concussion is the result of an injury to the brain and is a serious condition that needs medical treatment. Your child may be suffering from a concussion if you notice any of the following symptoms:
- Temporary loss of consciousness
- Ringing in the ears
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Falling down or wobbling
- Confusion or slow to understand simple conversation
- Changes in sleeping patterns
- Changes in emotions
If your athlete is showing signs of a concussion, it is important to remove him from the game right away and possibly even take a break from high-risk sports. “The chances of having a second concussion that can cause much greater and, possibly, even more permanent damage to the child’s brain, are too high to gamble with,” said Advance ER’s Emergency Medicine physician, Dr. Joseph Meier.
An athlete who has experienced a head injury needs to be taken to the nearest emergency room. Advance ER is complete with imaging equipment and health care professionals who are experienced in diagnosing and treating concussions and other sports injuries.
“If you suspect a concussion, bring your athlete right in and we will look at him or her right away,” said Dr. Meier. At Advance ER patients don’t wait for hours in the lobby. You’ll get right into a bed and, if necessary, a teleMED consultation with a neurosurgeon can be initiated in a matter of minutes. “We don’t mess around with brain injuries. We’ll take your concerns seriously,” said Dr. Meier.
You’ll be able to find rapid emergency care in a neighborhood close by with Advance ER’s two convenient North Dallas locations. With 24-hour care available at Advance ER, you’re sure to find the concussion or sports injury care that you need, right when you need it. Call us today at (214) 494-8222 for directions to the closest location.
Meet Dr. Meier:
Dr. Joseph Meier is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and he received his medical degree, with honors, from Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN.
He completed his Emergency Medicine residency at UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, where he pioneered ultrasound protocols and chest pain protocols.
