Okay -- some information here.
A concussion is a medical term for a closed head injury that resulted in some neurologic abnormality, but where imaging studies are negative. If you were unconscious for some period of time (more than a second or two), were confused, can't remember the actual incident, were repeating yourself, dizzy, unsteady on your feet, or had any other abnormal symptoms after the accident, but you had a CT or MRI that was normal, you had a concussion. Without any imaging, you can't make the diagnosis.
That said, the longer the period of time that goes by after the accident without the occurrence of significant symptoms, the lower yield an imaging study will be. If it has been several days since the incident and you are functioning normally, the doctor may not even order a scan.
Concussions can, however, produce persistent symptoms, such as recurrent headaches, confusion, memory problems, attention deficit, dizziness, or even seizures. The biggest risk from a concussion is what is called "second impact syndrome". People who have had even mild concussions, who experience a second impact within a short period of time, can develop maliganant brain swelling and even die. For this reason, there are fairly strong recommendations to avoid activities with a reasonable chance of a head impact for a week or longer after closed head injury -- longer, if there are any ongoing symptoms.
For people who have had a head impact with loss of consciousness and possibly some mild confusion or amnesia immediately afterward, who then have no further symptoms over several days, there is no particular reason to avoid diving, so long as the environment is not high risk for a head impact (going out on a New Jersey wreck diving boat in high seas probably wouldn't be smart
). For those with persistent symptoms, the threshold for worrying about second impact is much lower, and the symptoms themselves must be evaluated with respect to their impact on function while diving -- remembering that global brain function is probably depressed in a continuously increasing fashion with depth!
A concussion is a medical term for a closed head injury that resulted in some neurologic abnormality, but where imaging studies are negative. If you were unconscious for some period of time (more than a second or two), were confused, can't remember the actual incident, were repeating yourself, dizzy, unsteady on your feet, or had any other abnormal symptoms after the accident, but you had a CT or MRI that was normal, you had a concussion. Without any imaging, you can't make the diagnosis.
That said, the longer the period of time that goes by after the accident without the occurrence of significant symptoms, the lower yield an imaging study will be. If it has been several days since the incident and you are functioning normally, the doctor may not even order a scan.
Concussions can, however, produce persistent symptoms, such as recurrent headaches, confusion, memory problems, attention deficit, dizziness, or even seizures. The biggest risk from a concussion is what is called "second impact syndrome". People who have had even mild concussions, who experience a second impact within a short period of time, can develop maliganant brain swelling and even die. For this reason, there are fairly strong recommendations to avoid activities with a reasonable chance of a head impact for a week or longer after closed head injury -- longer, if there are any ongoing symptoms.
For people who have had a head impact with loss of consciousness and possibly some mild confusion or amnesia immediately afterward, who then have no further symptoms over several days, there is no particular reason to avoid diving, so long as the environment is not high risk for a head impact (going out on a New Jersey wreck diving boat in high seas probably wouldn't be smart
). For those with persistent symptoms, the threshold for worrying about second impact is much lower, and the symptoms themselves must be evaluated with respect to their impact on function while diving -- remembering that global brain function is probably depressed in a continuously increasing fashion with depth!
