Thank you so much for this information! I just had a character run over by a car, but because of magical protections, he only had the "minor" effects of a concussion and copious bruising over most of his body. I had written him as waking up in his own family's hospital a few hours later, but this information makes me think that maybe I should edit the fic to give him a choppy memory of the time in between where he was being moved around.
Right now I have him -- right after waking up at home -- storming around his house in his normal manner, grumpy and with a headache, some balance issues, and sound sensitivity. Then he goes to bed normally.
You mention moderate-severe concussions having symptoms lasting for days-weeks, does that mean a light concussion only lasts hours to days? Is there a strong or light correlation between severity/number of symptoms and length of concussion?
How unlikely would it be to have him waking up feeling mostly fine in the head after a night's sleep? It feels a little like I'm letting him off too easy after having him run over, but I know from family history just how rough severe bruises alone can be. Less for medical reasons and more for narrative feel, it would feel better to have his head injury slowly ease off over the course of 2-3 days. That seems a decent timing from what I can understand of your post?
I've also heard that the brain is extra vulnerable for a while after a concussion, as it recovers in ways that aren't made obvious through symptoms. That people need to be extra careful of impact or possible whiplash-like effects or anything else that could jolt the brain in ways that normally would be sub-concussive in effect. Should his doctor* father be giving him advice to be very careful with physical activities for... days? weeks? a month or two? after the accident? I already had the character thinking about that as he had to go upstairs to get to his bedroom, while slightly off balance. (* I think his father is a GP but I haven't double-checked)
Thank you in advance if you answer any of my questions. And thanks either way for reading this somewhat train of thought post.
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I just had a character run over by a car, but because of magical protections, he only had the "minor" effects of a concussion and copious bruising over most of his body.
I had written him as waking up in his own family's hospital a few hours later, but this information makes me think that maybe I should edit the fic to give him a choppy memory of the time in between where he was being moved around.
Right now I have him -- right after waking up at home -- storming around his house in his normal manner, grumpy and with a headache, some balance issues, and sound sensitivity. Then he goes to bed normally.
You mention moderate-severe concussions having symptoms lasting for days-weeks, does that mean a light concussion only lasts hours to days?
Is there a strong or light correlation between severity/number of symptoms and length of concussion?
How unlikely would it be to have him waking up feeling mostly fine in the head after a night's sleep? It feels a little like I'm letting him off too easy after having him run over, but I know from family history just how rough severe bruises alone can be.
Less for medical reasons and more for narrative feel, it would feel better to have his head injury slowly ease off over the course of 2-3 days. That seems a decent timing from what I can understand of your post?
I've also heard that the brain is extra vulnerable for a while after a concussion, as it recovers in ways that aren't made obvious through symptoms. That people need to be extra careful of impact or possible whiplash-like effects or anything else that could jolt the brain in ways that normally would be sub-concussive in effect.
Should his doctor* father be giving him advice to be very careful with physical activities for... days? weeks? a month or two? after the accident?
I already had the character thinking about that as he had to go upstairs to get to his bedroom, while slightly off balance.
(* I think his father is a GP but I haven't double-checked)
Thank you in advance if you answer any of my questions.
And thanks either way for reading this somewhat train of thought post.