Post-concussion syndrome

For a lay person:

Post-concussion syndrome is a group of symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, tiredness and poor concentration, that last for weeks or months after a mild head injury.

For a trained medical person:

Persistent post-concussive symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. Management: education, graded return to activity, and treatment of headache, sleep, vestibular and mood symptoms.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Stasis obstructing the orifices of the brain; Qi and Blood Stagnation; Liver Yang Rising; Heart-spleen depression; Kidney qi debility and deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get emergency care for worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion or drowsiness after a head injury.