What is Coma?
Coma is the prolonged period of unconsciousness immediately following the traumatic head injury. In this sleep-like state, there is no speech, the eyes are usually closed, and there is no response to commands. However, a person in coma may have a simple reflex in response to touch or pain. The individual may react to pain by groaning or moving, but will have no memory of the pain. It may also appear that the individual is showing signs of hearing and understanding. Often these are also signs of simple reflexes. It may be some time before a patient shows signs of processing information. However; it is suggested that people talk about or to the individual as if they could hear and understand what is being said.
There are several levels of coma. Professionals measure coma levels by the progression of responsiveness of the head injured person. In the acute phase of head injury, the Glasgow Coma Scale is used. As the patient improves or stabilizes, the Rancho Los Amigos Scale is used which measures levels of cognitive thinking (understanding and reasoning).
Understanding Subtle Brain Injury
The concussions that disable, are almost always more symptomatic at 24 hours, than at the 2-4 hour time frame when injured persons are evaluated in the emergency room. Brain injury symptoms escalate over the first 24 hours, because brain injury involves a cascade of events. It is critical that if you are still symptomatic the day after your injury, go back to the same Emergency Room, don’t wait for a doctors appointment. It is critical that the Emergency Room personnel see that the symptoms still persist or have gotten worse.
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