After a bike crash, concussion or loss of consciousness, get your head checked out
After a bike crash, concussion or loss of consciousness, many athletes feel that if they do not see blood, they are not injured. However, TheAthletesLawyer Doug Landau has advised several injured cyclists that they need to get checked out by specialists where:
They have continuing headaches,
They have nystagamous (darting eye movements)
Dilated pupils, bruising, black eyes or “Racoon-like” eye bands
Inability to get restful sleep at night, which had not been an issue prior to the bike crash,
Difficulty with memory (long or short term), follow through or other mental tasks.
The TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau notes that this list is by no means exhaustive. This Herndon-Reston area injury trial attorney adds that while most bike helmuts do a great job of absorbing the first impact, and the human skull likewise functions to protect the brain from injury and trauma, there can be injury from the brain impacting the inside of the skull. This injury can be subtle, with intracranial swelling taking time to show the extent of the damage caused by the bicycle crash. Get a referral from your family doctor, internist or general practitioner to someone qualified and experienced with closed head injury, concussions, traumatic brain injury and other neurological symptoms and treatments. Delay can be catastrophic !