Concussions come in various flavors. One of the difficulties is in judging the severity of a concussion. Several protocols have been devised, and none are completely satisfactory. The professional sports medicine physician's commonly class them as grade 1, grade 2 or grade 3. This means that there can be a broad range of outcomes. The incident that caused the concussion can often be accompanied by structural damage to brain tissue, as well as the rupture of blood vessels, which can cause a bleed. This is what Drnee refers to as underlying brain injury. The bleed may be slow and continue for several days, or even weeks. A concussion is a specific syndrome secondary to a blow to the head. Impacts to the skull that produce a concussion can certainly cause death, if not quickly addressed in an appropriate medical facility. The cause of death is usually due to lack of oxygen to the brain secondary to swelling and the oclusion of the supply of blood and nutrients. To cut to the chase, just because you or your child has a concussion does not mean you are going to die. There are always exceptions, but usually a mild concussion will resolve by itself with no long lasting effects.
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A concussion can last for weeks after the head injury. The symptoms too vary from person to person. Headache, confusion, memory loss, dizziness, nausea vomiting, slurred speech and fatigue are common. Delayed symptoms include depression, irritability, sleep disturbances, seizures, loss of smell etc. A doctor generally looks for focal neurological or generalized neurological symptoms that would show there is a pressure on brain somewhere. In absence of these symptoms and based on the history a diagnosis of concussion is given.
If concussion is severe, and there is underlying brain injury, then yes, even death can occur. Hope this helps! Take care!