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do i need a second cat scan?
Hi,
One month ago I slipped and fell on concrete landing directly on the back of my head. I did not lose consciousness, even remember the sound. I had a huge lump immediately. I felt fine and went to bed about two hours later. The next day was fine too. However the following morning(36 hours) I had extreme vertigo, nausea and couldn't walk well. I went to the ER and stayed for observation for a few hours, had anti nausea medicine and a cat scan. The results were normal and I was sent home. For about a week I had dizzy spells, took dramamine. I've been fine for two-three weeks, but today I had that same sense of dizziness and lightheadedness coming on.
Should I have another cat scan to rule out something that could have developed after 48 hours after the initial trauma, or would that cat scan have showed any damage?
Thanks in advance!
One month ago I slipped and fell on concrete landing directly on the back of my head. I did not lose consciousness, even remember the sound. I had a huge lump immediately. I felt fine and went to bed about two hours later. The next day was fine too. However the following morning(36 hours) I had extreme vertigo, nausea and couldn't walk well. I went to the ER and stayed for observation for a few hours, had anti nausea medicine and a cat scan. The results were normal and I was sent home. For about a week I had dizzy spells, took dramamine. I've been fine for two-three weeks, but today I had that same sense of dizziness and lightheadedness coming on.
Should I have another cat scan to rule out something that could have developed after 48 hours after the initial trauma, or would that cat scan have showed any damage?
Thanks in advance!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
A head injury especially at the back of your head can be dangerous. Because it affects the lower part of the brain and the brain stem it often results in dizziness even if there is no brain lesion.
At this stage it is important to rule out an intracranial hematoma or collection of blood which causes dizziness, vomiting, headache etc. Both CT scan or MRI can be done. Consult a trauma specialist or a neurologist and get the CT scan or MRI as advised.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
Thanks for writing to the forum!
A head injury especially at the back of your head can be dangerous. Because it affects the lower part of the brain and the brain stem it often results in dizziness even if there is no brain lesion.
At this stage it is important to rule out an intracranial hematoma or collection of blood which causes dizziness, vomiting, headache etc. Both CT scan or MRI can be done. Consult a trauma specialist or a neurologist and get the CT scan or MRI as advised.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
No, you should not have another CAT scan.
You require an MRI, and while we are at it we will talk about MRI's.
The "engine" of an MRI is a magnet. Magnet strength is measured in "tesla" units or "T"'s. Different magnet strengths of various MRI's include the 0.3T, the 1.0T, the 1.5T, and the most powerful MRI, circa 2009, in general hospital use, manufactured by Siemens Medical Solutions, the 3.0T.
In general, the stronger the magnet, the high quality of the images.
Shhhhh. Big secret. They don't tell you that. Hospitals like to treat patients like mushrooms. Keep them in the dark and feed them B. S.
You pays your money and get your choice of rides at the amusement park.
There is also a different in time. With the older MRI's a scan could take up to 45 minutes. With the 3T MRI most studies are completed in 15 minutes. Less time to wiggle around. Less claustrophobia in the tube. This translates into increased patient comfort . Plus, a clearer picture.
During scanning MRI's deposit energy into the body. Think about heating up pizza in your microwave. Specific absorbtion rate, or SAR is a measure of the energy deposited into the body by an MRI. This desposited energy results in tissue heating. Everybody needs their brain cells warmed up a few degrees, right? A 3T MRI has a shorter scan time and there is less heating of the brain tissue.
So ask which scanner they are going to put you on.
CAT scans are yesterdays technology.
The nausea you experienced is a hallmark of a concusion. That being said, the window for resolving the swelling with medications had long passed.
The chances are that nothing has happened, but an MRI would not be a bad idea.
You can probably expect more troubles six months to two years down the line from your cervical flexion. You have suffered an injury that is called a subluxion. After a period of no symptoms pain and paralysis often develops.
If and when that occurs you will need anti-inflammatories and an axial traction device. Do not wear a cervical collar or take muscle relaxants.
You require an MRI, and while we are at it we will talk about MRI's.
The "engine" of an MRI is a magnet. Magnet strength is measured in "tesla" units or "T"'s. Different magnet strengths of various MRI's include the 0.3T, the 1.0T, the 1.5T, and the most powerful MRI, circa 2009, in general hospital use, manufactured by Siemens Medical Solutions, the 3.0T.
In general, the stronger the magnet, the high quality of the images.
Shhhhh. Big secret. They don't tell you that. Hospitals like to treat patients like mushrooms. Keep them in the dark and feed them B. S.
You pays your money and get your choice of rides at the amusement park.
There is also a different in time. With the older MRI's a scan could take up to 45 minutes. With the 3T MRI most studies are completed in 15 minutes. Less time to wiggle around. Less claustrophobia in the tube. This translates into increased patient comfort . Plus, a clearer picture.
During scanning MRI's deposit energy into the body. Think about heating up pizza in your microwave. Specific absorbtion rate, or SAR is a measure of the energy deposited into the body by an MRI. This desposited energy results in tissue heating. Everybody needs their brain cells warmed up a few degrees, right? A 3T MRI has a shorter scan time and there is less heating of the brain tissue.
So ask which scanner they are going to put you on.
CAT scans are yesterdays technology.
The nausea you experienced is a hallmark of a concusion. That being said, the window for resolving the swelling with medications had long passed.
The chances are that nothing has happened, but an MRI would not be a bad idea.
You can probably expect more troubles six months to two years down the line from your cervical flexion. You have suffered an injury that is called a subluxion. After a period of no symptoms pain and paralysis often develops.
If and when that occurs you will need anti-inflammatories and an axial traction device. Do not wear a cervical collar or take muscle relaxants.
YES!!! Get it checked out. I say when in doubt, always be on the safe side. You are better safe than sorry. Even if it was okay on the first scan, something could have developed in the mean time.
Hi,
It is very unusual for an initial scan not to reveal any changes due to your injury. Any such changes, if present and be the cause of dizziness will not be easily relieved with dramamine.
Head injury causes disruption of otoliths which are present in the inner and leads to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which could be what you have, specially if this dizziness comes on in a particular position.
In any case, you should contact an ENT surgeon to rule out othercauses of vertigo, like diseases of the ear, infections, Meniere's disease, decreased blood supply to brain.
Do keep me posted
Regards
It is very unusual for an initial scan not to reveal any changes due to your injury. Any such changes, if present and be the cause of dizziness will not be easily relieved with dramamine.
Head injury causes disruption of otoliths which are present in the inner and leads to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which could be what you have, specially if this dizziness comes on in a particular position.
In any case, you should contact an ENT surgeon to rule out othercauses of vertigo, like diseases of the ear, infections, Meniere's disease, decreased blood supply to brain.
Do keep me posted
Regards
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