Signs and Symptoms
If your client recently sustained injury to head, neck, face, or body, or has been strangled, and is experiencing any of the red flag symptoms listed below, get medical help immediately - call 911 or get them to the nearest emergency department.
Red Flag Symptoms:
- Neck pain
- Loss of consciousness, in and out of consciousness
- Confusion or irritability
- Severe or worsening headache
- Repeated vomiting
- Unusual changes in behaviour
- Seizures or convulsions
- Double vision
- Weakness/tingling/burning in limbs
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Signs and Symptoms
Physical
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Poor coordination
- Vision problems
- Fatigue
- Light sensitivity
- Noise sensitivity
Cognitive
- Difficulty organizing thoughts
- Feeling slowed down
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty remembering new information
Emotional
- Irritability
- Sadness
- Heightened emotions
- Nervousness
- Anxiety
Sleep-related
- Sleeping more/less than usual
- Trouble falling asleep
After a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, a person can experience some of the same symptoms as experienced after a mild injury, in addition to the following:3
- Headache that gets worse/won't go away
- Persistent nausea/repeated vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Convulsions/seizures
- Inability to wake from sleep
- Enlargement of pupils (dark centre) in one or both eyes
- Numbness/tingling of the limbs
- Loss of coordination
- Increased confusion/restlessness/agitation
- Emotional changes (e.g., depression, anxiety, aggression, impulsivity)
- Personality changes
Strangulation Signs and Symptoms
Initial
- Voice changes (e.g., hoarse, raspy voice, loss of voice)
- Pain when swallowing
- Bleeding from mouth/coughing up blood
- Abrasions, swelling, redness or bruises on the neck
- Ligature marks from rope, cord, fabric
- Swollen tongue
- Difficulty with concentration/attention/coordination/memory
- Difficulty using words, processing meaning of words
- Headache
- Light-headedness
- Dizziness
- Ear ringing
- Facial/eyelid drooping
- Breathing changes (e.g., hyperventilating)
- Sweating
- Visual disturbances
- Numbness/tingling
- Confusion
- Mental status changes (e.g., combativeness, agitation)
- Drowsiness
- Cyanosis (blue tint to skin due to low oxygen)
- Petechiae (small red spots) under the eyelids, around eyes/face/neck/scalp
- Bloody red eyes
- Limb jerking
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
- Coma
- Miscarriage if pregnant
- Involuntary urination/defecation
- Hormonal problems (e.g., neurogenic diabetes insipidus causing excessive thirst and urine production)
Long-term
- Limb weakness
- Disturbed movement/balance/coordination (e.g., tremor, involuntary writhing, jerking)
- Spasticity/rigidity
- Cortical blindness (loss of vision in otherwise healthy eyes due to brain damage)
- Memory problems
- Disturbed speech and language functions
- Disturbed executive function (e.g., thinking, reasoning, making judgments, planning)
- Personality changes (e.g., irritability, impulsiveness, social conduct)
- Hormonal problems (e.g., muscle weakness, low blood pressure, inability to regulate body temperature)
Print or download the infographic below to share with your staff or your clients.