There are new guidelines in place to help better diagnose children with brain injuries, according to a Nov. 8 report. Previously, doctors would order rest after a child suffered a concussion, but that’s changing today. New guidelines change how children will be treated in the future.
The new guidelines were developed by the co-director of the Center for Brain Injury Recovery, which is located at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Why were new guidelines needed?
The main reason was because of the number of children receiving varied treatments. Having new guidelines means everyone has a standard approach to treating brain injuries in children. For instance, some people might have argued to restrict a child from school and other activities while recovering. Today, it’s been shown that prolonged rest can hurt the ability to recover, so it’s actually best to perform only low-risk activities and to increase activity as the child heals.
Restrictive limitations generally only need to be in place for the first few days after an injury, and then the child can begin to gradually return to their activities. If they feel worse, cut back, but if they’re okay, they can continue to do more.
Children with lasting symptoms need to seek additional interventions and assessments following four-to-six weeks of symptoms. At that point, an MRI or another scan might be indicated, even if the scan wasn’t considered initially.
These are a couple of the changes that may help your child recover more quickly. A brain injury is daunting, but new guidelines are there to help your child overcome it.
Many of the brain injury treatment options are expensive. If your child was hurt because of another person’s negligence, an attorney can explain what your legal options are for seeking compensation for medical expenses, emotional trauma, pain and suffering and more.