Every year millions of children sustain mild brain injuries as a result of falls, automobile accidents, sports injuries, and recreational injuries, among other types of incidents. As a matter of fact, many minor head injuries result when kids are doing just normal kid stuff!

By definition, a mild brain injury is one in which loss of consciousness is not longer than 30 minutes, and post-traumatic amnesia does not last for more than 24 hours. Symptoms may include headache, drowsiness and lethargy, nausea and vomiting, dilated pupils, and confusion.

If you believe your child has sustained any kind of brain injury—even if it’s mild and symptoms are relatively minimal—it’s important that you seek immediate medical treatment for your child. Doctors will run a battery of tests to ensure that the injury isn’t more serious than you think it is, and in most cases will send you home with some simple instructions.

While symptoms of mild head injury can last for some time—up to a year, in fact—in most situations children who sustain mild brain injuries do not suffer from any long-term effects. However, it is important to remember that brain injuries in children are extremely unpredictable—much more unpredictable than they are in adults. In rare cases children with mild brain injury can suffer from long-term, life-altering symptoms. Timely diagnosis and treatment is key to ensuring that the long-term effects of brain injury are minimized.