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Head injury and concussion
A guide for patients and carers
Coma and level of consciousness
A person’s consciousness can vary from being normal (i.e. fully alert, talking and making sense) to being deeply unconscious and not responding in any way - even to pain, and there are many stages in between.
Being in a coma means being unconscious. A person in a coma is unable to communicate with the outside world and has reduced awareness of stimuli, such as sound or touch. People are said to be in a coma if they are unable to obey simple commands, if they do not utter comprehensible words and if they do not open their eyes - even in response to pain.
There are many levels of consciousness between deep coma and normal consciousness, and the state of consciousness of a person following a head injury can fall into a number of different categories between these two extremes. Assessment of a person’s level of consciousness following a head injury is very important, but is often difficult or impossible if they have had sedative drugs (including alcohol). You may hear the doctors refer to the use of the Glasgow Coma Scale or GCS, which gives a measure of the level of consciousness.
There are many levels of consciousness between deep coma and normal consciousness, and the state of consciousness of a person following a head injury can fall into a number of different categories between these two extremes. Assessment of a person’s level of consciousness following a head injury is very important, but is often difficult or impossible if they have had sedative drugs (including alcohol). You may hear the doctors refer to the use of the Glasgow Coma Scale or GCS, which gives a measure of the level of consciousness.
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Contents
- Introduction
- What are the main causes of head injury?
- What are the signs of a serious injury?
- What will happen at the hospital?
- Who gets admitted to hospital?
- What if the skull is fractured?
- What is concussion?
- What will happen if there is internal bleeding?
- What happens in the neurosurgical unit?
- The intensive care unit
- Coma and level of consciousness
- Recovery from a severe head injury
- Summary
- Other organisations that may be able to help
