By the time my son was eight years old, he had already had two concussions. The second one, though, was a lot worse than it needed to be since no one in the school office recognized the signs of a concussion, delaying treatment that would have spared him the majority of the discomfort that he experienced.
Today’s smartphones make just about everything easier, including diagnosing a concussion. Developed by concussion specialists at the Childrens National Medical Center, the Concussion Recognition and Response application asks a series of yes or no questions and recommends the best course of action based on the answers entered. If your primary care physician is as technically savvy as you, there’s even an option to email the results to her for her assessment. Other features include guidelines for monitoring symptoms at home, and a return to play guide.
The application is reportedly available on both the iOs and Android platforms, although at the time of this writing, I was not able to find the app in the Android Market.
At $3.99, the app is a bit pricey. However, if you have a child that’s active in sports, or you (like many parents) have been “volunteered” to coach, you might find this app well worth the investment.
