Hitting your head is no small deal: Postconcussive Syndrome

It's not something that happens to us every day, but most people experience at least a couple good "hard knocks" to the head during the course of their lifetime. Usually it's something minor, like dropping your pen on the floor and hitting your head on the desk on the way back up. But sometimes events like falling during a sports game or slipping off a ladder while cleaning your gutters can cause serious hidden damage, the kind of damage that could stay with you forever.

It's called postconcussive syndrome, and the biggest risk comes when you hit your head frequently (think football players, boxers, etc), and your brain doesn't get a chance to recover fully in between injuries. But everybody should wear helmets when appropriate, pay attention to how they feel, and ask lots of questions if they do have any kind of accident. Just because you have a thick skull and there's no outward appearance of damage (like a big dent or something!) doesn't mean your head is invincible.