Members of the military who believe they may have had a concussion should always get a prompt medical evaluation – even if they think they don’t need it, according to Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton, M.D.
Sutton is director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and is the highest ranking psychiatrist in the U.S. Army. She was interviewed for the March 5 episode of “Dot Mil Docs,” a Web radio production of the Military Health System. The interview can be heard at http://www.health.mil/MediaRoom/default.aspx?id=455¤tPg=1
“Get a brief medical assessment and determine whether you’re really in need of a little rest or whether you can go back,” Sutton said on the program. “It’s certainly possible to be exposed to an explosion and have no visible injury” so it is important “to document what has happened if an individual has felt dazed or confused.”