Stuff You Should Know - Do concussions cause early death?

Episode Date: December 22, 2009

In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck discuss the origins and complications of concussions, injuries in which the brain comes into contact with the skull. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everyone out there, if you want a great looking website, then you need to head on over to Squarespace. Especially if you're selling something, Squarespace is everything to sell anything. They have the tools you need to get your business off the ground, including e-commerce templates, inventory management, a simple checkout process, and secure payments. Whatever you sell, Squarespace has merchandising features to make your products look their best online. So head on over to squarespace.com slash S-Y-S-K for a free trial and when you're ready to

launch, use offer code SYSK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Hey and welcome to the podcast, I'm with Charles W. Bryant and I am Josh Clark. Thanks for watching. Chuck, where does the word concussion come from? And as he put it, he writes for the Motley Fool too actually, he's all over the place. He wrote that in an ironic twist, the one bone specifically designed to shield our gray matter from injury ends up doing the most damage. So I mean, like you said, we need like something, a football helmet around our brain within

our skull. Right. Yeah. Or just don't hit your head hard on something. Right. Which apparently is a little more difficult than one would think. And I think that one of the reasons we're podcasting about this now is like you said that it's kind of big, NFL's doing the opposite of being all over it and it's getting lots

of press attention. No, they're all over it now though. Are they? Yeah. Just this week. We'll get into that. Right. Okay.

All right. I think one of the reasons that we're podcasting about concussions is that this article got written is it's big. Right. It's big right now. We're finally starting to realize that it's not, you don't just get your bell wrong or right. You're not a little rattled.

Right. What we're starting to see is that concussions lead very easily to early death, specifically multiple concussions. Or dementia or Alzheimer's. Yeah. Bad stuff. Yeah. All from one horrible moment.

Yeah. Or multiple. Or several. Yeah. So Chuck, what are some of the ways you can be concussed? I've been concussed. And I can't get up. Actually, what you should do is not get up, but we'll get to that too.

Yeah. So Chuck, what are some of the symptoms of a concussion? Let's say you are a University of Georgia cheerleader. Sure. And you want to come over and diagnose poor Bacari Rambo, who is unconscious. Right. What's just, what are you looking for? Well, I would look at Bacari first if he was nauseous or uncoordinated, no balance, confused,

had a slurred speech or memory loss or delayed reaction time. That would be my immediate diagnosis if I'm looking at him and I see some of those symptoms that he might, in fact, be concussed. Right. Those are some outward symptoms, right? Right. Those are symptoms that the concussed person will experience like sensitivity to light and sound.

Yes, Josh. That is called phonophobia and photophobia. Right. Loud, loud noises and bright lights, no good if you're concussed. Loud noises. Right. Right. Yeah, you don't want that.

It can make you dizzy, give you a headache, make you nauseated. It's just bad stuff. It can also disturb your sleep. Your ability, anxiety as far as emotional impact. Right. Depression. Sure. And your ability to think, actually.

A lot of times there is an accompanying amnesia to concussion and it's usually immediate. If the person loses consciousness, when they wake up they may have some sort of amnesia or even if they don't lose consciousness they can still have some amnesia from the moment that impact took place. Right. The moment their brain slapped the inside of their skull. Yeah. So that's why when you see like on a football sideline or in a boxing ring, there's just

a battery of questions they'll be asking like, who are you, do you know where you are? And if they say something like, you know, I'm playing football, they need to get a little more specific than that. Say what city are we in? What team are we playing? What team are you on? Mike Tyson. Right.

And it's time to get out of the game. Right. Which is kind of a, it's difficult actually. Did you see that testimony by Ray Lewis? Yeah. They were talking about getting out of the game and you know, even knowing just the little bit that we know now about concussions, Lewis was still like, depends on what's going on in the game, you know.

From what I understand, if you have a concussion, you don't go back in that game. Well, as of yesterday, that's the new rule. Is it? Yes. Well, let's talk about that. Let's back up a second because the NFL has long been not too sensitive to concussions and taken a lot of heat over the years for having their team doctors allow guys to go back in too soon or leaving it up to the player who, you know, wildly under reports, concussions

NFL players do, or all athletes, I would imagine. And there's a guy named John McKay and he was on the San Diego Chargers in the early 70s. Sadly, he played with a guy named Ralph Wenzel for the entire 1972 season and neither one of them remember playing with each other as teammates. Wow. Very sad. Wow.

So McKay's wife led this charge to get this on the NFL's radar because she started making calls and found, she said, at least 20 people whose husbands were suffering from Alzheimer's and early dementia. And we're talking like age. There's others that are suffering as early as their 30s and 40s. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So she wrote Commissioner Tagli Buu at the time a letter.

He got the ball rolling and they created the 88 plan, which was McKay's number. And they now families can receive up to $88,000 a year for care if they from the NFL. Yeah. If they qualify. That's great. So that happened. And then two days ago, the NFL, because the concussions have been big news this year, especially a lot of high profile guys, Ben Roffelsberger for the Steelers and a couple other high profile

dudes have been concussed, Kurt Warner. And the new rule takes effect this week. It's like an immediate rule, which is unusual. And if you have fleeting symptoms, you're allowed to return to the game. But if you have amnesia, poor balance, or an abnormal neurological examination, you cannot go back into the game at all. That's a good rule. It's a very good rule.

Although from what Chris Jones says, if you've been concussed, if you show any evidence of concussion, you shouldn't be going back into the game at all. Well, yeah. Sure. I guess baby steps. Yeah. So for the post-game evaluations after the coming days after, they have now required this independent doctors have to perform the test and not the team doctor.

I think that's a good rule as well. Because if you've seen any given Sunday, I think the notion of the team doctor is kind of a joke in the NFL. Sure. 2023 is already well underway, everybody, so don't wait any longer to level up your small business. And the way you can do that is by joining up with Stamps.com. That's right, because with Stamps.com, you're going to be able to print your own postage

and shipping labels right there from your home or office or home office. And you know, it's ready to go in minutes. You can get back to running your business sooner than later. Yep. Stamps.com is like the post office elevated. They have rates you literally can't find anywhere else, which comes in handy because postage rates just increased again, like up to 84% off of USPS and UPS. Plus Stamps.com automatically tells you your cheapest and fastest shipping options.

See you Stamps.com to print postage wherever you do business. All you need is that computer and printer. Set your business up for success. When you get started with Stamps.com today, just use our promo code STUFF for a special offer that's going to include a four week trial plus free postage and that free digital scale. No long term commitments or contracts. Just go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone at the top of the page and enter our code

STUFF. Have you ever just thought to yourself, why me? Why is life so unfair? What do other people see when they watch me walk by when I catch my reflection? People run. Like I have a contagious infection. But it's not my mental health. I know that can be crushing.

I'm talking about plexoriasis, but you didn't see that coming. I'm sick of the judgment, the discomfort and itching. Vitamic cream is the one daily steroid free treatment I know I've been missing. Vitamin to pinner off cream one percent is a prescription topical treatment for adults with plexoriasis. Do not use if you're allergic to Vitamic cream. The most common side effects of Vitamic cream include red raised bumps around the hair pores, pain or swelling in the nose and throat, skin rash or irritation, including itching

and redness, peeling, burning or stinging, headache, itching and flu. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you are pregnant or plan to be, ask your doctor if Vitamic cream is right for you. You deserve more from your topical. To learn more, visit TopicalUpRising.com. I read about another group of ex-athletes led by a guy named Chris Nowinski. He played football for Harvard, but then he went on to the WWE and he had several concussions and then took a kick to the chin and that was it.

Lights out for him, career over. And he started to read studies on concussions because he had headaches for five years and he was depressed. Depression is a big, big part of the comorbidity of concussions. And he ended up founding the Sports Legacy Institute with a guy named Dr. Robert Cantu, who I know whose name you'll recognize because he founded one of the, I guess, indices for grading concussions. The Cantu scale.

Yes. They got together and created the Sports Legacy Institute and they take donations of ex-football players' brains once they die for study. And the study that they've been doing together, so basically Nowinski recruits families to donate their dead football players' brains. And then Cantu turns around and dissects the brains at this place called the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which he co-directs. And this group, the CSTE, are finding some really startling stuff in the brains of people

who are like 40, 50. They got their hands on the brain of an 18-year-old kid who was a multi-sports athlete, died at 18. They got his brain and his brain and the other brains that they've looked at so far all look like 80-year-old Alzheimer's patients' brains. Well, that's, I was just about to say, there was a Philadelphia Eagle, former Eagle named Andre Waters that committed suicide last year. Yeah.

And he was 44 and they said the same thing. He had the brain of an 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient. Yeah. And he's not the only one. He committed suicide. Some other guys have been drinking themselves to death. Yeah. A guy named Ted Johnson, who used to play for the Pats, has pre, he's donated his brain

when he dies. Right. And he's in his like 30s or early 40s and he spent two years with his curtains closed to hold up in his house. Wow. From just major depression. That's sad, man. I'm a huge NFL fan.

It's just, you always hear about, and these are just the head injuries, you always hear about these old warriors from before they made a ton of money that are like destitute and they can't walk and awful. That's it. They think that that's another thing, an ability to work, to manage money. Like that may be one of the reasons why a lot of these guys go bankrupt. It's like 80% or 70% of NFL players go bankrupt in like four years after leaving. Well the average lifespan of an, or not lifespan, but 10-year of an NFL player is really short.

I mean, it's like two or two seasons or something ridiculous. So it's the lifespan. Yeah. Especially if you've suffered multiple concussions. Apparently, one concussion, your brain can restore its faculties, can mend itself. Yeah. But if you have a concussion, then you have a secondary concussion before the first one has time to heal, or you have multiple concussions over your lifetime, you're in deep trouble.

Yes, Josh. That's what you just talked about when you had the second one before the first one's healed. That is called potentially second impact syndrome, and you can die. Yeah. That's way worse because the, what, the arteries in the brain swell? Yeah. It triggers a chain reaction.

It starts with the, a disordered cerebral vascular auto-regulation, and that means the brain loses its ability to keep the right amount of blood pressure basically. So the brain swells, and that leads to congestion and pressure and herniation and death. Yeah. Once your brain system is herniated, once it's no longer getting its supply of blood and oxygen and everything it needs, you know, there goes your breathing and your heartbeat and all the, the very primal basic stuff that's controlled by the brainstem. I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet, and I'm surprised, actually, brainstem herniation?

I'm surprised an NFL player has not died on the football field yet. Yeah. That's shocking to me that that has not happened, and I think it's going to take something like that unfortunately, although they're going in the right direction now, I used to think that it would take something that drastic to really make drastic changes, maybe, who knows. Maybe. I mean, sports, very physical sport, but, you know, people don't go out like hockey.

Yeah. People want to see somebody get their throat slit by, like, a skate. Did you ever see that dude? No. You never saw that? No. That happened. Where?

A hockey goalie had his jugular vein cut in a hockey game. Is it on video somewhere? It's got to be. I saw it on TV when it happened, like, I don't know, it was a while ago, it's probably ten years ago. Yeah. But the guy, like, bends down on his knees and grabs his throat, and in, like, three seconds, you see a pull of blood go from, like, a drop to, like, eight feet in diameter.

Does he die right there? No. He didn't die. Oh, good. In fact, he was back with the team the next day. Oh, my goodness. They sewed him, sewed him up and, like, refilled the pump full of blood, and he was good to go.

There you go. Yeah, man. What a time to be alive. So we should talk about treatment and stuff like that. Okay. Because, you know, if it's not just NFL players, you get concussed at home, your kid can easily get concussed. In fact, I think concussions are the leading head injury for children.

Yeah, I wanted to mention that, Chuck. Like, we've been talking about the NFL, but the NFL isn't the only group out there playing football. There's tons of kids, and actually I was reading an article by Frank DeFord, right, who you don't want to see. Have you ever seen a picture of Frank DeFord? No. It's one of those ones where you're like, man, I wish I didn't see that.

This is nothing like what I thought the guy looked like, and really that's what Frank DeFord looks like. Wow. I know. I have seen him, actually. You have it like you're outside your local shopping mall, like can you spare some change? Right. Well, he wrote an article about concussions, and he was basically goading the NFL into

doing something. And he also points out that it's not just the NFL who are like suiting up 1.2 million high school students every year play football, and they apparently are much more prone to concussions than older guys because their impacts are actually at a higher velocity than in the NFL because they're not worried about their careers. They're trying to get to the career, so they're killing anybody who gets in their way, whereas an NFL player would be more likely to, number one, he knows his way around the football field.

He knows what he's doing. He's been playing for a long time. Probably fake it easier. Right. And number two, he's worried about making it out the next Sunday, too. So he's going to take it a little easier on himself, too. Well, maybe. I also under-reported the NFL, though, just because they don't want to, like, Heinz Ward

called out Ben Roffelsberger last week for being a wuss, basically, for not playing because he had headaches the week later. Come on, Heinz. Yeah, he felt bad for it. He did. Yeah. Good. He should.

So, Chuck. Yes. We were talking about treatment. Yes. Josh, the first thing you should do, if you even suspect you were concussed, is stop whatever the heck you were doing to get concussed. Do not drop and roll, either. Just stop.

Just stop at the stop. No movement. Right. And you should also, we should also mention that whole thing about, don't go to sleep if you're concussed. Not true. No, it's not. Rest is actually exactly what you mean.

Yeah. Chris points out sleep deprivation is not a good treatment for a concussion. I wouldn't think so. Right. So you should stop what you're doing immediately. If you think it could possibly be worse than a concussion, you should, you know, immediately go to the doctor, probably get a CT scan or an MRI. Although the weird thing is, is they can't, you can't see a concussion.

Right. Like you can't diagnose a concussion from an MRI or a CT scan. What they're doing when they do scan you is ruling out other types of traumatic brain injury. Yeah. Like internal bleeding and that kind of thing. Right. Right.

So, a minority of the cases, you will have something called post concussion syndrome. And that can be a couple of weeks or months of side effects, basically, prolonged everything we talked about, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, nausea, that kind of thing. Yeah. But that doesn't always happen. That's why concussions are like, still sort of a mystery. Sometimes it, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, some, some people recover faster than others.

It's really hard to diagnose, like you said, because you can't see it and people under report it. So it's really, you're up against a battle here, trying to get it diagnosed and treated correctly. Definitely. But I think groups like the CSTE, is that what it was called? Here. Yeah.

I think so. They, you know, once, once they've been cracking open the brains, I think the mysteries are starting to be solved a little more. We talked about how they look like the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The reasons they draw that comparison is not just because the symptoms are the same. They actually have protein tangles that are characteristic of Alzheimer's. Right. In the brains of multiple concussion sufferers.

Right. And so they're, they're, they, the brains can't communicate the brain, the neurons can't communicate with each other any longer. Basically stuff, these protein buildups that should have been carried out as waste aren't any longer. And now they're just gumming up the works, which it can actually kill the brain cells, which leads to brain death, which leads to death. Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. Much more serious than people think. Have you ever been concussed? I don't think I have. I think I have been a couple of times. My little girlfriend has. Really?

Yeah. I've never had a softball bat once and I've never had my bell rung like that before. Yeah. That was bad. I can imagine. Like the dude was in the on deck circle and I walked up and didn't see him. Oh no. Taking a full swing.

Yeah. Wow. Watch me right there. Did you go unconscious? No, but I staggered and, you know, saw angels above my head. Actually I may have been concussed because I had the same, the same symptoms after I was shooting at a little propane tank with the high powered rifle. I'm not kidding.

We should say you should never, ever do something this stupid. I think that this, every podcast should start out with a disclaimer like don't do what Josh talks about. And I didn't have the stock against your shoulder firmly. Against my shoulder. That's the first. Not even firmly. I had it under in my armpit and the thing had a scope and it went kaboom and I just

looked at my friend and handed him the gun and kind of staggered off. And yeah, I was seeing all sorts of lights and chicks on YouTube. If you search girl with shotgun, there's like hundreds of videos of girls that don't know how to shoot a rifle properly and get knocked out. That's exactly who I am. And it is not funny on YouTube. It's funny because they put the big deal music to it. I didn't get knocked out, but right.

I still have a scar. You see it? Oh yeah. See that little crescent right there? Uh huh. That's from the scope. Yeah. I bet we've both been concussed.

Jerry's like, let's move along. Who cares if you've been concussed, 2023 is already well underway everybody. So don't wait any longer to level up your small business and the way you can do that is by joining up with stamps.com. That's right. Because with stamps.com, you're going to be able to print your own postage and shipping labels right there from your home or office or home office. And you know, it's ready to go in minutes.

You can get back to running your business sooner than later. Yep. Stamps.com is like the post office elevated. They have rates you literally can't find anywhere else, which comes in handy because postage rates just increased again, like up to 84% off of USPS and UPS plus stamps.com automatically tells you your cheapest and fastest shipping options. See you stamps.com to print postage wherever you do business. All you need is that computer and printer.

Set your business up for success. When you get started with stamps.com today, just use our promo code stuff for a special offer that's going to include a four week trial plus free postage and that free digital scale, no longterm commitments or contracts. Just go to stamps.com, click on the microphone at the top of the page and enter our code stuff. Have you ever just thought to yourself, why me? Why is life so unfair?

What do other people see when they watch me walk by when I catch my reflection? People run. They're like, I have a contagious infection, but it's not my mental health. I know that can be crushing. I'm talking about plaque psoriasis, but you didn't see that coming. I'm sick of the judgment, the discomfort and itching. Vitamic cream is the one daily steroid free treatment. I know I've been missing.

Vitamin to Piner off cream 1% is a prescription topical treatment for adults with plaque psoriasis. Do not use if you're allergic to Vitamic cream. The most common side effects of Vitamic cream include red raised bumps around the hair pores, pain or swelling in the nose and throat, skin rash or irritation, including itching and redness, peeling, burning or stinging, headache, itching and flu. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you're pregnant or plan to be, ask your doctor if Vitamic cream is right for you. You deserve more from your topical.

To learn more, visit topicaluprising.com. We should finish up Josh with a little debate. There's some debate in the medical community about whether it is a structural or functional issue with the damage. Yeah, I think that the opening up of the brains is starting to show that it's structural. You think so? Yeah, the protein tangles is definitely structural, but I guess it would be both because the structural changes are interfering with the function.

Well, yeah, but some people say that since a concussion is short lived and you fully recover, then it may not be structural. Maybe it's from multiple concussions. Or the severity of the concussion. Yeah. That'd be my guess. They both have good points. Sure.

You got anything else, buddy? No, that's about it. I think... Wear your bicycle helmets, kids. That's another one. Always wear your seatbelt. Auto accidents are another major source of concussions. Yeah, big time.

Horseback riding incidents. Yeah, bikes are huge though. Bikes, sure. Falling in any little kids too are in particular danger because they haven't gotten their coordination. Yeah. They don't have their sea legs yet. Sure.

They're ahead and that can prevent their development further on in life. Right. Yeah. I think just being smart and trying to keep your head safe is the best way. Yeah. And kids, if you're out there playing like touch football and you get tackled and your head hits the ground real hard, seriously, stop playing. Your friends might make fun of you, but if Big Ben Roffelsberger can take himself out

of a game, then I can. Way to go, Chuck. That's what I would say. That's good stuff. Wow. So those concussions, and if you want to learn more about it, you might want to type the word concussion into the handysearchbar at howstuffworks.com and always listen to your Uncle Chuck too.

That was really good advice, Chuck. Thank you, Josh. So this means it's time for listener mail. I'm a professional uncle, by the way. Uncle to Reagan Shelby, Abby, and Noah. I don't know that you're a professional, are you paid for that? No, but I'm good at it. I'm sure you are.

It's a good gig. All right, I've got two quickies from two cute little kids who wrote, and I can never turn these down. Are you Uncle to these kids? No. This comes from Will in Arlington, Virginia. He's 12. Hi, guys.

After hearing your podcast, How Flirting Works, I realized how much I flirt with girls on a daily basis. I love these ones. Being 12 and relationships and dates being just around the corner, I feel middle school would be the perfect time to fetch myself a gal. You're kidding. I know. I was not like this when I was 12.

No. I was like, me, girls, me. Was that me when I was 12 or me now? 12. Thank God I'm married. I do like some girls, but I'm too shy to tell them. I also think some girls like me, but they're too shy to tell me. I feel left out.

So please help me. Could you give me some tips on getting a girl? Maybe some things I should do or tell them and know, Josh, I will not moon them. Could you give me a shout out as well? Then any girls who like me will hear the shout out and they will be impressed. So this is the shout out. You didn't say his last name, did you? I don't think we're allowed to.

No. This is Will in Arlington, Virginia, 12. Age 12. So Will, we'll say, like we said in the flirting podcast, that my advice at your age, my friend, if you want to get ahead of the game, is be nice to girls. Sure. If there's a lot of guys that age that think it's fun to kind of tease and not be nice to girls and you learn later on that being nice to girls will get you farther.

You learn that now, little buddy, then you will be ahead of your peers. That's great. Again, great advice, Chuck. And be funny. That was the other one, right? Sure. You got anything? Confidence, Will.

Confidence. Have confidence and don't just fetch a gal to fetch a gal. Make sure that you like the girl and she likes you and you both treat each other right and just go from there, buddy. Yeah. Treat her with respect. Fetch a gal. All right.

Sure. Okay. So this comes from, this next one is from Katie, who was a freshman in high school in Florida, unfortunately, because she could potentially be hooked up with Will. Katie wrote us a poem. I was really sad when Haiku Theater ended, which it has, and I wanted to write in with a poem but didn't have the inspiration. Luckily, a bird provided its life for me to write this for you guys.

Did you read this one? No. Very good. A bird, your short or long existence may or may not have been wonderful. Your mate, girlfriend, or mother will miss you, parentheses, maybe. We will mourn you forever or until we forget. We will never forget your plight to get to the cafeteria. But alas, the window was in the way.

The Windex it is clean with is your murderer. Your vengeance will go undone. We aren't sorry at all, dear bird. All your dreams were broken in an instant like your neck. Oh, dear birdie, your life is over now. That is awesome. It is. That's Kate.

Katie. Katie. He's a freshman in high school in Florida. Katie hates birds. Concussed bird. Yeah, right. Which is no dead. So those are two cute little kids that wrote in and we liked them.

Thank you both, Katie and Will, and to all of our young listeners, we think very highly of you. And you know what? Let's not just leave it at that. We think highly of all of our listeners. Don't be shocked. Yes. We also think especially highly of our listeners who donate to Kiva.

Yeah. Yeah. Kiva.org. We have a membership loan team. Yeah. The price price. I'm sure you've not heard this. Our team is so serious.

It's awesome, too. Do we almost have 1,000 members on our team almost? I think that makes us like the 10th largest, something like that. Pretty cool. So yeah, if you want to join our Kiva team, we'd love it if you did. You can make a donation as low as 25 bucks and it gets repaid. Kiva also has gift certificates for Christmas or any holiday that you give a gift on. Right?

Sure. You can go to www.kiva.org slash team slash stuff you should know and join and donate. Right? And if you want to send Chuck and I an email, whether you are 12, 14, 82 or the oldest living person on the planet, you can send it to StuffPodcast at HowStuffWorks.com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit HowStuffWorks.com. Want more HowStuffWorks? Check out our blogs on the HowStuffWorks.com homepage.

Brought to you by the reinvented 2012 Camry. It's ready. Are you? It's ready to travel in 2023 and since 1981, Gate One Travel has been providing more of the world for less. Let Gate One handle the planning for you with affordable escorted tours and European Riffer Cruises. And right now, through January 30th, use promo code HEART20 to receive 20% off your

tour. That's promo code HEART20 through January 30th. Visit gateonetravel.com for more information or to book your tour. That's gate the number one travel.com. Once again, use promo code HEART20 through January 30th to receive 20% off your 2023 trip. The South Dakota Stories, Volume One. She was a city girl, but always somewhere else in her head.

Somewhere where bison roam, rivers flow, and people get their hiking boots dirty. Like actually dirty. So one day she fled west and discovered this place of beauty, history, and a delicious taste of adventure. But before she knew it, she was driving away with memories to share and the hopes of returning. Because there's so much South Dakota, so little time.