# Knockout blows to head-- Hollywood vs. Reality **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256 "2003-07-22T22:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/1 "2003-07-22T22:52:33Z")
A common staple of detective movies and TV shows is the “blow to the back of the head” KO which leaves the hero/heroine unconscious for a while. Some time later, they come to and are as good as new, except for maybe a slight headache. How realistic is this? If you really were KOed like that, wouldn’t you need to see a doctor and have a check for a concussion or something like that? How easy is it to get permanent brain damage from head blows? Or can people get KOed and suffer little or no damage? Any comments/info would be helpful! ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/2 "2003-07-22T23:09:48Z")
I can tell you I’ve done a lot of things with my head (By accident) and haven’t had any problems yet, so… ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/3 "2003-07-22T23:17:54Z")
Aparently IIRC if you get hit hard enough to render you unconcious you suffer from some sort of brain damage, possibly amnesia or summat … but I’m no doctor, so don’t quote me on that ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_Amundsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@Brad\_Amundsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brad_Amundsen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/4 "2003-07-22T23:25:43Z")
_post removed_ ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/5 "2003-07-23T00:12:08Z")
**Brad Amundsen** , it is a violation of board policy to copy and paste an entire page off another website. From the [FAQ - guidelines for posting at the SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106617): === A. If you are going to quote something from an article, quote less than 5% of the source. Include a link to the article if the article is available online. # B. Only quote directly in very rare circumstances. Instead of repeating a source word-for-word, read the article, attempt to understand it, and rephrase what it says in your own words. Again, include a link to the source if the source is available online. Otherwise indicate a reference to the source (e.g. Science News, issue x, pages yy-zz). You have been warned. If you violate this rule again you will lose posting privileges. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/6 "2003-07-23T00:39:19Z")
One of my kids passed out from the heat in school, hit her head hard on the floor, and was unconscious for several minutes. I’m not a doctor, but here’s what a real one told me at the time: If you become unconscious from a blow to the head, you have some degree of concussion. What happens after that depends on a lot of factors, including where the blow was. It’s possible to regain consciousness but to still have internal bleeding, which, if it continues can obviously be very, very bad. After a concussion, the patient is supposed to be carefully watched for 24 hours or so for symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, blurred vision or falling asleep and not being able to be awakened. If any of these occur, you are advised to get the sufferer to emergency treatment pronto. “Post-concussion” syndrome, with headaches, can be present for a day or so afterwards. Repeated concussions obviously increase the risk of serious brain injury. Some prize fighters become “punch drunk” due to neurological damage. Some never do. There is a lot of individual variation in the ability to withstand damage. It’s been suggested that Mohammed Ali would not have developed Parkinson’s Disease if he hadn’t sustained blows to the head. And then again, lots of people who get Parkinson’s have never had a concussion, so it’s hard to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/7 "2003-07-23T00:40:33Z")
I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure that anytime you get knocked out, you have indeed suffered at least a slight concussion. Between sports, a snowmobile crash, USMC boot camp pugil sticks, a motorcycle crash, a brief stint in boxing (Sugar Ray Leonard I wasn’t), one particularly jaunty bar fight, and one low rafter in a crawl space, I’ve been knocked out several times. Sometimes for just a few seconds, sometimes a bit longer. I was never taken to a doctor, or felt the need to, and although it’s probably quite debatable, I’ve never had any drain bamage. Sometimes a quick shake of the head put me right back to normal and other times I needed an aspirin and a little nap. A really nasty blow to the head can cause brain damage or worse, and too many whacks to the noodle can build up, hence the term “punchy” for a lot of old, not so good boxers. Hope that helps a bit. My computer is too slow to do any searching for hard medical stuff, but I’m sure our resident MD, Quadgop, will be able to give a doc’s view. ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/8 "2003-07-23T05:46:29Z")
That’s **Qadgop** , you victim of drain bamage! ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/9 "2003-07-23T07:42:07Z")
I received a blow to the eye/temple once, developed tunnel vision and fell down unconscious about 30 seconds to a minute later. I have no idea how long I was unconscious, but it couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes. Except for some mild swelling and a hematoma (big red spot) on my eye, I was fine. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/10 "2003-07-23T08:00:10Z")
Information from a friend who is an EMT: 1. when someone is ‘knocked out’, they almost always suffer some memory loss of the last few minutes beforehand. The harder they were hit, the longer they’re out, the more the memory loss. When they recover, that memory may come back completely, may come back partially, or may not come back. 2. Anyone who is knocked unconscious for a significant period (not just temporary shock) will almost always get nauseaus and usually throw up when they wake up. You don’t see much vomit in the movies, but it’s pretty common in real life emergency scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/11 "2003-07-23T08:11:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyone who is knocked unconscious for a significant period (not just temporary shock) will almost always get nauseaus and usually throw up when they wake up. I’d confirm that. As a high school senior, I was briefly knocked out in what I can only discribe as a _Fantastically Stupid Game_ in gym class. (The coach thought it smart to combine basketball and football on a floor covered with thin wrestling mats.) I remember being very hungry - and then very nauseous, though I didn’t get sick - after getting up. I remembered a friend of mine who’d been knocked out a few times said that always happened to him, minus the bit about being lucky enough not to puke. A doctor checked me and said I didn’t have a concussion, but I didn’t see him until several hours later and I’m sure my pupils would’ve returned to normal by then anyway. I can’t be sure, but I think a very minor one may have occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knockout-blows-to-head-hollywood-vs-reality/190256/12 "2003-07-23T10:56:22Z")
Hmm, I got knocked out for a couple of minutes on a school ski trip - I skied into a tree (yup, still get ribbed about that one, even 12 years later, whenever I go skiing with my friend that was there). I don’t recall being nauseated when I came round, but I did have a heck of a headache… and then some idiot skied into the back of me and wiped me out _again_ five minutes later. I don’t recommend repeating this experiment, however.