Sports helmets a 'false sense of security', parents warned

Parents of children playing sports are being warned about protective headgear giving kids a "false sense of security".

Sports helmets a 'false sense of security', parents warned

Parents of children playing sports are being warned about protective headgear giving kids a "false sense of security".

The warning came at a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee, into the issue of concussions in sport.

A number of medical experts say that while hurling helmets and rugby scrum caps are valuable - they do not prevent serious brain injuries.

Professor John Ryan, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Dublin's St Vincent's University Hospital, said that young children can misunderstand the function of protective headgear.

"They will protect the scalp but not the brain - in fact, there's even some anxiety in some circles that maybe it gives young children a false sense of security, allowing them to lead with the head, and use the head as a weapon, because it's now protected.

"The structure you really want to protect is the brain inside of that."

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