There is an old saying when somebody has a maor jolt to the head that they had their bell rung. Sounds innocent enough, but that event could actually be a lot more traumatic than it may seem.
Traumatic brain injuries are hard to detect right away and actually can come in many forms. Even a concussion can be much worse than people realize and lead to other problems if it is not treated properly.
The problem is that many brain injuries are closed so you can’t actually see anything that immediately suggests that there is something happening inside the skull. An open injury in which the skull is visibly fractured is more obvious so immediate steps are taken by going to a hospital and having surgery done.
In this article, I will go over several of the different traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and what the symptoms are.
Table of Contents
Hematoma
This is the clotting of blood on the brain after having received some trauma. Any type of blunt force trauma on the head could lead to hematoma, like a bicycle accident, a fall or through a sporting injury. According to a San Francisco TBI lawyer, this can even be caused through “shaken baby syndrome.”
The major symptom is a sudden loss of consciousness and can lead to permanent damage if the clot is not removed.
Hemorrhage
Much like hematoma, a hemorrhage is very serious as it is uncontrolled bleeding on the brain. How severe the damage is depends on how much bleeding occurs. One thing is sure, however, that if the bleeding goes unchecked then there is a high possibility of permanent damage being done to the brain.
The symptoms are vomiting and a severe headache after the trauma.
Edema
Edema is an essential swelling and can be quite serious when it is of the brain. Since the brain is contained in your skull, space is limited. The swelling has nowhere to go so it creates pressure on the brain itself.
As the pressure builds, the cells can be crushed which can cause memory loss or worse.
Symptoms Of Brain Injury
The problem with many brain injuries is that the symptoms don’t always appear immediately. And some symptoms can disappear very quickly leading one to believe that the problem resolved itself.
Be on the lookout for subtle signs that there is a problem.
Obvious signals that there is a serious problem are vomiting, loss of consciousness, seizures and a loss of muscle control. At the first sign of any of these after a traumatic incident, go directly to the emergency room.
Less obvious signs are mild confusion, inability to focus the eyes, a slight sensation of inebriation and a persistent headache. Any of these signs can spell trouble so make sure to seek out medical attention if any are present.
The long term outlook after a brain injury depends on the type and severity of the injury. Rehabilitation is often necessary in addition to medication. Even a slight concussion can require some rehabilitation if there are prolonged complications afterward.
Leading Causes Of Tbi
Falls are the leading cause of TBI and account for almost half of all cases. Since it can happen anywhere at any time, it is something that is quite common.
People who have little body control are most affected by this so the elderly and children are often the ones that suffer. If you break down the numbers by age, then the causes start to diverge.
For instance, for those over 65, falls are the leading cause of TBI by a huge margin. About 80% of the cases in fact. For those under 17, about half of the incidences are from falls.
If you look at the age bracket of 45 to 64 then the leading cause is actually self harm. In other words, something is done on purpose to cause the TBI to themselves. For those 15 to 34 the leading cause is a car accident.
And for those under 4, the sad truth is that the TBI has been inflicted upon them by others. Shaken baby syndrome is high in this age bracket, of course.
These causes can show where the risk factors are for each segment of the population based on age. To prevent these injuries it pays to know the most likely cause so steps can be taken. For instance, if an elderly person lives in an old home without any safety measures taken then the risk increases. It pays off to move to a house that is on one level and modernized or to retrofit their existing house to minimize the risk.
Safe driving is something that should be strived for in any case, but when you consider that even minor accidents can result in a TBI, then taking extra precautions when driving is essential in minimizing the risk.