Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury is non-congenital brain damage caused by a violent shake of the head, brain tissue penetration, or a blow to the head. Traumatic brain injury can be mild (concussion), moderate, or severe and symptoms include loss of consciousness, blurred vision, dizziness, memory loss, seizures, paralysis, and coma. Traumatic brain injury can be fatal.

Traumatic Brain Injury Brain Damage

Traumatic brain injury brain damage is either focal (damage to a specific brain area) or diffuse (damage through several areas of the brain). Focal brain damage occurs in a specific area of the brain. Focal brain damage can be caused when an object, like a bullet, penetrates the skull and brain.

Diffuse brain injury occurs throughout the brain in several areas. Diffuse brain damage can be caused by a violent shake of the head or a blow to the head that causes the brain to collide with the inside of the boney, rough skull. Diffuse brain damage shears and destroys nerve fibers and brain tissue.

Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms

Traumatic brain injury symptoms may be mild, moderate or severe. A person with concussion or mild head injury may have a brief loss of consciousness, memory loss, slurred speech, headache, and dilated pupils. If the brain injury is more moderate or severe, a person may lose consciousness, have long-term memory, loss, nausea, seizures, and paralysis.

Traumatic Brain Injury Causes

Falls, blows to the head, motor-vehicle accidents, and violence cause head trauma. It is estimated that half of all traumatic brain injuries are the result of traffic or transportation accidents involving pedestrians, bicycles, vehicles, or motorcycles.

Traumatic Brain Injury Complications

Traumatic brain injury complications include long or short term problems with memory, thinking, reasoning, vision, hearing, personality, insomnia and headache. Severe complications include epilepsy, bleeding in the head (hematoma), paralysis, coma, and death.

Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment

Upon arrival at a hospital emergency room, a traumatic brain injury victim is treated to stabilize his or her vital signs (blood pressure, body temperature, pulse, and respiration). Doctors unblock airways, maintain brain blood flow, or resuscitate a person with labored breathing. Open wounds from open head injury are treated to stop bleeding and to prevent infection. Closed head injury is closely monitored for increased intracranial pressure and any unapparent brain damage. Doctors also perform a neurological evaluation by examining a traumatic brain injury victim's head and brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT) scans, or x-rays identify bleeding in the brain or skull, brain swelling, or skull fracture.

Neurological evaluation also involves verbal tests that identify a person's level of consciousness. Doctors ask a person for his or her name, the President's name, and the current calendar date to evaluate if a person is conscious and aware. The Glasgow Coma Scale or the Rancho Los Amigos Coma Scale is also used to assess a person's level of consciousness.

Following treatment, rehabilitation may be necessary to restore lost or impaired brain functions and to minimize or prevent long-term traumatic brain injury disabilities.

For more comprehensive information about traumatic brain injury, visit AllAboutTBI.com.

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