Traumatic Brain Injury - What You Must Know

Traumatic brain injury is a serious medical condition that can extremely affect a person's life. It can be a confusing injury since it often produces a variety of symptoms that vary greatly from person to person. Symptoms can also vary in adults and children. The best way to learn about traumatic brain injury is to look at the different symptoms for each type of traumatic brain injury.

Causes of Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury can be caused by any type of blow to the head. In many cases it is obvious when a brain injury has occurred. A car accident, for example, may cause a traumatic head injury that is very apparent. However, some brain injuries are not as apparent. Someone who falls and then gets back up may not even realize they have injured their brain. It is not until later when symptoms present that a person realizes something is wrong.

When a person suffers from a traumatic brain injury there may be visible swelling or bruising. In some cases this swelling and bruising may only be inside the skull. When the brain starts to swell it presses against the skull and cause serious affects, even death.

Types of Traumatic Brain Injury and Symptoms

Mild traumatic brain injury is one type of brain injury. The symptoms of this type of brain injury include unconsciousness, amnesia where the person forgets the events that led up to the injury and those following the injury, headache, confusion, dizziness, blurred vision and mood changes.

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries can produce persistent headaches, vomiting, seizures, problems waking up from sleep, dilated pupils, problems with speech, weakness in the body, problems with coordination, confusion and changes in temperament.

Mild, moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries are the type of brain injuries specific to adults. Brain injuries in children are much different. Children may not be able to tell you how they feel and they may not have the skills developed yet to recognize when something is wrong.

Children's symptoms of a brain injury include problems eating, cranky moods, problems sleeping, problems in school and loss of interest in favorite activities.

Seeking Treatment

After any injury to the head or the surrounding area or other traumatic injury or fall, a person should be checked out by medical personnel. Any situation where a person's body is bumped roughly or otherwise injured could lead to a brain injury. The brain can easily bump against the skull and swelling can begin. It is better to be safe with any type of head injury and seek medical treatment as soon as possible. In most cases the doctor will simply observe the patient for a short period of time to see if symptoms of a head injury present.

A brain injury should always be taken seriously. The brain is a complex organ that can easily be injured. It is important to always seek medical care if a bran injury is suspected so that treatment can take place and further problems can be avoided.