CogBlog

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injury, otherwise known as TBI, is a brain injury that occurs due to some kind of impact to the head region – commonly through an accident or event sports. Traumatic brain injuries can range from mild to severe.

Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

There are basically two kinds of traumatic brain injury, penetrating injuries and closed head injuries.

• Penetrating injuries are the ones where something, like a bullet or debris has entered the head through a wound. The damage is generally confined to the area of the brain physically impacted by the external object.
• Closed head injuries on the other hand, are the ones that are acquired through impact on the head, such a through helmet-to-helmet contact in football. This injury can lead to either primary brain damage, which is immediately visible in the form of aches, bruises and fractures or secondary brain injury, which manifests after some time. Secondary brain injury could include things like anemia, epilepsy, intracranial pressure, brain swelling etc.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injuries include the following:

• Headache and/or dizziness and loss of balance
• Nausea or vomiting
• Loss of vision or consciousness for a short period
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
• Memory issues that are short termed or long term depending on the severity of trauma
• Mood swings or feelings of depression
• Seizures or convulsions
• Slurred speech, confusion or even coma

Traumatic brain injury is diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist. The pathologist may use the help of doctors, nurses or other therapists like physical therapists and even neuropsychologists. It needs to be understood that the more severe the head injury, like a car accident which involved collision, or violence such as home abuse, gunshot wound or combat injuries, the more severe would be the symptoms of the condition.

Complications Resulting from Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can be mild, where the worse that happens are a few stitches to the head. But if the injury is severe, it could give way to the patient going into coma, get into a vegetative state or even be proclaimed brain dead. This is the reason why it is suggested that no matter how insignificant the injury may seem, it should be treated immediately.

Concussion Alert – For Youth Sports

During play and otherwise, there are a series of different injuries one is susceptible to sustain. While some of them may manifest quickly in the form of bleeding, bruising, and pain, others take time to surface. These “hidden” injuries pose significant threat to your health and well-being, and may even lead to death if not addressed in a timely fashion. The concussion in one of them!

What is Concussion?

It is a kind of severe brain injury usually resulting from acute blow to the head. It occurs as a result of physical impact – either when something hits the head or the victim accidentally walks headlong into a barrier. Concussion typically does not manifest its signs immediately. It may take days or weeks for the symptoms to mature fully. Timely medical assistance is crucial to keep brain damage at bay.

Common Symptoms Associated with Concussion

Although concussions do not materialize physically, there are a few symptoms you can use to identify the problem in a timely manner. If you find anyone depicting any of these symptoms, rush for medical help immediately. The sooner you are able to get help for the victim (be it you or anyone else), the lesser the damage will be.

• Confusion: The victim will depict confusion about his/her whereabouts and the incident. The person may look dazed, stunned, incomprehensible or unresponsive after impact.
• Forgetfulness: The person forgets basic details like names, numbers and other personal information. S/he is most likely to forget instructions given to him/her.
• Coordination Difficulties: The person walks clumsily, in a disoriented fashion and seems to have lost control over his/her body.
• Slowed Reflexes: The victim has unconventionally slowed reflexes, taking a long time to think before reacting.
• Unconsciousness: The injured party falls unconscious after impact, even if for a short duration.
• Mood, Behavior and/or Personality Changes: Popular changes in mood include high irritability, unwillingness to converse, and sudden wish for seclusion.
• Headache and/or Nausea: There may be a continuous throbbing pain at the affected area, often followed by nausea and/or vomiting.
• Visual Impairment: The person is unable to see clearly, has double vision, and cannot make sense of his/her views.
• Unexplained Sensitivities: Sudden development of sensitivity towards light or sound reflects unprecedented brain injury.

It is always a better idea to seek medical help immediately after any accident, especially if the impact occurs on the head. Timely discovery of the problem is key to rapid recovery.

Back-To-School after Concussion – A Parents’ Guide

Children and teens are prone to injuries, especially during play. They may sustain a concussion following severe physical impact to the head. Even if all seems well, it may be advised to get your child immediate medical help after an accident to diagnose a concussion in a timely manner.

Common Symptoms Associated with Concussions

The concussion does not manifest physically. Here are some of the symptoms you can use to identify a concussion. If any or all of these symptoms prevail, seek immediate medical attention for the child in order to limit damage.

• Appears confused, dazed, unintelligible, or incapable of recalling past events.
• Loses consciousness, memory, cognition, and/or the ability to coordinate.
• Exhibits sudden changes in mood, behavior and preferences, usually pointing towards an underlying problem.
• Reflexes are unusually slowed or elaborate.
• Vomits or complains about severe headache and nausea.
• Sleeps involuntarily and unusually.
• Faces problems balancing, seeing clearly or following instructions.

Post-Concussion Care Guidelines

• If your child or teen has sustained a concussion, it is imperative for you not to push him/her for personal or academic goals. Complete rest is the key to recovery. If the affected child is forced to return to the game before the medical practitioner declares him/her okay, s/he is at a risk of augmenting the damage to the brain, which may result in severe consequences.
• Besides this, you should facilitate the child to relax, giving him/her time to heal. Keep them engaged in low-intensity activities. If they complain about recurring symptoms, consult the medical practitioner for advice. The road to recovery is gradual and long; don’t rush through it. A little time of school is better than permanent disabilities or handicap!
• Also, make sure the child understands his/her condition and adapts to the needs accordingly. Read and discuss information about concussions and the care needed to reach complete recovery. Consult the doctor regularly for updates on the child’s recovery. Encourage the child to speak in order to clarify doubts. Everyone needs to be on the same page in order to move together towards holistic healing.
• Support the child as s/he struggles to get back with his/her school routine. Limit the time spent on strenuous mental activities. Also, reduce physical exertion, at least during the treatment phase. Take the teachers and facilitators into confidence about the child’s injury, and ask them not to pressurize the affected child. Each and every bit of care goes a long way in relieving stress while ensuring speedy recovery.

For more information about Traumatic Brain Injuries including concussions

Cognitive Disorders after Traumatic Brain Injuries

The ability to think, act or know is known as cognition. This includes everything from talking, to listening, understanding to analyzing, remembering and storing information in the brain. Whether you are planning, thinking of what needs to be done or communicating the idea to someone, it all comes under the heading of cognition. Since it is directly related to the brain, cognitive disorders can take place when an individual attains a Traumatic Brain Injury, also known as TBI.
When anyone has faced some kind of trauma, there are some resulting effects on the cognition, which can include some hindrance in talking, language, attention span etc. Here are some of the problems or disorders that can occur when TBI takes place.

Concentration or Attention Span Issues

A victim of TBI may find it difficult to concentrate or pay attention to anything specific immediately after the injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, this condition may last from a few hours to weeks. This may also manifest physically, when the person is unable to sit or walk for long periods and tires out too quickly. The best way to avoid getting more confused or tiring out too soon is that the patient should only be engaged in one task at a time. In the immediate days after the injury, the patient should only try simple and easy to follow tasks so that they don’t feel overwhelmed.

Speech and Language Issues

Anyone who has had TBI can also come across speech and language issues like,

• slurring of the words
• difficulty communicating how they feel
• not being able to find the right words
• problems understanding tones or meanings of what others are saying
• having a hard time focusing on long conversations
• headaches when trying to communicate

Again, the severity of the injury would decide how long this issue lasts. The best way to handle the problem is to work with a speech therapist who would be able to advice on how to progress one day at a time.

Storing and Remembering Information

This is another difficulty that patients of traumatic brain injuries face. Not only do they find it tough to remember all the information from the past, they find it demanding to store new information in their brains. Memorization improves with time and patients should start with learning simple, routine tasks. They can also use memory aids, notebooks and daily task lists to help them remember things.