Traumatic Brain Injury FAQs
All the organ systems of the human body are controlled by the brain. Specific lobes or hemisphere of the brain is responsible for controlling basic and vital physiologic functions such as breathing, blood circulation, digestion, immune system, and the heartbeat as well as psychological and emotional functions like thinking and emotional responses to different stimuli. When the central nervous system has sustained some injuries or damages, the brain isn’t able to function normally because of the traumatic brain injury; these injuries may also be life-threatening and these damages may be temporary or maybe even permanent.
To have a clearer view as to what brain injury really is, here are some traumatic brain injury FAQs:
Major differences between traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury?
Traumatic brain injury happens when the brain or any part of the brain is damaged or injured because of external mechanical force from violent blows to the head inflicted by another person such as gunshot wounds, vehicular accidents, assaults, and falls.
Acquired brain injury wherein the damage occurs when a person develops conditions such as cerebrovascular accidents, hypoxia, or anoxia, which often results in irreversible and fatal damages to the brain cells and tissues.
Frequent causes of brain injury
Closed Head Injury: This is the type of brain injury wherein the brain sustains bleeding, tissue damage, bruising or elevated intracranial pressure because of the impact of the brain tissues on the inside of the skull.
Penetrating Brain Injury: The most common of this type are gunshot wounds, open skull fractures or other objects penetrating the skull causing damages to the brain tissues.
Anoxic Brain Injury: Some permanent damages to the brain are caused by a deficiency or lack of oxygen supply to the tissues. When the brain is not supplied with oxygenated blood for a few seconds brought about by apnea or asphyxia, the brain cells become necrotic and loses its functions.
Toxic Brain Injury: Some toxic chemicals, when inhaled by an individual, may cause damage to the brain cells.
The serious effects of traumatic brain injury
Severe injuries may affect an individual physically, emotionally and psychologically. Some of the serious effects of may include:
- Behavioral Changes: the patient may become apathetic, they may have a depressive behavior, mood swings, and personality traits may also be affected. Victims of brain injuries have the tendency to be narcissistic so they tend to be easily frustrated and irritable; they may also have inappropriate aggressive behaviors.
- Physical Effects: The victims may experience difficulty in walking and standing because they lose their sense of balance; some may also experience uncoordinated eye and hand movements. In really severe cases the person may have permanent paralysis. In some cases, people will have sleep pattern disturbances, sexual function may also be affected, and may also have generalized body malaise.
- Cognitive changes: Here, memory and language are the most affected including other mental processes. The patient may lose focus because of shortened attention span; he may also have poor judgment and loss of reading and writing skills which may be partial or complete. The thought process is also affected, resulting in an inability to solve simple common problems.
Whose at risk
Males are more at risk than females
Based on the different age groups, the more at risk for TBI are the following
- Ages 0 – 4
- Ages ranging from 15 – 19
- The elderly with age 65 and above
People who are under the military service
Those who drive vehicles every day
People who work in factories because they are more exposed to chemicals
What does a person need to do after recovering from a brain injury?
The life of a victim may be affected in different degrees one way or another because of the effects. The person needs to undergo physical and neurological rehabilitative therapy as well as counseling to relieve psychological and emotional stress brought about by the trauma.
After a TBI, will a person be able to return to his previous job or will he be able to find new employment opportunities?
Most people who have experienced TBI’s are still able to return to their previous employments although they may need some assistance when it comes to the use of some equipment like visual aids and voice recorders, but returning to their previous roles and jobs depends greatly on the level of recovery. In some severe cases where their previous work entails a lot of technical skill where the individual has already been having difficulties performing his job, he may need to seek for new employment where he can perform much better. The law of every state dictates that brain injury victims should be given equal priorities when it comes to job opportunities, training for their new jobs and with the same benefits that others are entitled.
These are only some of the FAQs which could help people to have a better understanding as to the important facts. People call brain injuries “silent epidemics” as people dont recognize them as quickly although there are a significant number of cases each year. If you can prevent a brain injury from happening in any way possible, do so.
If you’ve or someone you know has incurred a traumatic brain injury, get the help right away. You might be eligible to recieve money for your injury. If you’ve been a victim of a traumatic brain injury dont hesitate to call our office