There are over a million people in the United States that suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, and over five million people are living with traumatic brain injury today. An injury of this type is most often the result of a head trauma. It can happen as a result of a car accident, a violent personal assault, injury during a recreational activity, or a fall.
The two kinds of damage caused to the head are a blunt trauma or a penetrating injury. The penetrating wound is caused when a foreign object, like a bullet or something very sharp, penetrates the skull and then the brain. This type of wound is very often fatal. The object must be surgically removed along with any bone fragments from shattered cranium.
A blunt head trauma is caused by a direct hit to the head or a rapid powerful movement that forces the gray matter to bounce around within the persons skull. This kind of damage can happen as the result of a car accident, a fall, or by being violently hit in the head by a blunt object.
While some injuries are instantly life threatening, others may initially result in mild symptoms. There are a number of indicators that a head trauma may have occurred. The symptom or symptoms that are present depend on the seriousness of the damage and the particular part of the gray matter that was hurt. The warning signs include unconsciousness, nausea, headache, dizziness, vomiting, balance problems, blurred vision, seizures, a loss of memory, changes in behavior, and irritability.
Whenever there is a complaint of problems with vision, nausea, vomiting, and headache, which are the most common warning signs of head trauma, the individual should immediately be taken to a medical facility for evaluation. It is also very important to seek medical treatment if there are behavior changes like forgetfulness, irritability, and extreme sleepiness.
Individuals with mild injuries can be observed by a responsible person at home. If their situation begins to deteriorate they can be quickly transported to the hospital. For individuals with more serious damages, it is necessary for them to remain in the hospital for observation. If a penetrating wound was sustained, surgery may be needed. These patients are monitored for any indications of an increase of intracranial pressure. The pressure can cause death and may also require surgery to ease the pressure.
The head trauma patient will also undergo specialized head scans like MRI and CT, as a way to establish what the level of the trauma is. In addition, those individuals with severe head trauma are more than likely to be monitored in a hospital Intensive Care Unit.
The prognosis for any brain injury will depend on a number of things. How the trauma occurred, which part of the gray matter was affected, the age of the individual, and their health condition, are some of the factors. Because any damage to the head, even a mild one, can have permanent consequences for an individual, medical care should be received.
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