Reference: https://www.dougbeam.com/blog/braininjury
Brain injuries can be tough to navigate. The human brain is difficult to understand, and there is no one symptom that indicates a brain injury. Because of the complex nature of the subject, there are several things we need to clarify about brain injuries and how to know if you’re suffering from one.
Below are examples of myths associated with brain injuries. Debunking these myths is an important step in making sure you or those you love get the attention and care they need.
Myth 1: A person couldn’t have a brain injury if his or her records didn’t indicate a loss of consciousness.
The medical field relies on the injured person to know whether or not they lost consciousness. A person who only lost a short amount of consciousness may not remember doing so. How would they, if they were unconscious when it happened? Unless some onlooker saw and can verify that the injured person lost consciousness, there is little value in this form of reporting an incident.
Myth 2: If an injured person’s head did not hit anything, he or she could not have a brain injury.
This myth was debunked by advancement in the medical field. A few decades ago, many people believed that you could only get a brain injury if your head struck a hard surface. However, we know now that it is as simple as a person experiencing a sudden change in direction or speed to have a brain injury. This is because the brain floats in a viscous substance that does not stop it from impacting the skull.
Myth 3: An injured person does not experience headaches anymore, so even if he or she had a brain injury, it must have healed.
It is true that most people with brain injuries suffer from headaches, but not all do. Even if a person suffered from headaches following an injury and the headaches stopped, he or she could still suffer from a brain injury. Although headaches can be indicative of a head injury, they are only one symptom of a brain injury.
Myth 4: A brain injury did not occur in a person whose CT scan came back negative.
A CT scan is designed to detect the presence of brain bleeds. Because a large portion of those with brain injuries do not experience bleeding on the brain, a CT scan could easily appear normal. The best ways to currently find abnormalities in the brain due to an injury are: a functional MRI (fMRI) or Diffuse Tensor Imaging (DTI.) However, many health insurance companies will not pay for this testing, so only few of these machines exist.
You can help an injured person identify a brain injury by asking their symptoms. The following signs and symptoms can be indicative of a brain injury:
· Complaints of headaches or dizziness
· Vision changes
· Sensitivity to light or sound
· Balance issues such as stumbling or tripping
· Speech and language difficulties
· Communication difficulties such as repetitive, slurred, too fast or too slow speech
· Attention deficits
· Fatigue and tiredness
· Increased impulsiveness
· Irritability including wide emotional swings
· Learning and memory problems, some of which can be short-term or just the ability to learn new information
· Low frustration threshold
· Temper outburst
· Changes in mood
· Inflexibility
· Lack of initiative
· Disassociation between thought and action such as the lack of knowing between what is safe and what is dangerous
· Socially inappropriate behaviors
· Self-centeredness and lack of insight
· Poor self-awareness
· Personality changes
· Delayed reaction time
· Difficulty sleeping or hyperactivity
· Excessive daytime drowsiness
It is important to ask a recently injured person as well as their friends and family if he or she experiences any of these symptoms. The greatest chance of recovery is relative to the amount of therapy a person receives within the first five months post-injury. The sooner an injured person begins therapy, the more unlikely they are to develop complications with a brain injury.
This post was developed from an article in the December 2016 issue of Living Safer magazine by Florence J. Murray.
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