Deadly & Dangerous Traumatic Brain Injury – What the heck is it?

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden trauma or an external force injures the brain.  It can happen when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when a sharp object pierces the skull and damages brain tissue. TBI is a major cause of death or disability worldwide, and can be a result of falls, vehicle accidents, sports injuries or violence.

Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe depending on the level of damage to the brain. A person with mild TBI may remain conscious or lose consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. They may experience headaches, confusion, blurred vision, dizziness, tired eyes or light-headedness. Symptoms may also range from a bad taste in the mouth to ringing in the ears and fatigue.

Someone with moderate to severe TBI may also experience these problems, but the headaches will be worse and many not go away, vomiting, convulsions or seizures, an inability to wake up from sleep, slurred speech, dilated pupils, weakness or numbness of the limbs and restlessness or agitation.

The direction, intensity and duration of the force all contribute to the severity of TBI. Injury may occur directly at the point of impact or directly opposite. A large number of people hospitalised for TBI do not die right away, but after days or weeks of the event.

Diagnosis is done by health professionals and involves checking for pupil dilation by shining a light into the eyes, and skull and neck x-rays using CT or MRI scans to check for fractures or spinal damage.

It is important to begin treatment in the first hour of injury. People with moderate to severe injuries are treated in intensive care wards followed by a neurosurgical unit. There is little treatment that can be given, but in the immediate aftermath of the injury, a medical professional’s aim is to stabilize the patient to prevent further damage or seizures. Little can be done to reverse the damage caused by TBI. Brain surgery may be required in some cases of severe TBI.

Once medically stable, patients are transferred to a rehabilitation unit where they can take part in suitable activities to help them recover fully. These include physiotherapy, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy. Mild to moderate TBI may not result in long-term problems but patients with severe trauma may become permanently disabled.

Safety measures to help protect against TBI include wearing helmets during sports or on the road when appropriate, and airbags and head restraints in vehicles.