A traumatic brain injury can have serious consequences for a person’s health and wellbeing if left untreated. Injuries can eventually form harmful symptoms that affect daily living. Knowing how to identify a traumatic brain injury is the most important step to begin recovery. Here’s how to tell if you may have an injury and what to do afterward.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The word “traumatic” refers to a physical blow to the head that causes the brain injury. This can occur from falling and hitting one’s head, a violent encounter or an accident. Anything that penetrates the skull and injuries the brain is also a traumatic injury. Traumatic injuries can span a range between mild and severe, with worsening symptoms for greater injuries. On the contrary, a non-traumatic injury happens because of something internal, like a stroke or hypoxia.
What Are the Causes?
The most common cause of brain injuries among older adults is falls. Among younger adults, automobile accidents top the list. Getting injured during a sport, struck by an object, shot at with a bullet or shrapnel, or hit by a blunt weapon like a hammer or knife have all been reported causes of brain injuries. Brain injuries in young children are usually the result of child abuse.
What Are the Symptoms?
Traumatic injuries may be mild, moderate, or severe. Mild injury symptoms include:
- Short loss of consciousness
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Difficulty speaking
- Trouble sleeping
- Vision problems
- Light sensitivity
- Memory problems
- Personality or behavioral changes
People with more severe brain injuries may suffer from elevated symptoms of mild injuries. For example, they may lose consciousness for a long period of time or suffer from constant headaches. Cognitive symptoms may be much worse, and the injured person may have a greater difficulty speaking or be incredibly confused.
What Should You Do If You Suspect an Injury?
If you have had any sort of accident, always seek medical attention as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the harder it may be to link your injury to an accident in order to receive compensation from insurance. If you start to see some of these symptoms in yourself or others, call emergency services for help. Brain injuries can be debilitating for life, so you want to get them healed quickly. If your insurance refuses to pay for medical coverage, contact a lawyer, like a brain injury lawyer from Yearin Law Office, who knows how to get your injury covered.