According to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three of the leading causes of TBI fatalities in the country occur from these types of accidents: falls, unintentional blunt trauma and motor vehicle collisions.
Like spinal cord injuries, TBIs can disrupt how the brain works and are often recognized as one of the most catastrophic injuries that any person can have — with severe cases causing permanent disabilities, comas and deaths.
To help provide a better insight into this topic, here are three types of TBIs and their symptoms:
Intracerebral hemorrhage
When a person’s brain bleeds due to a head injury, the blood in their head will burst into the brain’s surrounding tissue and build up. This buildup of blood puts pressure on their brain and hinders its oxygen supply. When this happens, brain and nerve damage occur.
Depending on the location of the intracerebral hemorrhage and how long the brain was without oxygen, symptoms may include headache, vision loss, swelling on the brain and/or paralysis on one side of the body.
Skull fractures
This type of TBI occurs when a person’s skull cracks or breaks because of blunt force trauma. When accidents like this happen, the injury can cause damage to varying areas of the person’s skull, including the blood vessels, membranes and brain.
Although most cases of skull fractures are open head fractures, there are also other cases where the injury is not obvious. Some of its minor symptoms may include stiff neck, nausea, irritability, loss of balance, vomiting and/or blurred vision.
Brain contusions
A person can suffer from contusion when there is a direct impact on the head that has caused a localized swelling in their brain. This type of TBI can occur under the impact site or on the complete opposite side of the brain.
Contusions can disrupt the brain’s normal functions and lead to secondary injuries that may complicate the person’s recovery. These can include seizures, cerebral edema, infections and/or cognitive impairments.
Since the extent and nature of TBIs effect for the head, skull and brain depends on many factors, recognizing the symptoms early can help people seek prompt diagnosis and proper medical treatment for their brain injury.