Don't take a head injury lightly! Let's talk about traumatic brain injury

We all face minor accidents in our daily lives, don't we? Sometimes we fall off our bikes, hit our heads while playing, or slip while doing household chores. Most of the time, we just forget about these as "just a little bruise." But some head injuries are not so simple to think about. Because they can affect our brain and can be serious conditions that can affect our lives. Today, we are talking about such brain injuries, or what is medically known as ` Traumatic Brain Injury ` (TBI).

Simply put, what is TBI?

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is damage to our brain due to a blow, impact, or sudden jolt to the head. Think about it, our brain is a very delicate, jelly-like organ. It is protected inside the skull. But when we get a hard blow to the head, the shock can cause the brain to move back and forth inside the skull and hit the walls. This can damage the delicate nerve cells in the brain, cause bleeding inside the brain, or cause the brain to swell. This is what we call TBI.

Most of the time, these types of injuries can be treated and healed. However, some serious injuries can have long-term effects on your daily life, body, mind, and emotions.

What are the main causes of such brain injuries?

There can be many causes of brain injury . Among them, these are some of the main and most common causes seen in our country.

• Traffic accidents: Car, motorcycle (bike), three-wheeler (three-wheeler) and bicycle accidents are the main causes of this.
• Falls: Especially the elderly and young children can fall and hit their heads when they slip and fall at home or in the bathroom.
• Sports accidents : Head injuries can occur when playing sports such as cricket, football, boxing, and rugby.
• Violence: This can be caused by things like assaults, domestic violence, shootings, bomb explosions, and shaken baby syndrome.

An accident like this can cause a person to lose consciousness, lose memory for a while, feel disoriented for weeks, or even fall into a coma.

What are the main types of brain injuries?

Brain injuries can be divided into two main categories: penetrating and non-penetrating. In addition, there are several other specific types. Let's understand these clearly.

What are the symptoms of this type of accident?

Symptoms of a head injury can appear immediately, hours or days later. Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the injury.

Symptoms of a mild TBI

• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fatigue, drowsiness
• Fainting or feeling helpless
• Blurred vision , ringing in the ears
• Brief loss of consciousness (from a few seconds to a few minutes)
• Memory problems, confusion

Symptoms of a serious accident (Moderate to Severe TBI)

• Being unconscious for minutes or hours
• An unbearable headache that worsens over time
• Repeated vomiting
• Clear fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) draining from the nose or ear
• Enlargement of one or both eyelids and black eye
• Slurring of words, stuttering when speaking
• Numbness or weakness in the limbs
• Seizures
• Unable to wake up no matter how much you talk

Symptoms that young children show when something like this happens

Babies and children don't know how to tell you what's happening to them. That's why we as parents need to be very careful. If your child has hit their head, look for these signs:

• Continuous crying
• Refusing to drink milk or eat
• Not playing as usual
• Change in sleeping patterns (sleeping too much or not being able to sleep)
• Sudden anger, agitation
• Vomiting or convulsions

When should you seek medical advice?

The simple answer is: Even with a minor head injury, it's always wise to see a doctor for a checkup. Sometimes, even if nothing is visible from the outside, there may be serious damage happening inside the brain.

Especially if there are signs of a serious accident as mentioned earlier, take the patient to a hospital's Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) without delay.

How does a doctor find this?

The doctor will first ask you or someone who came with the patient about how the accident happened. Then they will do a neurological exam. This will check your ability to walk, balance, speak, see, and remember.

In addition, tests like these are used to look at the inside of the brain:

• CT Scan: This can quickly detect things like brain bleeding, swelling, and skull fractures. It is most often used in emergencies.
• MRI Scan: This can more clearly see damage to the delicate tissues of the brain.

What are the treatments?

Treatment is determined by the severity of the accident.

Treatment for a minor accident (Mild TBI)

The main treatment for a minor injury is rest . Mental rest is as important as physical rest. This means reducing activities that strain the brain, such as watching TV, using the phone, and reading books, for a few days. The doctor will give you painkillers for a headache. Do not go to normal activities (work, school) until your doctor tells you to.

Treatment for a severe TBI

This is a medical emergency. At the hospital, doctors first try to save the patient's life.

• Maintaining stable breathing and blood pressure.
• Ensuring that the brain receives enough oxygen.
• Giving medications (e.g. diuretics) to reduce swelling and pressure in the brain.
• Giving medication to prevent seizures.
• In some cases, surgery may be necessary. For example, to remove a blood clot in the brain, repair a skull fracture, or make a small hole in the skull to relieve pressure on the brain.

Long-term effects that may occur after an accident

Long-term effects can occur after a serious brain injury. These include memory problems, difficulty concentrating, learning disabilities, difficulty controlling emotions (sudden outbursts of anger, sad thoughts), and speech problems.

Rehabilitation is very important after serious accidents. With the help of various specialists, such as physical therapists and speech therapists, lost abilities can be rebuilt.

Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI, Head Injury, Concussion, Brain Bleeding, Headache, Medical Treatment, Sri Lanka