1st Global Medical

Even when we do take care, accidents will happen, usually at the worst of times, and unfortunately they can lead to Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI as it is known for short when the head is involved in that injury. The results of a head trauma injury can be scary, and not just for the injured party who don’t always understand at first the seriousness of the situation at first. Emotional and financial pressures can result from a traumatic brain injury, so when someone takes part in any kind of activity where head injuries are possible, they should always be wearing adequate head protection.

Fortunately, more skiers are getting this message and are now choosing to wear as they race down the snow covered mountains, but there are still too many television reports telling of terrible traumatic brain injuries caused by falls while skiing. When you consider the speeds that these skiers are reaching as they travel down the mountain slopes, it should be mandatory to wear a helmet every time.

There are other sports like ice hockey where head injuries occur despite head protection, sometimes the helmets are knocked off in tackles, and the medical researchers are only now finding out how serious head injuries are, and how repeated concussions can lead to brain damage that might not become noticeable for many years.

So what are the symptoms of brain injury? There are many traumatic brain injury symptoms from those of dizziness, uncoordinated movements, headaches, to coma, and of course eventually, death. There are plenty more symptoms of brain damage, but you can see from those listed above just how devastating traumatic brain injuries can be to every one involved.

The brain injury caused depends very much on which area of the brain has sustained, and this is not always noticeable for a few days or weeks.

When it comes to considering a closed head injury, there may not be any swelling or any visible sign of brain injury, whereas in an open head injury, there has been some noticeable damage to the brain, as there is for example, some glass stuck in the skull , so there will be blood and brain fluid escaping from the skull. In some cases the closed head injury is can be more serious than the open head injury since there is no obvious damage, it is only when the person loses consciousness that others realize something is very wrong.

Brain Trauma can take months of recovery time, and, for some brain injury patients, brain injury rehabilitation is needed so they can learn to speak again, or even learn to walk. This can take many weeks to achieve, although it is not possible in all cases. The immense amount of hospital care and rehabilitation after a tbi takes up a huge amount of resources, and this can hit families really hard, at a time when they are emotional fragile because of the brain injury to their loved one.

So to conclude, If you are going to take part in sports where a helmet is optional, wear one, and do not risk a tbi for yourself, and encourage others to wear head protection too whenever possible – it’s worth it.