In recent years, increased attention has been given to head injuries, especially in sports, but also in car accidents and other blunt force trauma cases. The reason for this increase is simple: head injuries must be treated with care, particularly if there is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) involved. The experts at Derek Wilson Personal Injury Law provide the most common signs of a TBI so you know when to get immediate medical help.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
The symptoms of a TBI vary based on the severity of the injury. TBIs range from a mild concussion to a severe TBI. There are also closed TBIs, that result from a blow to the head but does not fracture or penetrate the skull, and open TBIs that result from bullets, knives, or other instruments that go through the skull and injure the brain. There are also uncomplicated TBIs that show a normal head CT or brain MRI scan and complicated TBIs that show damage or blood on a scan.
Another type of brain injury is called a nontraumatic brain injury, which is one that occurs not because of a blow to the head, but because of a stroke, seizure, choking, or negligent drowning. These are also known as hypoxic or anoxic TBIs because they occur due to a lack of oxygen in the brain. These are less common than TBIs, but are no less devastating.
Signs of a Mild TBI
You should always be on the lookout for any symptoms of a concussion or mild TBI anytime there is a blow to the head, no matter how innocuous it seems. Within minutes, hours, or days of the blow, the victim may have the following symptoms:
- Behavior or mood changes
- Headaches
- Confusion
- Memory problems
- Nausea or vomiting
- Seizures
- Blurred vision
- Dilated pupils
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Restlessness or agitation
- Sensitivity to light or smell
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Slurred speech
- Young children or infants may also be inconsolable or refuse to eat, drink, or nurse
Signs of a Moderate or Severe TBI
The most obvious sign of a moderate or severe TBI is loss of consciousness. Anytime someone suffers a blow to the head and immediately loses consciousness, they should be taken to the hospital as soon as possible for evaluation and observation. Even if they regain consciousness right away, their brain will not have recovered yet and the blow could still be fatal.
If a person does not lose consciousness after a blow to the head, they still might have a moderate or severe TBI if they have any of the following signs:
- Worsening headache or one that will not go away
- Loss of vision in one or both eyes
- Repeated vomiting
- An inability to wake up from sleep
- Enlargement of the pupil in one or both eyes
- Numbness in the extremities
- Uncoordinated movements (uncharacteristic clumsiness)
- Increased confusion
- Increased agitation
- Increased restlessness
Conclusion
Head injuries are nothing to mess around with, even if you think one is minor. The brain reacts in different ways to blows to the head, so make sure anyone who has any of these signs of a TBI get medical assistance right away.
