Head injury is the general term that is used to describe the various injuries that can happen to the scalp, skull, brain as well as the tissues and blood vessels around the head region. It can show up as a bump or goose egg and in other cases may not show a visible sign of a head injury.
A head injury can be closed or open
Brain Injury
- A person may experience a closed head injury when there is a bang on the head. this bang happens when a person hits the head against a hard object but there is no negative impact of the bang to the skull
- On the other hand, a person may experience an open or penetrating injury, which is the direct negative impact received by the skull and brain when it is hit by an object that breaks it.
Head injury Trauma
Head injury can be measured by how mild or severe the injury is. During the course of a head injury, the mechanism called coup-contrecoup may occur, which happens when the brain hit the sides of the skull. This brings about the tearing of the internal lining, tissues and blood vessels in the brain, causing it to bleed, bruise and swell.
Common Causes of Head Injuries
Head injury can be caused by a fall which can either be indoors or outdoors. Other times, it could be caused by certain recreational activities. Some causes of a traumatic brain injury can happen during:
- Home accidents
- Falls (from physical activities like sports)
- Road accidents
- Physical assault
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
The traumatic brain or head injury which is also called concussion, results in changes in the brain function of an individual. The traumatic brain injury may occur when the head hits a hard object or an object strikes the head. A concussion usually happens with an injury in the neck and spine.
Traumatic Head Injury Symptoms
Some symptoms of mild head injury that may occur includes:
- Headaches
- Loss of consciousness
- Memory loss
- Irrational thinking
- Nausea and vomiting
- Deviation in sleep patterns
Other symptoms that can be considered as an emergency situation are;
- Changes in alertness
- Seizure
- Unusual movement of the eye and difference in the size of the eye pupils
- Unsteadiness or balance problem when walking or standing
- Unconsciousness that lasts longer than usual
- Confusion that lasts for a long period
- Body weakness
Traumatic Head Injury Treatment
The treatment of a head injury may vary, depending on the individual involved. Most doctors will give you a treatment options in regards to certain factors like:
- The Type of injury
- Diagnosed possible cause
- The Severity of injury
- Victim’s Age
- Medical history
- Effectiveness of selected medication
- Responsiveness to therapies
- Your choice of treatment
Types of Brain Injuries
The symptoms of a head injury can occur quickly or may become visible over some hours or days. Brain injury can vary depending on the symptoms experienced by the individual or visible on the region affected.
The types of brain injury includes:
Contusion
A contusion is a bruise on the head that moves the brain about, which can cause bruises on the brain tissues which may further result to bleeding and swelling.
Intracranial Hematoma (ICH)
Intracranial Hematoma, can cause heavy bleeding and clotting under the skull in the brain. The different groups of brain hematoma, depends on the mildness, severity and the part of the head that was affected.
Skull Fracture
This can happen in an instance where the broken pieces of the bone cuts into the brain, and cause bleeding or other types of head injuries.
Causes of brain Injury
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, the leading cause of concussion in children and adolescents between the ages of 5-18 years includes:
- Cycling
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Football
- Playground activities
Although, rigorous recreational or sport activities are not the only causes of a head injury. Again, contusion or brain hemorrhage can have some other causes like:
- Long term health conditions such as high blood pressure
- Bleeding disorder
- Use of blood thinners or some kind of recreational drugs
Head Injury Diagnosis
A person who experiences a brain Injury, should be closely monitored for severity. However, the injury may be a mild one which will really have no cause for alarm. If you experience severe symptoms, you may be required to have an overnight stay at the hospital for close monitoring. In some cases, diagnostic tests maybe suggested to determine the degree of damage, which includes:
- Blood tests
- X-rays
- Computed tomography scan (CT or CAT scan)
- Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Head Injury Treatment
A person who expresses signs of a head injury, will need to stop any activity and be given an immediate medical adequate care. If you notice a team member, friend, relative or anyone expressing signs and symptoms, do well to report the situation promptly to whoever that is in charge. Head injury that was not properly diagnosed can cause a long-term disability, impairment and even death? Brain Injuries are the main cause of sports related death.
Other cases may necessitate surgery to release the burden caused by swelling or blood clot. Also, in some severe cases, your healthcare provider may suggest:
- Job-related therapy
- Speech therapy
- Medication
- Mental and social support
Home Remedy for Head Injury
- Cold compress
- Adequate rest
- Observation
- Where necessary, immediate medical attention
Long Term Head Injury Effect
If you have an injury in the head, some long term effect that you may experience, can either be emotional, cognitive and or physical.
The Emotional Effect
Some of the symptoms that may arise from a long term brain injury can be neurological. You may experience emotional effects such as;
- Severe anxiety
- Depression
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Impulsiveness
- Irritability
- Mood swing
- Uncontrollable thoughts
- Social anxiety
- Teariness
- PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
The Cognitive Effect
This classification of a long term effect, can affect your social involvement, thus making you no longer mentally alert. In this case, you may not be able to relate with common circumstances that you can easily relate with before the injury.
- Brain fog
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty finding things
- Difficulty concentrating
- Slowness to think, speak, decide or act
- Short term memory lost
- Long term memory lost
The Physical Effect
Some of the physical symptoms that you may experience as a long term head injury effect may include:
- Headaches
- Exercise intolerance
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Heart rate issues
- Blood pressure changes
- Dizziness
- Sleep disruption
- Vision problem
- Tension in the neck, jaw or shoulder
- Nausea
- Shaking or shivering
- Light sensitivity
Conclusion
You should seek medical advise as soon as you observe any serious symptom. Without proper diagnosis and necessary medication, symptoms may worsen and you may become susceptible to like threatening situation.
