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What You Need to Know About Traumatic Brain Injuries
According to the New Jersey Department of Health, 12,000-15,000 state residents suffer from a brain injury every year. About a thousand of these injuries are fatal. Traumatic brain injuries vary in levels of severity, but even a so-called mild TBI is potentially debilitating.
Causes
Car accidents, physical abuse and violence, sports injuries and any impact to the head can cause traumatic brain injuries. Whenever you sustain a hit to the head, you should get a check-up to make sure a TBI doesn’t go undiagnosed. It’s possible to have no initial symptoms, so don’t rely on symptoms to let you know when to see a doctor. TBI symptoms that you might experience include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headaches
- Neck pain
- Increased sensitivity to sound or light
- Confusion
- Memory problems
- Fatigue
- Unexplained moodiness
Some people only have psychological symptoms. It’s important not to shrug off these issues either.
Keep Up With Your Treatment Plan
It’s crucial that you listen to your doctor and rest properly until they let you know it’s safe to increase your activity level again. You need to reduce how much time you spend socializing, watching TV and doing other stimulating activities when you have a traumatic brain injury.
During the first week after a traumatic brain injury, you could experience a seizure. Your doctor may prescribe anti-seizure medication for you to help prevent a seizure. Nerve damage, infections, cognitive problems and personality changes are other possible complications from a TBI.
Severe TBIs
If you have a severe TBI, you may have to go through rehab. You might even have to learn how to walk and talk again. Sometimes, a person with a traumatic brain injury needs surgery for repairing a skull fracture or removing a hematoma. When other treatments aren’t working well, your doctor may recommend undergoing a procedure in which they create a small opening in your skull to release pressure.
After a car accident or a blow to the head, you need to see a doctor to make sure you don’t have a TBI or another serious head injury. A personal injury attorney may be able to help you seek compensation from the party responsible for your accident.