A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is usually defined as an injury suffered by the skull or head, or a head injury that is so profound that it disrupts the brain function. Right now, today, more than five million in the US live with a some form of TBI. They – traumatic brain injuries – can vary in degrees from mild or passive, which would entail only a momentary lapse in mental state or consciousness, to severe, which may result in an elongated state of mental disability, amnesia or worse. Sadly, as many as 50,000 Americans perish every single year due to a TBI.
MOST COMMON CAUSES OF TBI:
– A person falls
– A person is involved in a moving vehicle accident
– A person is hit or struck by a hard object, like during a crime or a fight
– A person is assaulted and knocked into something hard, like a curb or a wall
– An explosive blast of some kind, like some of our active military experience
TYPES OF TBI
Any injury at all – from a simple fall in a restaurant to a train accident – to the skull may result in traumatic brain injury. Following are the two general types of TBI:
– Penetrating TBI: A penetrating TBI injury is when some thing (object) has penetrated the skull – a metal pole, a bullet or a knife, etc. This is when an object literally goes into the brain cavity and inflicts damage on various parts of a persons brain. The damage occurred depends almost solely on the object, where it penetrates and what specific parts of the brain it contacts.
– Closed Head TBI: Unlike penetrating TBI injuries, these are what happens when the individual receives a sudden injury to the skull – hitting their head during a moving vehicle accident, being struck with something, etc. – that does not penetrate the skull, but does cause brain damage. These types of TBI’s can result in damage to tissue and blood vessels, but no visible injury to the skull itself. However, due to the trauma and force involved, there can be significant brain damage.
While the causes of and types of TBI’s are important, what is even more important is that traumatic brain injuries can and do have a profound affect on the victims life. Nd the lives of their loved ones.
Lives change immediately after brain injuries.
