Any hit or jolt to the head could cause a traumatic brain injury. Your brain moves back and forth when you experience an impact, which could cause bruises and other damage. An object piercing your brain, such as a bullet or piece of shrapnel, could also cause a TBI. If your head injury resulted from assault or medical malpractice, you may be able to seek compensation for your medical costs and pain and suffering in Illinois.
Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury
Common symptoms include headaches, confusion, nausea, drowsiness and difficulty sleeping. You may also have vision impairments, sensitivity to light and sound, ringing in your ears, slurred speech, anger, depression, mood changes, memory problems and difficulty focusing.
Some people lose consciousness after the impact. Loss of consciousness may last a few seconds or hours. How long you lose consciousness influences the severity of your traumatic brain injury, although you should take a mild TBI seriously too. If you aren’t gentle with yourself during recovery, you could cause further injury. Seizures are another possible symptom of a TBI that usually means you have a severe case.
Diagnosing a head injury
Doctors could use a variety of tests to check if you have a traumatic brain injury. Glasgow Coma Scale, CT scans, MRI scans and blood tests are common methods of diagnosing a TBI. Certain proteins may elevate after the injury, which is why a doctor would conduct a blood test.
Injuries to the brain
In addition to bruising, an impact to the head could cause the brain to swell. It could also tear axons in the brain. Any type of physical damage to the brain is a traumatic brain injury.
Recovering from a head injury
You may want to take it easy after a head injury regardless of how minor it initially seems. Symptoms could appear days or weeks later. You might want to avoid engaging in activities, such as sports, that put you at risk of another head impact. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet full of omega-3 fatty acids also helps you recover faster from a TBI.
A traumatic brain injury is an injury to the brain that doesn’t necessarily involve rupture of the skull. Knowing the warning signs that you have a TBI will help you catch the injury faster.