Recognizing Brain Injuries

March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness month. This month is meant to educate people about how to recognize brain injuries. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common, but they often go unrecognized and, therefore aren’t treated as soon as they should be. An early diagnosis and treatment is vital to ensuring recovery from a traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury can be caused by a number of things such as

If you hit your head on an object or from a fall, you may experience:

If you experience any of these symptoms after a head injury, you should seek medical attention immediately. A TBI can have several major side effects that can last longer than the injury itself. Some of these include:

Even though these are common symptoms, some people show few, if any, symptoms, making it difficult to identify a brain injury. A CAT scan, MRI, or X-ray can be used to detect a brain injury quickly. If you experience a head injury, ask a friend or family member to keep an eye out for any concerning symptoms. It is also usually a good idea to get the injury checked out by a doctor just to be safe.

The good news is that most people fully recover from a TBI without any problems. Learn how to recognize a traumatic brain injury early on so that you can identify it in yourself or another person and increase your likelihood of having a speedy recovery.