Forgotten Head Injuries Can Have a Lasting Effect

How many of us took a tumble off the bed as a kid and ended up with a nasty bump on the head? Chances are, your parents didn’t rush you to the hospital unless it knocked you unconscious. But knocks to the head such as that can have lasting effects on us.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 5 million Americans have a mental or physical disability due to a long-forgotten head injury. Such injuries can lead to learning disabilities, behavioral problems or alcoholism. According to a study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, about 7 to 8 percent of the U.S. population has some form of traumatic brain injury either mild, moderate or severe. This study found that 20 percent of children with learning disabilities had suffered a traumatic brain injury and out of 100 homeless people, 82 percent of them had a significant blow to the head at some point in their lives.It irritates me to hear sportscasters say an athlete left the game with a mild concussion – there is no such thing as a MILD concussion. When we have a head injury, the brain collides with the skull causing brain tissue bruising and blood vessel tears. Rapid movement of the brain, such as what happens when your car is hit from behind at a stop light, can also stretch or injure neuronal axons, nerve cells that link parts of the brain together and link parts of the brain to other parts of the body.Brain injuries, whether they happened 20 years ago or yesterday, can affect concentration, the ability to learn, the attention span, speech and language skills, personalities and senses. A study from the Brain Injury Association of America found that 40 percent of people hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury had at least one problem that affected them a year later. These problems were memory and problem solving, managing stress and controlling their temper.We can’t always prevent head injuries, but we can take steps to reduce the risk. These steps include always wearing a seat belt while in the car, wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle or bike, wearing the proper equipment when participating in sports, and keeping tripping hazards out of the way around your home.