Anyone who has ever had a bump on the head knows that it can be scary when what follows is a massive headache, nausea and vomiting. Those who have visited a Louisiana emergency room following an incident like this have likely heard they had a concussion or a traumatic brain injury.
The term itself can strike fear in the young and old alike. What does it mean to have brain trauma?
BrainLine explains it as any kind of head injury. There is a wide variation in severity of injuries, of course, but there is not any question what causes the most brain injuries: car accidents. BrainLine says “approximately 50 percent of all cases” of traumatic brain injury result from motor vehicle accidents.
In serious collisions with a significant amount of collateral damage, it is easy to understand how a head injury could happen. Even in more minor crashes, though, drivers and passengers can hit their heads on windshields, dashboards, steering wheels and other interior parts of vehicles. Sometimes the jolting of motion at impact is even enough to cause the brain to get bumped around inside the skull that protects it.
The Brain Injury Association of America points out some of the symptoms to be aware of following a car accident:
- Light sensitivity
- Changes in sleep – too much or too little
- Difficulty concentrating
- Headaches
- Anxiety
These are some of the symptoms of traumatic brain injury, and the BIAA encourages those who experience them to give themselves time to recover from the trauma, rest well and maintain a healthy diet.