Severe Head Injury
It is already known and people are aware on the seriousness of head injuries. How will one distinguish a severe head injury?
Severe head injuries are the most fatal of all, whether closed or penetrating:
Closed head injuries are those that have no exterior marks other than the active symptoms happening to a patient. Such head injuries result from asphyxiation, choking, being drowned and some acute attack of ailments or diseases. Penetrating injuries are those resulting from accidents of heavy physical impact where sharp objects get through the head drawing a hole to the skull caused by assaults or accidents. The latter is susceptible to infection because the air can contaminate inside the head.
When there is great force hitting the brain, it will swell and tear, which can lead to its blatant damage. After a very traumatic incident, the soft tissues in the brain hit the skull; may cause it to move unexpectedly and cause hemorrhage. It will need very extensive and thorough test to determine the severity, because most of the time it can't be determined by simple MRI scans and common x-ray. The patient is released like any normal outpatient, only to realize that the injury has not been fully detected.
After severe head injury, the impacted tissues may break inside the head causing it to bleed on places where blood is not expected to spill through. In an instant, the functioning of the brain is put into halt for obvious reason. The pressure caused by uncontrolled presence of oozing blood can hamper its motor functioning. The brain would also lost its cognitive capacities, causing bouts of dementia.
As the skull can't accommodate extra room for accidental pressure and swelling, this will cause excruciating pain and discomfort to the patient. Its involuntary change pushing towards the hard surface of the skull can cause brain damage.
Lack of oxygen can kill brain cells. Whenever there is extreme oxygen deficiency in the brain, the flow of blood is also affected. Without the vital elements, the brain cells die in an irreversible state. The cells will never regenerate again, unlike some cells of the body. This can cause serious trouble that will aggravate the patient's suffering in terms of neurological functioning.
In any kind of impact in the head, it is necessary to be checked up at once. It is very tricky to determine how well a person would be after any form of mild head injury as one thinks it was. This is always hard to know if the basis is plain judgment out of slight marks. It could have been worse inside, especially if there is brain movement. Should this case happen, the patient would show more serious manifestations such as: loss of consciousness, disoriented thinking, and pain.
Usually the severity is noted by the duration of unconsciousness and loss of memory known as amnesia. Physical penetration of objects is frightening, especially if a sharp object is oozing with fluids and blood. Once cannot simply pull the sharp object out. This is a life and death situation, which will need an emergency call.
For a severe head injury, batteries of treatment may go on for years starting on the day of confinement. All possibilities of recovery should be taken in the most realistic way the family members could consider.
Head Injury Tip #1
Any injury to the head should be taken very seriously. Otherwise, the injured person could suffer from paralysis or even death if necessary medical treatment is not administered immediately. Without conducting some tests, like x-ray and/or CT scan, the injured or the doctor will not know the extent of the injury.
Head Injury Tip #2
Observe the injured person constantly for additional symptoms that may develop. Document these changes meticulously to help the patient's physician in diagnosing the extent of the brain injury, since onset of symptoms may occur days, weeks or months after the initial injury.
Head Injury Tip #3
Get as much details as soon as possible about the incident that caused the traumatic brain injury. Whatever the cause of the injury - car accident, work-related, working around the house, etc., it will be important to have all the details documented in case the cause of the injury ends up in court.