The brain is a very soft and a delicate organ. However, the protection offered by the head to the brain is limited and a hard and sudden blow to the head can result in injury to the brain of the spinal cord, not apparent through any visible signs on the head or the face. This is the reason why all head injuries are considered to be serious unless certified otherwise.
Head injuries are of two kinds ? Open and Closed. Open head injuries, are apparent head injuries with bleeding or marks on the face or the skull. Closed head injuries are injuries that have no signs of injury externally. Open head injuries being apparent can be taken care of with medical help. Closed head injuries are more serious in nature since it is difficult to gauge the cause, scale or area of injury on the face of it.
The brain is a soft and jelly-like organ protected by the skull. This jelly like organ floats inside the skull in a nourishing liquid also called the cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid not only nourished the brain but also acts as a shock absorber. However, the protection extended by this liquid is limited to small knock san jars. A hard impact can injure the brain by smashing it against the insides of the skull, bruising it or tearing important blood vessels. If the blood vessels are torn or ruptures the brain would then begin to leak blood and serum, leading to an increase in pressure inside the skull. Since the skull has only so much volume, this increase in intracranial pressure can result in permanent damage to the brain by crushing.
How to judge and handle a head injury
Professional medical care is always recommended for a head injury, but there could be some first aid that can be administered.
Blood can never be the reliable indicator of a head injury. Wounds can be superficial, but the seriousness of a head injury can be judged by -
- Consciousness: A person afflicted by a head injury may become unconscious or may remain in a conscious state but become drowsy or confused. Check the injured for breathing and turn to one side without disturbing the neck and the head are too much. If the injured is not breathing, check for the pulse. If the pulse is positive try giving mouth to mouth resuscitation at one every four seconds by pinching the injured's nose. In case of no pulse try cardiac compression and alternate with mouth to mouth resuscitation.
- Skull deformities: A deformed skull either compressed or swollen are signs of a fracture.
- Clear fluid leak: Leaking of clear fluid from the ears or nose is a symptom that the skull has been fractured most probably at the base. Gently cover or pad the ear and turn the injured to the affected side. In case of bleeding try and control it by applying pressure to the wound.
- Black eyes or skin bruises: These symptoms indicate blood vessel rupture around the eyes and ears.
- Vision changes: Dilation of pupils of the eyes indicates a serious head injury and can result in blurred or double vision.
- Nausea: The most common side effect of head injury is nausea and vomiting. Make sure the airway to the injured is clear and he is breathing.
When 20th century medicine matured sufficiently to allow people to survive serious brain injuries, it was thought that a sort of ?spontaneous recovery? would happen naturally over a period of one to two years. If the family and the physicians could not rehabilitate the patient in that time frame, they often concluded there would be no further recovery.
It became evident over time, however, that the physical effects of the trauma ? tissue and bone damage ? were more readily addressed than the problems of impacted behavior and impaired cognition. Negative effects on memory, impulse control, value judgment and the appropriateness of social behavior frequently surfaced. The problem, then, was obviously multidimensional and required the application of multiple treatment modalities.
Many individuals who have sustained serious head injuries still retain the ability to change their behavior, learn (and re-learn) both factual knowledge and personality traits and once again lead productive, meaningful lives.
Family members of brain-injured patients need to educate themselves about head injuries, recovery methods and the ways in which treatment can be optimized. The following key points will help in this important task.
Different, not worse ? Injuries that affect the brain will make the patient different, not necessarily ?worse.? The first responsibility of rehabilitation planning is to assess the patient's strengths and weaknesses. The CT scans, X-rays, neurological tests and other medical evaluations are, of course, a necessary step, but it is crucial to ascertain how the patient's family deals with the behavioral problems.
Maintaining hope ? Despite pessimistic prognoses that predict no recovery, the family should maintain hope, especially the sort that is based on new medical findings and leading edge research. Family, friends, nursing staff and physicians should all pay close attention to the patient's personal interactions, as more data assessed in the treatment plan can mean better medical decisions.
Treating the whole person ? Head injury patients often have trouble generalizing the lessons from one environment to another, so any speech or mobility therapy should take place in the variety of settings the patient would encounter in a ?normal? life. Two days per week of speech therapy, done in an office setting, would have less remedial value that just a few hours done daily in various settings.
Control comes first ? Brain-damaged people can exhibit a range of negative traits, from frustration and anger to depression and confusion. Although understandable, emotional reactions cannot be tolerated when they begin to lead to embarrassment and inhibit social ?reconnection.? Before cognitive or even physical rehabilitation can succeed, the patient must re-learn self-control.
Harm reduction ? Those who have suffered head injuries should avoid environments with high concentrations of paint and chemical fumes, as well as steer clear of alcohol, non-prescription drugs and other mind- and mood-altering substances. In addition, megavitamin therapy should not be attempted with brain injury patients, as a damaged brain may metabolize these compounds differently. Balanced diets are more than adequate for the delivery of the patient's nutritional needs. Finally, all medications should be taken only as directed.
Clearly, recovering from a head injury is time consuming, expensive, physically tiring (on patients and family alike) and emotionally demanding. Some patients will improve just enough to decide that the work required for restoration of their pre-injury condition is no longer worth it.
However, temporarily halting the rehabilitation plan does not necessarily translate to ?giving up,? nor does it have to lead to skills degradation. Remember, patient attitude is a key to an effective recovery, so be supportive, positive and compassionate at all times, in both medical and family settings.
Both Julian Hall & Bob Schuster are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.