It’s not uncommon for New Jersey residents to feel fine immediately after bumping their heads in a collision or accident. But the fact of the matter is, any impact on the head could lead to devastating consequences.
Anytime your head sustains damage through direct or indirect impact, it’s considered to be a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Most times, there’s no physical sign of injury and symptoms might not show up for hours or even days after the initial impact.
How serious is a TBI?
Traumatic brain injuries can leave people with a wide range of symptoms, depending on the severity. Usually, the harder the bump to the head, the more serious the injury is.
Mild traumatic brain injuries will clear up in a few days. Moderate TBI will last anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months.
Your doctor might not be able to detect any physical signs of traumatic brain injury, but moderate TBI will usually show signs of a contusion or bruise on the skull. Severe TBI often sees patients losing consciousness for a significant period of time.
What are the symptoms of TBI?
People with mild TBI might suffer from headaches, temporary nausea, or dizziness. They might also have balance problems or increased sensitivity to light or sound.
At worse, they’ll be a little confused and show symptoms of other cognitive issues. Moderate TBI will feature all of these issues, but with the possible addition of seizures.
Severe TBI might see patients struggling for years with all of the above symptoms. In addition, it’s not uncommon for patients struggling with severe TBI to also have skull fractures or swelling of the brain, requiring medical intervention.
Treatment for traumatic brain injury
Unfortunately, with mild and some moderate cases, you can only treat the symptoms as they appear. For severe TBI, doctors might have to intervene with hospitalization or long-term intensive care treatments depending on the symptoms.
While there are different levels of severity to traumatic brain injuries, it’s important to take every impact on the head seriously. Early detection can make a huge difference in your recovery.