U.S. Department of Defense observes National Brain Injury Awareness Month
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) released an article March 1 to help bring awareness to the effects and symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI). March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month and according to the DOD, it’s a time to recognize the more than 5 million Americans who are living with mental and physical […]
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) released an article March 1 to help bring awareness to the effects and symptoms of traumatic brain injury(TBI).
March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month and according to the DOD, it’s a time to recognize the more than 5 million Americans who are living with mental and physical disabilities as a direct result of a traumatic brain injury.
“TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a penetrating head injury that disrupts the brain’s normal function, though not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI,” the article on the DOD website reads.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBI contributes to about 30 percent of all U.S. injury deaths each year.
Dr. Kirsten Pollick who is Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s neuropsychologist, TBI program director and mental health department head, is quoted in the article saying that it’s important to spread the word about traumatic brain injury because people need to know the signs to look for so they can seek proper care promptly if they sustain a TBI.
“ The severity of a TBI can range from mild, with a brief change in mental status or consciousness; to severe, with an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia,” Pollick said in the article.
Each year at least 2.5 million children and adults suffer traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. Of those, about 2.2 million are treated in emergency departments, and about 280,000 are hospitalized.
Physical signs and symptoms of TBI can include loss of consciousness, a state of being dazed, headaches, fuzzy or blurry vision, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, sensitivity to light, balance problems, or feeling tired or having no energy.
While some of the symptoms can appear immediately following an injury, sometimes it might take days or even months following a traumatic brain injury for symptoms to appear.
“Children with a brain injury can have the same symptoms as adults, but it’s often harder for them to let others know how they feel,” the article reads.
Some leading causes of TBI include vehicle crashes, contact sports injuries, falls, or being hit by an object.
Service members are also at an increased risk of traumatic brain injury while deployed to areas with a high risk of blast exposures.
Although, about 80 percent of new TBI cases among military personnel occur in non-deployed settings, such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, sports and recreation activities, and assaults, the article reads.
