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Always Take Any Head Injuries Seriously

Posted by: at 11:36 PM on July 21st, 2016

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells us brain injury is the leading cause of death among children and people 18-35. It is estimated 6,000 Wisconsinites suffer a brain injury each year, and 50,000 Wisconsin residents live with the effects of a brain injury. Most all of these are the result from household falls, auto accidents and other mishaps. The common denominator is generally bad luck.  You don't have to be traveling at a high rate of speed or to strike a hard object in order to suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Any kind of trauma to the head or neck region can cause the brain to bruise, bleed, tear, or swell.


There are two general types of head injuries: open and closed. An open injury means the skull has been fractured, and this kind of brain injury usually results from falls or other accidents in which the head comes in direct contact with a hard surface or object. A closed head injury doesn't involve a fracture, but can be more serious than an open injury due to the possibility of brain swelling and the formation of dangerous blood clots inside the skull. Whether a brain injury is open or closed, the most serious of either type can cause paralysis, loss of consciousness, and even death.


Brain injuries turn people’s lives upside-down. Symptoms like headaches, memory loss and sleep disorders lead to job loss, family meltdowns and worse, all from a bump on the head.


Too many people don’t see a doctor after a head injury, usually to their own detriment. They say “I got my bell rung, I’ll get some rest and be fine in the morning.