Learn More About The Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can often be tricky to recognize. Most often, people associate a brain injury with losing consciousness or memory loss. Although they are two of the symptoms related to TBI, they are not the only indications that something has gone awry after an accident or injury involving trauma.

Occupationally speaking, professional athletes risk brain injury on a regular basis playing full-body contact sports such as football or boxing. Being in the military and sustaining combat injuries is another common source. Of course, everyday injuries occur, such as falling down and hitting your head or motor vehicle accidents.

Continue reading below for a closer look at a few traumatic brain injury symptoms to watch for in someone who has sustained an injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury Catagories

Non-neurological Symptoms – Complications involving non-neurological TBI may include symptoms such as loss of appetite, food sensitivity, indigestion, and many more symptoms that may go unattributed to a traumatic brain injury. A brain injury can result in concussion and be the fundamental cause of nausea and vomiting.

Neurological symptoms – Neurological dysfunction is any nervous system problem, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Autonomic function affected by traumatic brain injury symptoms involves a variety of issues, such as migraine headaches and orthostatic blood pressure problems. Seizure activity is another common side effect of brain injury, along with weakness and neuropathy consisting of tingling, burning, and pain. These symptoms can be a persistent long-term problem for many patients.

Cognitive Symptoms – Cognitive issues are frequently missed when it comes to traumatic brain injury symptoms. Concentration issues, as well as reasoning and judgment deficits, are common in TBI. The severity of the presentation may change over time but can have long-lasting consequences. This category of traumatic brain injury symptoms is the least often recognized and, unfortunately, misdiagnosed category of TBI.

Behavioral Symptoms – When someone is experiencing traumatic brain injury symptoms, you may notice agitation and increased aggression due to frustration and confusion. Depression and anxiety can be another common component seen after being injured. In general, exhibiting a new display of poor emotional control could be a side effect of TBI.

Social Symptoms – With brain injury symptoms, there are often financial issues from loss of employment after an accident with an extended recovery period. With strained finances, the risk of suicide and strain on relationships is considerable. Often, these issues are not apparent immediately, causing long-term dysfunction once the person tries to resume daily activity.

Long Term Outlooks

Accidents happen, and the damage to your body is not always visible outside. If you or someone you know has been injured, seek medical attention immediately. Essentially, how long traumatic brain injury symptoms will continue to happen depends on how severe the brain injury was and the type of injury that occurred. Some patients only suffer temporary symptoms, such as temporary short-term memory loss due to concussion. In contrast, others with more severe injuries can remain left with permanently disabling health issues that are life-altering.