Symptoms of Brain Injury

Brain injury is defined as any trauma that leads to injury of the skull or the brain. It can cause fractures in the skull, blood clots in the brain or in the space between the skull and the lining of brain and irreversible damage to the brain. A brain injury can be classified as a closed or an open (or penetrating) injury. In a closed brain injury, the skull is not damaged; whereas the skull is broken, in case of an open brain injury.

In addition, brain injury is also divided into two categories, namely traumatic brain injury (or intracranial injury) and acquired brain injury. A traumatic brain injury is caused due to a sudden and direct blow on the head, which breaks the skull and damages the brain or causes the brain to move within the skull. Displacement of the brain affects the nerve fibers, leading to the damage of brain tissue. In case of acquired brain injury, cells of the brain are affected after birth. It occurs at the cellular level, instead of affecting a particular area of the brain.

A traumatic brain injury can be caused due to physical violence, car crashes, falls and sports injuries. Causes of an acquired brain injury includes metabolic disorders, choking, drowning, blood loss, electric shock, heart attack, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and due to complications of diseases and disorders.

Symptoms of Brain Injury

Brain injury affects an individual's personality, physical abilities, cognition and internal functions. Signs and symptoms can be observed immediately after the injury or after several hours. Though the most common symptoms of brain injury are memory loss and chronic headache, the expression of symptoms depend upon severity of the injury. Let's look into the symptoms of mild injury and moderate to severe injury of the brain.

Mild Brain Injury: Mild brain injury produces symptoms that may last for a few weeks to several months. In fact, more than 50% of patients who suffer from brain injury, experience symptoms for more than six months. Such a condition is called post-concussion syndrome. The symptoms of this syndrome are:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Depression
• Sensory problems
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• Mental confusion
• Loss of attention/concentration
• Sudden change in mood
• Behavior changes
• Memory loss
• Fatigue
• Sleep disturbances
• Seizures

Since, these symptoms are common to other diseases, they are often misinterpreted by the injured person and the family members. Hence, proper diagnosis is needed for confirmation.

Moderate to Severe Brain Injury: Immediate medical attention is essential, in case of severe brain injury. Symptoms may include:

• Persistent headache
• Pale skin color
• Sweating
• Repeated nausea and vomiting
• Slurred speech
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilation in one or both pupils of the eye
• Difficulty in walking
• Weakness in one side/part of the body
• Loss of consciousness
• Inability to awaken from sleep
• Open wound in the head
• Deep cut in the scalp
• Blood or clear fluid draining from the ears or nose
• Short-term memory loss
• Behavioral changes and irritability
• Coma
• Vegetative state (a condition of wakefulness without detectable awareness)
• Lock-in syndrome (a condition in which a person can think but cannot speak or move)

In case, an individual suffers a blow to the head, he/she should go for medical checkup as soon as possible. Diagnostic tests for brain injury are blood test, computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG). Based on the severity of brain injury; treatment may include rest, antibiotic treatment, stitches, surgery and hospitalization for observation.