Do you know what TBI means? Understanding it can help to keep you safe. Read here to understand more about TBI and what it means for you.
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Kevin
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April 10, 2022
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Common Questions
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If you’ve ever known somebody diagnosed with TBI, you know how serious it can be. This medical condition has affected millions of people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it remains the number one cause of death and disability for young adults and children in the US.Â
It’s incredibly important to understand the meaning of TBI, its significance, and how to look out for it. Here is our guide to the word TBI, complete with definitions, TBI’s history, examples of TBI, and synonyms. After you read this article, you will have a solid understanding of TBI and how to prevent it.
What’s the Definition of TBI?Â
TBI is an acronym for traumatic brain injury. But this is not just a haphazard, casual phrase. TBI is a medical diagnosis with serious potential implications.Â
TBI is a fairly broad category, covering a lot of injuries that fall underneath its umbrella. Here is a general definition of traumatic brain injury:
- An injury to the brain, normally caused by a forceful contact or jolt to the head that can potentially cause symptoms with various levels of severity. These include physical symptoms, sensory symptoms, cognitive impairment, coma, seizures, personality changes, and even death.
TBI can happen in a variety of contexts. A closed brain injury (an injury that doesn’t make direct contact with the brain) can happen during a car accident, a sports game, or even an accidental fall. TBI is also quite common for soldiers in combat who are near an explosive blast.Â
The brain might also sustain TBI through an injury that makes contact with the brain, called a penetrating brain injury. A gunshot wound to the head or something that pierces the skull can injure the brain tissue without ending the person’s life. This can have dire, long lasting consequences.
What Are the Symptoms of TBI?
TBI is a head injury with a very long list of potential symptoms. The symptoms can change depending on the severity of the trauma sustained by the brain.Â
Mild traumatic brain injury can cause mild physical symptoms such as:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Impaired speech
- Blurred vision
- Sensitivity to light
Mild TBI can also lead to mild cognitive changes like loss of consciousness, confusion, memory loss, mood swings, depression, and anxiety. The most common minor form of TBI is a concussion. These mild brain trauma injuries are quite common and, most of the time, do not have severe symptoms. However, they should still be treated carefully by health care providers.Â
In more severe TBI, the potential symptoms get much more serious and potentially life-threatening. Damage to blood vessels in the brain can alter blood pressure and even lead to blood clots that could be a major risk.
Along with damage to certain parts of the brain, severe head trauma or a penetrating injury can lead to much more severe symptoms.Â
These symptoms may include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Repeated vomiting
- Seizures or convulsions
- Decreased coordination
- Dilated pupils
- Slurred speech
- Confusion
- Vertigo
- Comas
- The buildup of fluid in the brain
- Brain death
If a major head trauma causes damage to the central nervous system, it is crucial to seek medical care immediately. Severe traumatic brain injury can lead to permanent brain damage and inhibit brain function long term.Â
Where Did the Phrase TBI Come From?Â
Humanity has understood elements of traumatic brain damage for millenia. People have been sustaining head trauma, skull fractures, and the like throughout history. But the phrases TBI and traumatic brain injury did not come about until recently.Â
Perhaps the earliest significant development of the understanding of TBI came during the American Civil War in the 19th century. A military surgeon by the name of John Chisolm had a thorough understanding of subdural hematoma (a bruise of the brain) and also of diffuse axonal injury (DAI), a type of TBI where the brain fibers sustain damage from being quickly jolted and banging up against the inside of the skull.Â
Medical understanding of brain trauma grew throughout the next few decades, mostly spurred by doctors and surgeons’ medical study during war. By World War I, more treatment techniques had been discovered. The first known use of the term traumatic brain injury came in the 1930s.Â
Since then, scientists have learned more about how contusions and hemorrhages can affect the brain. They now understand the importance of the cerebrospinal fluid that suspends the brain in the skull. TBI is now a common medical diagnosis that is fairly well understood, and there is a great deal doctors can do to treat it.
What Are Some Examples of TBI in a Sentence?
Here are some examples of TBI being used in a sentence.Â
Jared’s quality of life – his sleep patterns, mood, and personality – has changed since he sustained that TBI a few months ago.
Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse, typically enacted by frustrated caregivers, that can lead to TBI in the young child.Â
She got a CT scan and x-rays in intensive care that showed that she had a major TBI.
How Can I Prevent TBI?
TBI may be a little frightening, but our modern understanding of the risk factors and common causes of TBI can help you to safeguard yourself and the ones you love from sustaining this type of injury.Â
For starters, motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of TBI, so make sure to wear your seat belt whenever you’re in the car.Â
Young children are at a higher risk for getting TBI because of their undeveloped sense of risk and lack of coordination. Safety gates, window guards, and the like can help to prevent your baby or toddler from getting to places where they are at risk. If your baby or child sustains a head injury, make sure you seek pediatric care right away.
Older adults and the elderly are also at an increased risk. To reduce the risk of a fall, always use handrails when they are available, and use a cane or walker if you need to. If you, or an older adult you know, falls and hits their head, it’s best to go to a doctor right away.
The Final Word on TBI
TBI is an important word and concept to understand. Knowing about it can help you keep yourself and your loved ones safe as best as you can. And now you know what you need to know about TBI.Â
If you ever need more information, come back to this article for a refresher on TBI.
Sources:
- The History and Evolution of Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation in Military Service Members and Veterans | The American Journal of Medicine and RehabilitationÂ
- Report to Congress: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States | Concussion | CDCÂ
- Traumatic brain injury | Symptoms and causes | Mayo ClinicÂ
