If you suspect yourself or a loved one has a traumatic brain injury, you should head to the emergency room right away. Your brain controls everything in your body, and if the condition gets worse, your quality of life will get worse as well. If your current condition is extremely poor, call 911 and have the paramedics take you to the hospital. If there are subtle symptoms, you may be able to have a loved one drive you there.
What Are the Signs?
Traumatic brain injuries range from mild to severe, so there will be different symptoms in different patients. It’s possible you will experience symptoms immediately after an event that causes TBI, and it’s also possible those symptoms will present days or weeks after the incident. If your head has received a heavy jolt or blow, you should watch for these symptoms for a few months.
- Mild Injury Symptoms – Someone with a mild injury might experience mood changes, anxiousness, and problems concentrating. Depression and memory issues might also occur. He or she could be unconscious for a period of time, have headaches, sleep issues, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and confusion. The individual might also become sensitive to sounds and lights, and experience ringing in the ears or blurred vision.
- Moderate to Severe Injury Symptoms – In addition to the symptoms mentioned for a mild injury, someone with a moderate to severe TBI might experience prolonged unconsciousness, convulsions, seizures, dilated pupils, numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, clear fluids draining from ears and nose, and worsened headaches. He or she might be in a coma, have slurred speech, become combative, or be profoundly confused.
- Children’s Injury Symptoms – A young child may not be able to tell you if he or she has a headache or is confused, so you’ll need to pay special attention to little ones. Look for changes in sleep habits, persistent crying without the ability of consolation, unusual irritability, changes in eating habits, seizures, sad moods, drowsiness, or a loss of interest in toys and activities that he or she usually loves.
What Should I Do Next?
If you notice these signs, you could call your doctor to speak about the issues at hand. More than likely, he or she will recommend the patient be seen by a medical professional. It’s possible there’s no brain injury, but it’s also possible there is one. You and your loved ones deserve the best care and the most immediate treatment. You could also head straight to the hospital or call 911.
Contacting a Lawyer
In many cases, if you or a loved one experience a brain injury, it’s due to the negligent actions of another individual. If that’s the case, you may have cause for a lawsuit so you don’t have to pay the costs on your own. Contact a lawyer today to learn more about what you can do.