Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur frequently to all age groups for a variety of reasons. If you have a brain injury, then it can change your life forever, making it difficult to attend school, work at a job or care for a family. A severe brain trauma can also leave you in a comatose condition.
Here is a list of the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries.
1: Vehicular Collisions Involving Automobiles, Motorcycles or Trucks
Vehicular collisions that involve automobiles, motorcycles and trucks are one of the most common causes of a brain injury. By wearing an over-the-shoulder seat belt correctly while you are driving a vehicle or riding as a passenger, you are less likely to suffer a brain injury from a collision. These safety devices can keep you from flying through a windshield or from coming into contact with the other vehicle without protection.
If you are using a motorcycle, scooter or other type of vehicle that is not equipped with seat belts, make sure to wear a helmet that fits correctly over your head.
Additional safety precautions include turning the vehicle’s lights on in the evening or during inclement weather. Make sure that you are always alert while driving a vehicle to avoid an accident and never consume alcohol or use drugs while driving.
2: Lack of Oxygen to Your Brain from an Illness or Accident
If your brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen for only a few seconds, then you can incur brain damage. Lack of oxygen to the brain can occur for several reasons, including near drowning or suffocation incidences.
Additional reasons for lack of oxygen to your brain include:
- An electrical shock
- Heart attack
- Childbirth complications
- Stroke
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Choking incidents
- Complications during surgery
- Lack of adequate blood flow to the brain
Within 10 minutes of having no oxygen to your brain, its cells are damaged severely. Experts know that young children are more likely to recover from brain trauma that involves cold temperatures, but this does not always prevent medical problems that require many years of treatment and therapy.
3: Near Drowning Incidences in Swimming Pools and Other Situations
During the summer, more individuals are swimming in pools or natural waterways, and this can lead to an increase in near drowning incidences. If you are underwater and unconscious for only a few minutes, then you can incur traumatic brain damage.
Children are more likely to experience a near drowning incident because toddlers and younger children frequently do not know how to swim, but they will enter water without adult supervision. An infant or toddler can drown in a bathtub or bucket with only a couple inches of water.
For instance, if a parent is using a bucket of water to pour on a garden’s vegetable plants or to wash a vehicle, then a child can fall inside and incur a traumatic brain injury. Additional causes of near drowning incidents occur in flooded regions when a driver is inside a vehicle that fills with water while trapped inside.
It is important to understand what to do when this situation occurs to avoid a near drowning incident, but you must act quickly.
4: Injuries While Playing Sports at Home or School
To prevent a traumatic brain injury while playing sports, athletes must wear safety equipment to protect their head, face and neck. A trauma injury to your brain or neck during sports can occur when players bump into each other while running or walking.
In addition, a player who falls on the ground can experience an injury from having someone walk on his head or neck. Hard flying projectiles such as footballs or soccer balls can also damage your brain or neck. Players who are swinging baseball bats or tennis rackets can hit someone in the head, causing a brain trauma.
For information about TBI, check out these Common Symptoms of Brain Trauma.