The most common cause of death for Americans less than 45 years old is trauma, according to Dr. Thomas Kirsch, director of emergency medicine at Chandler Regional Hospital in "Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine." Approximately 33 percent of these deaths are due to head injuries. Every year, 1.5 million people have traumatic brain injuries, and approximately 52,000 people die from the injury, according to the Brain Trauma Foundation.
Concussion
A concussion is a head injury that causes you to lose consciousness, Elizabeth Corwin explains in "Handbook of Pathophysiology." You can stop breathing for a short period as well. You may lose consciousness for just a few seconds or for several minutes. After you regain consciousness, you may feel confused for several minutes or several hours, and possibly have some amnesia. You can experience mild confusion, dizziness and headache for weeks.
Cerebral Contusion
A cerebral contusion is the bruising of the brain parenchyma, or the brain itself. Dr. Roger Humphries, assistant professor and residency director at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine writes in "Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Emergency Medicine," that you may have a lot of edema (swelling) around the contusion. This can cause the pressure inside your skull to increase and push on the brain.
Contrecoup Injury
This type of brain disorder is the result of some type of mechanical force that hits the brain in one area and makes it move and hit the skull in the opposite location. It is referred to as the deceleration of the brain against the skull, because the mechanical force makes the brain move, but the brain decelerates when it hits the skull. This can happen if your head hits the dashboard of a car during a motor vehicle accident.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
According to Humphries, physicians once thought that a subarachnoid (the space between the brain and the tissue surrounding it) hemorrhage due to a traumatic event was rare. They now know this is not the case. This type of hemorrhage is, in fact, usually due to head trauma. The symptoms will include headache, nausea and vomiting, stiffness about the neck, mental confusion and fever.
Epidural Hematoma
An epidural hematoma is caused by any head trauma that tears the middle meningeal artery. The hematoma, or mass of blood, will develop on top of the dura. (The dura is a layer of the membrane that covers your brain.) You may have what is termed a "lucid interval." This is a period of time where you are lucid, or mentally alert. This interval can last for several minutes or several hours. Afterward, you may have a headache, start to feel mentally confused and feel weak on one side of your body.
Subdural Hematoma
This brain disorder is the result of head trauma that ruptures the bridging veins. The hematoma develops underneath the dura. The risk factors for a subdural hematoma include motor vehicle accidents, boxing and falls, especially falls of the elderly population or chronic alcoholics. It can be weeks before having any symptoms with this type of brain disorder, because veins "bleed out" slower than arteries. When you start to have symptoms, like the epidural hematoma, you will have a headache, confusion and weakness on one side of the body.
References
- "Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Emergency Medicine"; C. Keith Stone, M.D., Roger Humphries, M.D.; 2008
- "Handbook of Pathophysiology"; Elizabeth Corwin, MSN, Ph.D., FNP; 2000
- "Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide"; Judith Tintinalli, M.D., Gabor Kelen, M.D. et al.; 2004
