Pennsylvania residents are at risk of suffering many potential injuries if they are involved in a car accident. One of the most common is a brain injury. Brain injuries break down into different categories of severity. The most severe is a traumatic brain injury.
A traumatic brain injury often causes lasting harm and can have life-changing consequences. Identifying it early, through its symptoms, may help mitigate some long-term damage.
Cognitive symptoms of TBIs
The Mayo Clinic created a detailed list of brain injury symptoms. Traumatic brain injuries are also known as TBIs. They often have both physical and cognitive symptoms. For cognitive symptoms, victims may exhibit extreme confusion. They could have slurred speech or lose consciousness for a long period of time. In some cases, the victim goes comatose. They also often display unusual behavior, which can include aggression and combativeness.
Physical symptoms of TBIs
The effects a TBI can have on your body can be prominent and include:
- Numbness or weakness in toes and fingers
- Nausea or vomiting that does not stop
- Seizures or convulsions
- Persistent headache that worsens
- Loss of coordination
- Loss of consciousness
Even within traumatic brain injuries, symptom severity can vary. For example, someone with an extreme head injury may go into a coma, lose the ability to speak, or be unable to move their limbs. For other victims, the damage is not quite that severe. These victims often suffer from repeated vomiting or nausea, or experience bad headaches, but they do not lose consciousness or suffer from nerve-related issues.
The faster a TBI is identified, the sooner the victim can obtain treatment.