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Updated Brain Injury Guidelines for Doctors and Patients

We now have updated brain injury guidelines. Brain injuries are some of the most catastrophic injuries, and often occur in serious auto accidents or industrial accidents. These are also often seen wherever there have been blunt force trauma injuries to the head.

Not every head injury will result in a brain injury. However, even a concussion is considered a brain injury. There can be varying degrees of such injuries, and patients and families may need to take extra precautions to ensure that the patient recovers well from the injury, and also to make sure that such injuries do not occur again. Brain injury guidelines are being constantly updated, in this respect.

Patients who have just suffered a head injury and those at a high risk of such injuries like persons who play contact sports, will find new resources provided by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, very useful. The agency has released a set of new materials, not just for patients and families, but also for doctors and caregivers.

These resources include a Patients Discharge Instruction Fact Sheet that provides a series of tips for head injury patients to abet treatment and recovery. Often, California brain injury lawyers see that patients are unaware of the fact that complications can arise after a head injury. They therefore overlook these complications, even when symptoms arise.

The fact sheet includes the following tips for patients who have just been discharged from the hospital after suffering a head injury. These patients include those who have suffered a head injury, but did not have a CT scan because it was not determined necessary, and those patients who did have a CT scan which did not reveal any concussion.

Often, head injuries can result in complications arising after the patient has been discharged from the hospital. Patients must look out for symptoms of complications. These include:

• Persistent nausea
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Tiredness
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Seizures
• Convulsions
• Difficulties in walking
• Imbalance
• Numbness
• Loss of consciousness
• Blurred vision or other problems with eyesight

Not all symptoms after a head injury can signify complications. For instance, it’s normal for a person to feel excessively sleepy, or have trouble sleeping after a head injury. Patients with a head injury may also feel anxious, irritable or depressed. These symptoms are typically seen in these patients, and are generally expected to go away on their own soon.

There are several things that patients can do after a head injury to get back to normal.

• Make sure you get plenty of rest.
• Do not indulge in activities that cause excessive strain.
• Avoid taking part in sports for some amount of time. If you’re not sure when you should begin playing again, ask your doctor.
• Avoid performing activities that require you to use a lot of concentration.
• Avoid drinking alcohol.
• Try to avoid riding bikes and motorcycles. However if you cannot avoid these activities, ask your doctor if it is safe to do so.

Preventing a second head injury is very important because another injury soon after the first one, can increase a person’s risk of suffering a brain injury.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of brain injuries. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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