Brain Injury Guide: What To Do Following a Brain Injury?

After you have been in an accident that involves trauma to the head, you may be very injured and worried about what is to come. Some injuries to the head may involve the brain. If that is the case, you could face much more serious problems than a bit of pain following the incident. The rest of your life could be drastically affected by this injury, even if it does not seem like this would be the case at first.

Keeping these things in mind, it is very important that you are proactive about your injury as soon as possible following the actual accident. Even if you think that it was just a simple bump on the head, that bump may start a chain reaction that could lead to much more serious problems down the road. It is always a good idea to go see a doctor soon after the accident in order to get a diagnosis of what actually happened and what the best procedure moving forward will be.

When you visit the doctor, they may be looking for two different effects from your trauma.

The first type of effect is secondary cell death. This means that the brain tissue has been damaged and creates a series of changes in the way your brain reacts on a biochemical level.

The second effect that they may be looking for is changes in the way you are acting. Did you lose consciousness? Are you more irritable and aggressive? Are you suffering from amnesia? By looking at these types of changes, a doctor can begin to understand what happened within your brain at the time of the accident and define the severity of the injury, which can be very important moving forward.

Expected Recovery

Following a brain injury, recovery periods are measured on what is called the Rancho Los Amigos Scale, defining recovery on a scale of 1-8. When you visit your doctor, they may give you a level in which you belong. They are defined as follows:

• Level 1: The injury has resulted in the patient falling into a coma. They do not respond to stimuli.
• Level 2: The patient sleeps for long periods of time and is minimally responsive.
• Level 3: Responses are sporadic, but the patient is alert for longer periods of time.
• Level 4: Patient’s behavior is confused and disorganized. Attention span is short and the patient may be unable to do basic tasks.
• Level 5: The patient’s long-term memory is returning. Simple commands are becoming easier, but complex commands are still difficult.
• Level 6: The patient begins to be goal-directed and independent, realizing their difficulties.
• Level 7: The patient automatically performs daily routines. Short-term memory and problem solving skills are still impaired.
• Level 8: The patient is high functioning, but may still have minor impairments.