Complications of head injury

Any type of trauma to the head is classed as an injury according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). If you do suffer with a very bad head injury it may cause you to have a loss of consciousness, possibly have fits or seizures and you could even experience problems with your senses for example a loss of your hearing or even double vision. A Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used by healthcare professionals to assess a person with possible head injuries. The scale is measured from three to fifteen with three being the most brutal and fifteen being at the lesser end of the scale. If you have been classed with a score of eight or less on the Glasgow Coma Scale then you are thought to have a severe injury to the head.

Brain injury

Blood vessels and nerves in the brain can be damaged because of a head injury. Just because the brain is protected by the bone called the skull it doesn’t completely prevent injury to the brain, the exterior of the brain can tear or bruise significantly causing possibly brain damage. If the brain does become injured there may be bleeding and blood clots in the brain and even a buildup of fluids which in effect will put some amount of pressure on the brain the damage to the brain can be permanent or temporary depending on how much damage there is.

Effects of brain injury

When the brain becomes injured there can be a variety of effects on your mind and body for example there can be some emotional effects and behavioral effects as well as physical effects. There are approximately 700,000 people with head injuries in the UK the majority of these are only small injuries and about ten percent are serious. Injuries to the head are more seen in men and minors rather than females

Outlook of brain injuries

If you have suffered with a head injury your doctor will want to observe you for any changes that may happen and will do some tests to see if there are any other problems that are linked to the accident and also they will want to then treat such injuries. It is surprising to know that only one to three percent of people that go to hospital with a head injury develop a serious problem and the rest can normally just go home after about forty eight hours or so.

Remember you must tell your DVLA about any medical condition that could affect you’re driving because a head injury can very well affect your driving ability.