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Essay / Traumatic Brain Injury - 654
IntroductionAn altered stem in the head is how 25-year-old Phineas Gage became the most notable case of traumatic brain injury of the 19th century. With more than 1.7 million people sustaining an injury each year, why is this case so interesting? The reason behind this is the result of the injury. When Gage drove the tampering rod into his skull, it completely changed his personality. From a once mild-mannered individual to a rude and persistent person, Gage became an interesting case in history. Gage begins us with our topic of traumatic brain injury (TBI), because in the United States there are approximately 50,000 deaths, 270,000 hospitalizations, and 1.36 million people treated and released to go home (Alzheimers Organization, 2014 ). Head injury is defined when an external mechanical force causes brain dysfunction. Causes There are many different causes of head trauma. When a person falls, has an accident or is injured while playing sports, there is always a risk of brain injury. “People aged 75 and older have the highest rates of head injury-related hospitalizations and deaths from falls.” (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2013) There are three different levels of CBT that doctors classify them by. These include mild, moderate and severe. A fall of 20 feet (2 stories) onto an unyielding surface for an adult, or a fall of more than 10 feet (2 to 3 times the child's height) for a child can cause serious injury to both an adult and a child. child. (Mistovich and Karren, 2010) The possibility of having a mild head injury is much more common than having a serious injury. This doesn't mean the injury won't last a long time. Doctors are able to determine the severity of an injury by the middle of a piece of paper that is embedded in brain tissue, the other involves a distinct localized injury to the brain; like for example because of a bullet. Skull fractures called contusions cause a distinct area of swollen brain tissue mixed with broken blood vessels. When a brain is shaken back and forth within the confines of the skull, the injury is called counter. This often occurs in high-speed car accidents and in shaken baby syndrome. This type of injury can also cause nerve damage and loss of connections between nerves, called shearing. Bruising can cause decreased connections in the brain. A hematoma is another type of symptom that a person with a head injury may have. This is when there is heavy bleeding in or around the brain. symptoms-of-head-trauma.asp