The brain is the most complex organ in the human body; it does more than just store thoughts and memories. And, when the brain suffers a traumatic injury, whether mild or severe, a person's life can be altered in an instant. Many individuals who suffer from a TBI, for example, experience seizures-one in every ten hospitalized patients to be exact.
TBI occurs when a physical injury causes the brain to collide with the inside of the skull and results in damage to the brain's infrastructure, including neurons, nerves, lobes or gray matter. When the brain's abnormal electrical activity is disrupted, a seizure occurs. When compared to the general population, survivors of TBI are 12 times more likely to experience seizures.
When a seizure happens, the body often loses control of bodily functions, and the individual experiences a loss of consciousness or jerking body movements. Seizures may last a few seconds or several minutes. After a seizure, a person may feel weak, disoriented, and have difficulty speaking or understanding others.
Classes of Seizures
In TBI sufferers, there are three classes of seizures or seizure disorders. Early post-traumatic seizures manifest within the first week following brain injury. Late post-traumatic seizures occur after the first week following injury. Both of these types, however, occur only once. Epilepsy results when a TBI victim suffers more than one seizure- even after a post-traumatic or late traumatic seizure.
The Worse the Injury, the Higher the Risk of Seizure
The seizure risk increases with the severity of the injury, which could include skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, hematoma, and penetrating trauma. Brain injuries related to bullet wounds are the culprit in 65 percent of these types of cases. Another 20 percent suffered closed head injuries that resulted in bleeding between the brain and skull. Research shows that over 35 percent of people with more than two brain injury-related surgeries also experience late post-traumatic seizures.
Risk of seizures for TBI patients can also increase if certain factors are present. These factors include high fever, alcohol consumption, fatigue, loss of sleep, drug use, and changes in body chemistry.
It's important for TBI sufferers to visit with a physician immediately, even if they feel ok. In many cases, individuals involved in auto accidents feel normal following an accident, but later experience complications due to a TBI.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, auto collisions are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury in the U.S. and the risk of auto accidents in New York, for example, increase because of the high number of drivers and pedestrians.
Individuals should never wait or hold off seeing a doctor if they feel they have experienced any sort of head injury.
