Brain+Injury+Class+Notes

Vegetative State& Coma:

caused by brain injury (rattling of the brain) stroke lack of oxygen for an extended amount of time tumor Brain dead- basically your brain does not work and the only thing keeping you alive are machines Coma- you are in a deep sleep and can't wake up usually lasts for weeks or months (brain is functioning on the lowest level of activity) coma in 4 weeks (coma-vegetative state) --> the brain is trying to heal itself from an extensive injury --> very slow recovery, some remember everything while others struggle and don't remember anything. vegetative state- they may open their eyes, ect. but they are completely unaware what is going on.. they may moan groan, grind teeth, laugh, ect. but this is no real indication that they are awake, ect.

Terry Shaivo Amie--> she claimed that she could feel everything that was happening to her. During the 8 days where they removed her feeding tube she could feel it, and said it was like torcher.

Smashed- teen driving statistics- according to a survey based 1000 people 1/2 of these people say they talk on cellphone, they speed with traffic, they speed through yellow lights. Motor vehicle accidents- a leading cause for death from age 15-17. trying to change this statistic by educating teens..

concussion- head and neck pains there are many symptoms..

long term effects--> you could need constant medical care mental retardation coma vegetative state even brain dead

Kirsten's Recovery

she had a second graders vocabulary was taught where comas and periods went she used high school as therapy she now keeps a planner before she was in the accident--> she was a C student now she is on the honor roll--> she now makes the effort needed.

She had an extremely fast recovery

safety tips--> aways where your seatbelts know the severity of driving under the influence (alcohol or illegal drugs) not only can you loose your license, you can loose your life. cell phone's should only be used in emergency situations limit the number of passengers in your car (the greater chance of loosing attention) train for bad weather driving (rain, snow, hail, wind, and ice) slower is always better large volumes of traffic limit night time driving (deadly accidents are three times as likely when it is dark outside)

athletic concussions: zach- concussion- left him paralyzed for the rest of his life

Grade 1- momentary confusion but no loss of consciousness. athelete must be removed from the game and examined.

Grade 2- brief confussion, no loss of conciousness the athelete must be removed that day and not allowed to play for the rest of the game. Medical examination is needed.

Grade 3- loss of conciousness, breif or prolonged. Mental status abnormalities last greater that 60 minutes. immediate medial attention

orentation concentration memory exertional provocative tests Nuerological tests stand on one leg

atleast 50 high school or younger players have been killed or have sustained serious head injuries on the field.

a lot of concussions will go unnoticed. (later on this results in brain damage)

questions a doctor must ask --> when did your 1st headache start and when did it last when was your last headache how often do your head ahces occur which side is effected are tehy associated with certain foods what sports do you play have you been knocked out or unconciousness

Impact test--> symptoms baseline test information measures how you can pay attention

depending on where you get hit determines what is effected by the concussion

if you have a concussion and don't tell anyone the symptoms will get worse - it can lead to bleeding in the brain - time, place, date, vacant stare, ect.

basketball, biking, baseball, football, playground activities, soccer

retro grade amnesia (you forget what made you have the injury)

convulsions--> this occurs during a grade 3 concussion ( most of the time it is seizures, muscle spasms)

balancing--> basic symptom (confusion, can't stand up straight)

how to i prevent concussions? where a helmet in combat sports 45- 88% of bicycle injuries could have been prevented by wearing a helmet. when your playing soccer try not to head the ball avoid hitting your head with someone else, or the ground. don't do anything--> that would cause you to hit your head really hard. --> don't want to miss games ( they start to play before they have recovered)

mouth guard wear a helmet no more the % of people actually wear helmet