Spills Can Greatly Increase Traumatic Brain Injuries
Washington, D.C.-In 2005 the number of traumatic brain injuries was very high, nearly 8000 people perished because of TBI injuries, and 56,000 people across the United States required hospitalization suffering from varying degrees of traumatic brain injuries.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50 percent of these numbers were the direct result of spills or falls that occurred to patients, many of them elderly.
As we age, and become elderly our risk of falling increases dramatically. This is due to a number of factors, poor vision, muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the feet, medication side affects, or poor balance.
Most of these conditions are at times a sign of old age, and are normal. However, when such symptoms result in a dramatic and serious fall, then the patient will sometimes suffer a traumatic brain injury.
“The impression among the general public is that then older people fall they likely break a hip, or an arm, but more often than not they suffer a blow to the head during the fall, and many also receive trauma to their brain,” said Dr. Ileana Arias.
Dr. Arias is the CDC director for the National Center for Prevention of Injury And Control.
Traumatic brain injuries are often caused by a blow or bump to the head, and often escape notice until much later, if they are diagnosed at all.
Because of this, there are a lot of Traumatic Brain injuries each year that go untreated, and result in a higher rate of death than is necessary.
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