You might hear the term “TBI” in a doctor’s office or emergency room. TBI means traumatic brain injury. They happen often, and different events cause them.
In 2020, TBIs killed about 64,000 people in the US. That stat doesn’t change much from year to year. This indicates that the threats causing TBIs remain constant.
If you know what causes TBIs, though, you can watch out and avoid these situations or accidents. We’ll discuss some TBI causes now.
Construction Site Accidents
If you do construction work, you might like it. You’ll work outside a lot, and it’s not a tedious office job. You can enjoy the camaraderie that you have with your coworkers.
Construction sites have some inherent dangers, though. For instance, someone might drop something. If they’re up on the high steel, and they drop a hammer or something equally dangerous, it can cause a TBI by hitting someone’s head.
Someone might also fall off a girder. If they are working somewhere high up, and they slip, they might break a limb when they land, but landing on their head might also happen.
You might also hurt yourself walking by a construction site if something falls and hits you. That’s why you should give construction sites a wide berth when you see one. If you do work in the construction industry, you can exercise caution and obey established safety protocols at all times.
Car Accidents
Car accidents can sometimes cause TBIs as well. You might hit your head on the dashboard or steering wheel if a car hits you from behind. You might also sustain a TBI if a vehicle hits you and T-bones your car. A head-to-head car wreck can also cause one.
Obey all traffic laws, and you should avoid most car accidents. You can’t control other drivers and what they do, but you can avoid driving when it’s raining or snowing unless you must. You can avoid using a smartphone while driving so it does not distract you.
If you watch yourself on the road and drive defensively, you can probably avoid a TBI.
Slipping And Falling
Slipping and falling when you’re in a store happens frequently. Maybe you’re in a store that just mopped an aisle, and they didn’t put up adequate signage. If so, you might slip and fall. If that happens, you might sustain a TBI, and you may also have a lawsuit on your hands.
You can watch your step and avoid most TBIs. If there’s snow and ice on the ground, and it’s slippery, walk slowly and cautiously. When you’re in a store, watch for slick spots and spills.
Sports-Related Injuries
You might think about TBIs and sports. It’s true you will see a connection there in some instances. If someone plays professional football, soccer, hockey, rugby, or anything along those lines, they can easily sustain a TBI. Those sports include hard contact, and sometimes, avoiding injury becomes almost impossible.
You might also see someone sustain a TBI playing baseball or tennis. Those sports don’t have as many high-speed collisions, but accidents can still happen.
As for non-professional sports players, they can also sustain TBIs if they play on the weekends with their friends at the park or in the backyard. You might play tackle football and get a little too rowdy. If so, you might have a hard collision and sustain a TBI.
You can play flag football and similar games and avoid getting too aggressive. You might have some competitive spirit, but you should also consider the possible repercussions if you take the game too seriously.
What Happens When You Sustain a TBI?
If you sustain a TBI, it can alter your life’s course, perhaps permanently. Brain damage can occur, but you won’t know how severe you have it until sometime after the initial injury.
You might recover with no ill effects, but you may also lose total or partial sight or hearing. You may lose language processing ability. You can hear someone, but you can’t understand them.
Maybe you can’t speak so well anymore. You lose certain words or trail off without finishing your sentences.
Sometimes you’ll come all the way back, but it may take months or years. Other times, you’ll never fully recover. It depends on how hard you struck your head and exactly where you hit it.
TBIs can change your life, and not for the better. If you stay cautious, you can often avoid these devastating injuries.
