Leading Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Kids and Teens
by Lawrence Dickinson, M.D.
Parents who yell advice to their children on the sports field are not only annoying to coaches, they may actually be putting young athletes at risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI). These types of injuries result from a sudden, violent blow to the head. Children who play sports can be susceptible to being hit in the head by balls (or even other players) if they get distracted by crowd noise instead of keeping their attention focused on the field.
Sports-related injuries, in fact, are one of the leading causes of TBIs in children and teens. Besides contact sports – such as boxing and football – skateboarding, bicycling, and horseback-riding without helmets, as well as diving into a too-shallow pool or swimming hole can also result in TBIs. Among teens, car accidents are the biggest cause of TBIs, and about 50 percent of those cases are drug- or alcohol-related.
Blows to the head can force the brain to hit the hard inside surface of the skull, which in turn can bruise the brain, tear nerve fibers, and cause bleeding. Brain injuries are characterized as open or closed. Open head injury results from penetration by an object, such as a bullet or a fragment of the skull itself, into the brain. Closed head injuries occur when the head hits against a hard surface, such as a windshield, or when the head receives a violent jostling, such as when an infant is violently shaken. The severity of a traumatic brain injury can vary greatly, depending on the part of the brain affected.
Of the approximately 1.4 million TBIs sustained annually by Americans, about 50,000 are fatal. And about 90 percent of the 235,000 TBI patients requiring hospitalization each year will also need ongoing treatment.
Neurosurgeons grade TBIs as mild, moderate or severe. Because the brain governs movement, behavior, thought and sensations, TBIs can cause a number of consequences. A patient with mild TBI, or concussion, can briefly lose consciousness and get headaches. Brief confusion, dizziness, blurry vision, ringing in the ears nausea and vomiting are also common.
Mild TBI symptoms usually respond to rest and anti-inflammatory medications for headaches, and resolve within a week. However, if the patient experiences greater confusion or aggressiveness, and has difficulty waking from sleep, brain swelling is developing and immediate neurosurgery is required.
Moderate or severe TBI always present with altered consciousness and often coma. Convulsions, seizures, dilation of one or both pupils, slurred speech, loss of coordination are also common. These patients need critical care and oftentimes, surgical intervention.
To avoid TBIs, children and teens must be taught to stay alert and wear proper headgear for sporting activities, and that drinking and driving don’t mix. For further information on preventing TBIs in young people, contact Think First at www.thinkfirst.org.
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Dr. Dickinson is a neurosurgeon with Eden Medical Center’s East Bay Neuroscience Center in Castro Valley, and is medical director of intensive care at Eden Medical Center. Eden’s Level II Trauma Center provides trauma prevention education programs to the community to help reduce trauma-related injuries. For more information call (888) 445-8433.