A traumatic brain injury(TBI) is a blow to the head that disrupts the function of the brain. Not all hits to the head result in a TBI. Injuries can be mild to fatal, it just depends on how hard the head was hit and the speed of the treatment that was given after the injury. Here are some surprising statistics regarding TBI.

How Many Cases of TBI Per Year?

There are over 2.5 million people each year in the United States that suffer from a traumatic brain injury. Of those 2.5 million, 50,000 die and 275,000 are hospitalized due to their injury.

Who Is at Risk for TBI?

Males are more at risk for TBI than females by almost double. The two age groups more at risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds. Some career groups are at an increased risk of sustaining a TBI such as military personnel.

What Causes a TBI?

There are many reasons why TBI can occur. Causes often vary by age, gender, employment, etc. The most common causes of TBI are falls, car accidents, and assaults.

What Are the Long Term Consequences of TBI?

The direct and indirect costs of traumatic brain injury are very large. It is estimated that medical costs and loss of productivity costs the United States around $60 billion dollars. That along with 40% of TBI sufferers who were released from the hospital needed at least one service within the first year, there are far reaching financial consequences. Sufferers may find it difficult to get back to work or function normally in their daily life.

While these surprising statistics are scary, there are resources out there for you. If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, join the TryMunity community today. We are happy to assist you, support you, and share with you.

When a loved one is suffering from an acute traumatic brain injury (TBI), you want to know their course of treatment. While your doctors and specialists can be great resources, you unfortunately don’t have access to them all the time to ask questions. TBI can be fatal if not treated immediately. Most cases of fatal TBI occur within the first two weeks of the injury. Knowing how to properly care for acute TBI is critical in keeping someone with an injury safe and healthy.

Body Support

First, you want to minimize any secondary brain injury with a patient that has moderate or severe TBI. Medical staff will want to provide support to the patient with oxygen and drugs that improve circulation.

Pressure Monitoring

Doctors will be continuously monitoring the pressure on the brain. It is crucial that they keep the pressure low, as prognosis is better with lower pressure. This is called intracranial pressure or ICP for short. It is based on a scoring system. Generally, the ICP should be less than 20.

Sedation

Most patients of TBI will be put under sedation regardless of their ICP because they are often severely agitated. It is better that patients are sedated until they are well aware of what is going on so they do not pull out IVs or the breathing tube. The sedation itself has been shown to improve ICP in short duration.

Hyperosmolar Therapy

These specific agents are first in line for treating acute TBI and high ICP. It helps to relieve pressure on the brain while the patient is sedated. This is often given in conjunction with mannitol therapy. If you have questions about hyperosmolar therapy or mannitol therapy, consult your physician.

If you or someone you know has an acute TBI, join the TruMunity community today. We are more than happy to share our experiences and information with you.

There are many causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and each degree of severity and cause comes with its own challenges. As a community, it helps to share and support each other as we go through our own journey. Here are three great stories about people’s experiences with TBI and how they are thriving now.

Mary L.

Mary L. experienced a traumatic brain injury while cheering for her university. During the infamous pyramid move, she was the girl on the top left of the formation. She had three stories of bodies below her when the pyramid collapsed. She fell head first into the ground. She remembers the feeling of her skull bouncing off of the ground. While she bravely shook it off, she soon had a throbbing headache. She brushed off the headache as a consequence but since she did not go unconscious, she believed things were ok. A few months later, she began having seizures and found she had suffered a TBI. After a few years, she is now off all seizure medication and has learned to spot symptoms and manage treatment. Mary aspires to be a chef and has already made a name for herself in her college town by cooking in a prestigious local restaurant and having one of her dishes permanently placed on the menu.

Chris A.

Chris’ TBI occurred in the course of his birth. He suffered a major stroke and had no fine motor control and diminished sensation on his right side. He suffered with seizures until he was seven years old. Chris adapted by trying new ways of doing day-to-day tasks with one hand. He struggled with keeping his right side out of harms way since he could not feel when he was burned or cut. With advocating parents, he attended physical therapy and pushed himself to accomplish so much in life. Chris graduated from law school in 2012 and is working as a legal mediator.

Frank M.

Frank was 41 when he was involved in a severe car accident. He suffered an open skull fracture in which a quarter-sized hole of his skull was missing. His brain was exposed and visible. While this scene looked gruesome, it was the skull fracture that saved his life. His brain was given the room to swell and he suffered no long-term brain damage. Frank still does not remember what happened that day but has made a full and complete recovery. After two years, he was able to return to his job as an airline pilot.

If you would like to see more stories about TBI, join the TryMunity community today. We are all in this together!

When you hit your head, you need to assess how serious your head injury is. Getting to the hospital is important when you have suffered an injury to your head. When you hit your head, you can suffer concussions, scalp wounds, and skull fractures that can cause significant injury to your brain. Here are a few things that you need to watch out for if you, or someone you know has hit their head.

Watch for Symptoms

You need to get medical attention right away if you suspect that there has been a serious head injury. A few of the symptoms you need to watch for are:

• Sleepiness
• Behaving abnormally
• Severe headache or stiff neck
• Unequal pupil sizes
• Unable to move arm or leg
• Loses consciousness
• Vomiting
• Administer Aid

If you cannot immediately get to the hospital when you have hit your head, then you need to call 911 and then begin administering aid until medical personnel arrive. Try to remain still and stop any bleeding by pressing a cloth firmly on the wound. If blood keeps soaking the cloth, don’t remove it. Place another cloth on top of the other one. Apply ice packs to swollen areas and wait for help.

A List of Don’ts

There are some things you definitely should not do if you have hit your head. These include:

• Don’t wash your head wound.
• Don’t move unless absolutely necessary.
• Don’t remove a helmet if you have one on.
• Don’t drink alcohol or take painkillers afterwards.

Severe symptoms don’t always show up right away. If you have hit your head and you begin to feel the symptoms listed above, get to a hospital right away. Quick treatment can impact long term treatment options and prognosis.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, join the TriMunity community today. We can provide you with information, support, and valuable resources.

You may not have heard of JP Perez, but if you have been on TryMunity before you know about Mike Black, the website’s founder. Mike was in a horrific car accident where he was thrown from the vehicle and landed on his head causing a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Mike was not expected to survive, but he did. It was a long, hard road but the progress Mike has made up to the point is amazing. However, this progress would have never been possible without the quick thinking and skill of the first responder that attended to Mike as he lay on the ground after the accident. That First Responder’s name was JP Perez.

JP Perez saved Mike’s life, now it is our turn to help him!

JP has been battling a rare neuromuscular autoimmune disease for the last 3 years. The diagnoses itself did not come until after too many tests to count and now, due to the rare nature of the illness, the treatments are being done mostly by trial and error. These treatments are painful and the side effects too. The treatments are expensive and the treatment of the side effects continually add to the already skyrocketing costs, and that doesn’t include the cost of everything he needs to care for the actual disease. As you can imagine his medical costs are beyond belief, but you can help.

First responders risk their lives every day to save us.

What better way to say thank you to all of them then by helping one of them in need. One way to say Thank You to JP for risking his life to save others is to donate to the JP Perez’s GoFundMe Page. The money you donate will help JP and his family get through this incredibly difficult time in their lives.

Today you have the opportunity to help a first responder. Please donate now.

Go to the GoFundMe page now and help JP Perez today!