What are the possible results of brain injury?
Some brain injuries are mild, with symptoms disappearing over time with proper attention. Others are more severe and may result in permanent disability. The long-term or permanent results of brain injury may require post-injury and possibly life-long rehabilitation. Effects of brain injury may include:
Some brain injuries are mild, with symptoms disappearing over time with proper attention. Others are more severe and may result in permanent disability. The long-term or permanent results of brain injury may require post-injury and possibly life-long rehabilitation. Effects of brain injury may include:
cognitive deficits
traumatic epilepsy
Epilepsy occurs in 2 to 5 percent of all people who sustain brain injury, but it is much more common with severe or penetrating injuries. While most seizures occur immediately after the injury, or within the first year, it is also possible for epilepsy to surface years later. Epilepsy includes both major or generalized seizures and minor or partial seizures.
- coma
- confusion
- shortened attention span
- memory problems and amnesia
- problem solving deficits
- problems with judgment
- inability to understand abstract concepts
- loss of sense of time and space
- decreased awareness of self and others
- inability to accept more than one- or two-step commands simultaneously
- paralysis or weakness
- spasticity (tightening and shortening of the muscles)
- poor balance
- decreased endurance
- inability to plan motor movements
- delays in initiation
- tremors
- swallowing problems
- poor coordination
- changes in hearing, vision, taste, smell, and touch
- loss of sensation or heightened sensation of body parts
- left- or right-sided neglect
- difficulty understanding where limbs are in relation to the body
- vision problems, including double vision, lack of visual acuity, or limited range of vision
- difficulty speaking and understanding speech (aphasia)
- difficulty choosing the right words to say (apraxia)
- slow, hesitant speech and decreased vocabulary
- difficulty forming sentences that make sense
- problems identifying objects and their function
- problems with reading, writing, and ability to work with numbers
- impaired ability with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing, bathing, and eating
- problems with organization, shopping, or paying bills
- problems with vocational issues
- inability to drive a car or operate machinery
- impaired social capacity resulting in self-centered behavior
- difficulties in making and keeping friends
- difficulties understanding and responding to the nuances of social interaction
- fatigue
- changes in sleep patterns and eating habits
- dizziness
- headache
- loss of bowel and bladder control
- apathy
- decreased motivation
- emotional lability
- irritability
- anxiety and depression
- disinhibition, including temper flare-ups, aggression, cursing, lowered frustration tolerance, and inappropriate sexual behavior
traumatic epilepsy
Epilepsy occurs in 2 to 5 percent of all people who sustain brain injury, but it is much more common with severe or penetrating injuries. While most seizures occur immediately after the injury, or within the first year, it is also possible for epilepsy to surface years later. Epilepsy includes both major or generalized seizures and minor or partial seizures.