The Military and Increased Traumatic Brain Injuries

The Military and Increased Traumatic Brain Injuries - A study that was released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California showed the Army would be able to decrease the number of traumatic brain injuries just by giving soldiers a bigger helmet.

According to the Laboratory, soldiers would need helmets that are one size bigger than their current ones and that had one eighth of an inch more padding. This would cut the force from an impact by 25 percent. As the two wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq have dragged on, military service members are coming home with an increasing number of traumatic brain injuries. Here is a little bit more about these injuries.

Traumatic Brain Injury

• A traumatic brain injury, also known as TBI is damage to the brain as the result of an injury that usually is from the brain colliding with the inside of the skull.
• These types of injuries can cause the brain cells to not work properly.
• The effects of a traumatic brain injury can be temporary or permanent.
• Traumatic brain injuries can be mild, such as a concussion, or moderate to severe.

Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

• Loss of consciousness.
• Disorientation, confusion.
• Memory problems.
• Headache.
• Dizziness.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Sensory problems.
• Sensitivity to light or sound.
• Mood changes or mood swings.
• Depression.
• Fatigue.

Symptoms of Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries

• Difficulty with attention.
• Problems with concentration and memory.
• Has problems processing things as quickly.
• Confusion.
• Can't process language well.
• Doesn't understand speech.
• Difficulty speaking and being understood.
• Slurred speech.
• Speaks very fast or slow.
• Loss of vision.
• Loss of hearing.
• Loss of smell.
• Loss of taste.
• Personality Changes.
• Seizures.
• Physical problems.

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Service Members

• TBI is now called the "Signature Wound" of the Iraq War.
• TBIs usually occur from service members being near explosions.
• 30 percent of service members that were treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center since 2003 have had traumatic brain injuries.
• One fifth of service members with traumatic brain injuries will have lifelong symptoms.
• Mild traumatic brain injuries in service members resulted in the higher probability of being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression according to a study done by "The New England Journal of Medicine."
• 20 percent of service members who are injured in war are estimated to have traumatic brain injuries.
• 57 percent of military service members who reported possibly having a traumatic brain had not been looked at by a doctor.
• A mild TBI is usually more dangerous because it goes undetected unlike the severe TBI.
• 202,281 service members between 2000-2010 were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
• With the proper care, a soldier with a mild TBI will have a normal recovery almost 80% of the time.
• Service members who don't report their injuries are more likely to be affected by PTSD, which could be because of a mild TBI. ( yahoo.com )