7 Brain Injury Prevention Tips To Reduce Or Eliminate TBI

Death and permanent disability are 2 of the major consequences to all of the Traumatic Brain Injuries, or TBI which occur in the U.S. every year. The sad reality is that one of the easiest ways to prevent or reduce the effect of TBI is wearing some sort of head protection. The sadness comes from the fact that most of the preventable injuries occur as a lack of proper head gear being donned prior to the activity.

A bump or blow to the head is one of the leading ways that TBI occurs. Obviously if an accident happens and the result is that something penetrates the skull, the chances of TBI increase dramatically. Injury status can be considered mild, i.e., the patient suffers brief change in mental status or severe, where the victim experiences extended periods of unconsciousness or amnesia after the event. Although the majority of TBIs which occur every year are mild concussions, even these seemingly innocuous events can have longer lasting, detrimental effects on the victims.

Following are 7 prevention tips you can implement in your lives and the environment around your loved ones. Every thing you are able to do to reduce the chances of injury or prevent the severity of TBI should it occur are worthwhile tactics.

7 Ways To Prevent the Concussive Effects of TBI

• Seat Belts: Whether you are driving the car or simply a passenger, wearing your seat belt every time you are in a moving vehicle is a sure way to reduce the incidence of banging your head on a solid object. Everyone has a story about how being thrown from a vehicle, as a result of not wearing a seat belt, saved their lives. Unfortunately, this is a rare case scenario. Statistics prove overwhelmingly that seat belts save lives.



• Child Safety Seats: Even though your kids will fight being put into safety or booster seats, they can save lives. Make sure you research the size and style appropriate for your child based upon their current height and weight.



• No Driving Under the Influence: Obviously, not finding yourself in a car accident in the first place is the preferable option. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can massively impair your ability to safely navigate a vehicle.



• Head Protection: Choose the proper head protection for whatever activity you or your children are to be involved with. Even if your kids think it's dorky to wear a helmet while riding their bikes or roller blading, simply insist upon it as a prerequisite for their involvement in the activity. Obviously any type of motorized cycling, boxing, even riding a horse or snow boarding/skiing should all be sporting events where you and your children are protected with proper head gear.



• Safe Senior Living Spaces: Our elderly can become somewhat unstable in their ability to safely navigate normal household spaces. By taking the time to provide safety railings, reduce slick surfaces, and other tactics, you can help eliminate the incidents of falls and their effects on our parents and grandparents.



• Child Proofing: Kids are curious. It's simply a part of their growth and maturation process. While you can't watch over them 100% of the time, you can implement safety measures like locking windows which they could fall out of or installing gates at the top and bottom of stair cases. Anything to reduce the chances they might fall on their heads and cause a serious TBI.



• Impact Resistant Playgrounds: Kids play hard. And they usually fall down hard as a result. If you have any control over where they are playing, try and choose playgrounds which are equipped with sand, rubberized chipped materials or even hardwood mulches. All of these materials reduce the impact of falling children.

There are many ways you can reduce or eliminate the chances of concussions which are caused by Traumatic Brain Injury. These are but a few tactics. Hopefully they will inspire you to think of more ways you can implement safety measures to protect yourself and your loved ones.