Brain injuries are unfortunately common medical events, as evidenced by statistics supplied by UK brain injury charity Headway; according to Headway, there are over 350,000 admissions to hospitals for brain injuries each year, having increased by 12% over the last 15 years. But brain injuries are not always immediately diagnosed in patients, and some are unfortunate enough to fall through the cracks when it comes to diagnosis and treatment. How easy is it to overlook a brain injury?Brain Injury - Causes and EffectsBrain injuries occur from a wide variety of causes, and can manifest in a wide variety of ways. The most common kinds of brain injury are traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, which occur when the brain suffers from impact. Brain injury claims against workplaces or public liability insurance typically center around TBIs, and the long-term impacts of a slip, trip, or fall - the most common kind of accident in the UK.TBIs are not exclusively caused by falls, though. Road traffic incidents can also cause TBIs, even if the injured person does not directly collide with anything. TBIs occur as a result of energy transferring through the skull, or more often the brain hitting the walls of the skull; this can, in some extreme instances, be caused by the same mechanisms that cause whiplash.Brain injuries can also be caused by other physiological factors. One common example of this is meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation of the tissue surrounding your brain. Extreme cases can cause permanent damage from the pressure. Likewise, strokes can cause permanent damage to the brain and bodily functions through the restriction of blood supply to the brain.How Might Brain Injuries Be Overlooked?A key reason why brain injuries can often be overlooked - even by well-trained medical professionals - relates to the ways in which symptoms can express themselves. The brain is a highly complex organ that coordinates almost all bodily functions and activity; as such, damage to the brain can cause a plurality of symptoms and side effects, some of which are less obvious than others.One of the leading factors in the misdiagnosis of brain injury is the commonality of certain symptoms. If a patient complains of a headache, fatigue, or even forgetfulness, there are many other common conditions and disorders that could describe their cause. One such condition might be depression, which frequently presents as tiredness and issues with short-term memory.A simple point here, but it is also the case that brain injuries are much harder to identify by virtue of being internal. Most traumatic events display physical evidence, whether in the form of bruising or laceration; brain injuries are not readily apparent, and can only be detected through scans and long-term monitoring programs.Mental Health ImpactsDepression was mentioned as an example of a common misdiagnosis of brain injury, but it is also important to understand the interrelationship between brain injury and mental illness. As well as physical and physiological symptoms, brain injuries can increase the chances of developing a mental illness - from common disorders like depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder to Borderline Personality Disorder and even schizophrenia.
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