General Symptoms for brain injury

The symptoms we mention to detect brain injury. The external lesions, easily recognizable, does not however determine the severity of head injury.

Disorders of consciousness occurring immediately after the accident: It is the key symptom of a primary brain injury. There are several degrees of severity from mild disorder (obtundation, stupor) to deep coma (loss of consciousness and absence of any response).Disorders of consciousness or loss of consciousness may last a few minutes (concussion), but also several days (cerebral contusion). Concussions do not show pathological changes in the brain, while the damage to the tissue are visible in case of cerebral contusion. The KO boxing matches in the best cases to a concussion.

Loss of consciousness occurs in a secondary way (with a latency temporary) or worsening of a disorder of consciousness that emerged from the beginning. The patient does not take his mind with more time passes, but his conscious state deteriorated. This symptom indicates that damage is being amplified, it is therefore a secondary injury of the brain. The causes are an increase in pressure inside the skull (intracranial pressure) and compression of the brain due to hemorrhage (figure c) or swelling of the brain.

Memory loss (amnesia): When the patient regains consciousness, he persisted in his memory loss or amnesia for everything that happened after the accident, more often for events that preceded it.

Defections nerve: They concern the movement and manifested by paralysis on the side opposite the brain lesion. The lack of sensitivity is more difficult to detect at first.

Changing the ward: A pupil more dilated than the other, that is to say, the inequality of the pupils, may be a sign of bleeding inside the skull on the side of the pupil dilated.

Bleeding: The bleeding from nose, mouth, ears suggests a common fracture of the face or skull base.

Oozing blood flow with clear cerebrospinal fluid (liquor) from the nose or ears: They indicate a relationship open to the inside of the skull. They are caused by fractures of the anterior and lateral base of the skull.

Disorders of body functions controlled unconscious (vegetative): Vomiting is possible at any time when a head injury and brain, even if the patient is deeply unconscious. Changes in blood pressure, heart rhythm disorders and metabolic disorders may be passengers, but also persist for several years after the accident.