Traumatic Brain Injury in the military Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Traumatic Brain Injury in the military - Essay Example According to DHCC (2010), "TBI is often associated with severe multiple trauma, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or undiagnosed concussions and screening patients who are at risk for a TBI is important in order to ensure that TBIs are identified and appropriately treated." In this essay, TBI among military personnel will be discussed briefly. Any insult to the brain due to some form of external force is known as traumatic brain injury. According to DHCC (2010), "A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain." The injury can lead to any sequelae like altered consciousness, impaired cognition, delirium and impaired physical functioning. These changes can lead to various problems with thinking, language, movement, concentration and even sensation. TBI can also lead to other emotional and personality changes, tiredness, depression, violence, irritability, disinhibited behavior and lack of ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Among the military personnel, those who are on active duty are at more risk of suffering TBI when compared to their civilian peers. In general, statistics show that men between 18- 24 years of age are at increased risk of TBI when compared to other age groups (DVBIC, 2009). It is also important to note than TBI can occur even during daily activities, especially when they are unusual. Military personnel frequently enjoy certain non-service activities like climbing mountains, parachuting, riding motor cycles and car racing. These activities may be a part of their daily physical training. These services are basically intended to increase their quality of life, however; they are also fraught with increased risk of TBI (DVBIC, 2009). Spinal cord injuries and TBI account for about 25 percent of casualities related to combat (DVBIC, 2009). The most common type of combat-related injury is concussion and mild traumatic brain injury. In current scen ario, use of protective devices like Kelvar helmets and various types of advanced body armours have infact, minimized the incidence of TBI and have saved the lives of many military personnel. But these gadgets do not protect the frontal aspects of the head, the facial parts and also the spinal cord. Thus, though advanced medical care helps in improving survival rates, the long terms effects of the injuries continue to haunt the personnel (DVBIC, 2009). TBIs in military operations are often complex and can be of multiple types. A blast can cause sudden both external and internal injuries. It can cause contusions and concussions in the brain. Flying fragments of the blast can cause tear of various structures and lead to various sequelae. The various signs and symptoms related to TBI depend on the extent and area of injury. In war, poly trauma can occur and due to other organ damage and injury to other parts of the body, it is often difficult to predict the extent of brain injury. Whil e most symptoms are obvious immediately after the injury, some may manifest a few days or even a few weeks after injury. Some patients may present with simple problems like confabulation wherein the individual cooks up stories in gaps of memory (Kennard, 2006). In mild TBI, there may be no obvious changes on CT or MRI scan. However, the patient may present with few symptoms like blurring of