Can a Baby Die From Hitting His Head to Much

Abstract

Traumatic encephalon injury, or TBI, is an injury to the brain acquired past a bump or hit to the head. It is a common injury in children and tin cause lasting symptoms and disabilities. There are different causes of TBI, such as car accidents, falls, or football game tackles. Fortunately, in that location are ways nosotros can reduce TBI past making condom choices, such every bit buckling our seatbelts and wearing helmets while playing sports.

Introduction

Before we dive into talking about brain injury, we want to introduce something scientists phone call the Monroe-Kellie Doctrine, which is of import for understanding how traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens. Recall most your skull like a suitcase. If you are packing for a trip, you tin can only fit in a certain number of items. So, if y'all pack too many clothes, y'all would not be able to pack other things, similar your favorite book. The Monroe-Kellie Doctrine states that there is a express amount of space in the skull to hold all of the cells that make up the brain tissue, the blood that supplies oxygen to the tissue, and a special type of fluid that cushions the brain, called cerebrospinal fluid. And then, because the space is express, if there is an increase in any one of these three things, one or both of the other two will have to decrease. That means that if you hit your head and the brain swells, there volition exist less room for blood, which could mean the encephalon volition get even more injured. Or, if you hit your head and the blood vessels in your brain first to bleed, the brain tissue may end upwardly getting squished to make room for the claret.

Types of Head Injuries

There are different types of TBI. Get-go, we will talk about main vs. secondary injuries. A primary injury is the initial injury; nosotros will hash out what you can do to prevent a primary injury from happening. Afterwards the chief injury, secondary injury can cause even more than damage to the cells and tissues. Some mutual examples of secondary injuries include inflammation (where brain tissue and blood vessels corking), hypoxia (when at that place is less oxygen going to the encephalon), and cellular death [one].

TBIs tin can also be grouped into ii types: focal vs. lengthened. Focal means that the injury occurred in a specific part of the encephalon. Every bit you tin can run into in Figure 1, the encephalon is divided into different parts, each with a different job.

• Effigy 1 - The brain is divided into different sections, chosen lobes, shown in different colors in this diagram.
• Lobes control things like movement, speech communication, and behavior. When a head injury occurs to a certain lobe or brain structure, then the functions that lobe or construction is responsible for tin be impaired. For example, an injury to the temporal lobe can consequence in memory loss.

Many focal injuries occur in the membranes roofing the brain and spinal cord, which are called the meninges (see Figure 2). For instance, claret can collect betwixt the two outermost membranes. We call this type of bleeding a hemorrhage or hematoma [2]. This takes us dorsum to the Monroe-Kellie Doctrine. In hemorrhage, if too much blood builds up in the skull, the amount of encephalon tissue and/or cerebrospinal fluid must decrease. Compression of encephalon tissue can damage or impale encephalon cells, and this can preclude a person from functioning usually.

• Figure 2 - The membranes covering the encephalon and spinal cord are called the meninges.
• The three meninges are called the dura, arachnoid, and pia mater. Haemorrhage most usually occurs betwixt the dura and the arachnoid layers. Public domain epitome obtained from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meninges_diagram.jpg.

Diffuse injuries occur over a larger area of the brain. In many of these injuries, less oxygen flows into the brain, similar to what happens in hypoxia [iii]. Some other common type of diffuse encephalon injury involves damage to the axons, which are the parts of brain cells that transport signals between the brain cells and the body. Axon damage can lead to the inability to move normally [two].

Brain injuries tin can have many other symptoms besides motility problems. Speaking commonly, agreement what other people are proverb, memorizing things, and eating can become difficult. Sometimes, mood swings and even depression can occur. Fortunately, patients tin can re-larn some of these tasks with therapy. The blazon of therapy a patient needs will depend on the location and severity of the injury, but might include physical therapy (to help with muscle weakness), occupational therapy (to help adapt to challenges in fine motor skills like brushing your teeth or cut upwardly your nutrient), psychological counseling (to aid with low and anxiety), or appointments with a learning specialist (to assist with problems reading and focusing).

Now that yous have a general thought of what TBI is, we will discuss how these injuries occur and, more importantly, how y'all can prevent 1 from happening.

Causes, Mechanisms, and Preventions

In children and teenagers, the brain and skull continue to grow and more complex brain functions develop [4]. Considering of these changes, TBIs tin can affect children at dissimilar ages in singled-out ways. For instance, a brain injury could cause more impairment to a baby than it would a teenager, by interfering with normal brain growth and evolution.

Unfortunately, TBIs can occur during many fun activities (such as sports, running, or walking) and/or other things that we spend a lot of fourth dimension doing (such every bit driving/riding in a car). Fortunately, nevertheless, there are ways to reduce our risk of TBI! Table 1 includes the common causes of TBI. Scientists accept learned a lot most how TBI happens, by studying information technology in humans too as modeling the condition in animals. While information technology may seem strange to give an brute like a mouse a TBI, it is a keen opportunity for TBI researchers considering, by using animals, variations that occur in humans, like nutrition, sleep cycles, and genetics, can be tightly controlled so that we know which factors contribute to TBI. From the human and beast studies, scientists take learned that TBIs activate a number of processes in the trunk, such equally inflammation, cellular stress, and cell death.

• Table 1 - A summary of the most common mechanisms of TBI, and some piece of cake prevention strategies to do.

Sports-Related Injuries

A hit to the head can occur while playing tackle football game, skateboarding, doing gymnastics, or playing softball; thankfully, most are of these head injuries are mild injuries, such as concussion [v, six]. But at that place is a good reason that parents, coaches, and other grownups e'er tell the states to wear our helmets! Helmets protect the head, encephalon, and face up from injuries while nosotros play the sports we honey. A helmet works best when it is the correct size, when the mentum strap is buckled tightly, and when there is padding on the inside. If a helmet is too big, not buckled, or is not cushioned, then when a player is tackled or a skateboarder wipes out, a TBI is more likely to occur [7]. While helmets typically do a great job of protecting united states, TBIs tin can still happen even when nosotros wear them. You should e'er tell an developed (a parent, guardian, or passenger vehicle) if you hit your caput, so that the adult can cheque you out and have y'all to a doctor if needed! Researchers are trying to ameliorate helmet blueprint past making the outside and inside piece of work together better to protect your head from TBI, and then that y'all tin can keep participating safely in the sports and activities that you love [7].

Motor Vehicle Collisions

Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs) can effect in many types of injuries, including TBI. Injuries from an MVC cannot always be avoided, only they tin exist minimized by practicing seat belt prophylactic. Seat belts keep us from beingness jerked around during fast turns and sudden stops. If your seatbelt is not worn properly, it is more likely that you could hit your head on objects inside the auto or even get thrown from the car in the case of a collision. Researchers have establish that people who were properly wearing their seat belts during MVCs were less likely to accept TBIs, and they also had lower rates of TBI complications, such every bit brain bleeds or memory loss [8]. This is just 1 of the reasons why it is always important to wear a seat belt, and to employ additional restraints, such as booster seats, if needed. These safety measures utilise whether y'all are just traveling down the street or all the style beyond the state. Kids are not always big enough to fit into their seat belts properly. If you lot can wiggle in the seat belt, then an additional restraint, like a automobile seat or booster cushion, is suggested [9]. This is unremarkably the case for all kids, from babies to eleven-years-sometime. It is important to recall that the type of auto seat or booster seat needed depends on the child's height and weight. Be certain to cheque the manufacturer'southward guidelines or cheque with a dr. when choosing a product that will go along you safe in the event of an MVC.

Falls

An innocent slip and autumn can result in serious injuries, including a TBI. Falls can happen anywhere: walking around the business firm (especially with socks on a tile floor), playing tag in the park, going up and down the stairs, or jumping on the bed [4]. To foreclose falls from happening, always use a handrail when going upwards and down stairs, do non run within the firm, proceed your shoes tied to avoid tripping, and refrain from standing or jumping on article of furniture.

What else tin can I practice?

Other than taking the common rubber measures we have described, there are other things that you can practise every day to help make your brain more than resistant to injury. It all begins with living an active and healthy lifestyle. This means that it is of import to eat your green vegetables (especially spinach!) because they contains a lot of vitamin E, which helps your brain cells, and thus your brain, to stay in tip-top shape [10].

When your brain is performing at its best, it is more likely to recover from an injury. Junk foods like cheeseburgers, chips, and ice cream are good to eat on occasion, but it is important to remember that we need to keep our brains and bodies healthy. Exercise is as well important for building your encephalon'due south resistance to injury [10]. Y'all can go to the park to play with your siblings and friends a few times a week or play sports–wearing a helmet, of form!

Determination

Scientists have put a lot of fourth dimension and try into learning about how TBIs occur, their affect on the human torso, and the ways nosotros can better protect ourselves from TBI (such as amend helmet design). Although there are multiple types of head injuries, all with dissimilar symptoms, the important thing to recall is that they all result in an imbalance of brain fluid, tissue, and blood within the skull.

Glossary

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): ↑ A brain injury caused by a bump or hit to the head.

Focal Injury: ↑ A encephalon injury that occurs in a specific role of the brain.

Meninges: ↑ The membranes covering the brain and spinal string.

Lengthened Injury: ↑ A brain injury that occurs over a wider expanse of the brain.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Reference

[1] ↑ Bramlett, H. 1000., and Dietrich, Westward. D. 2015. Long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury: current condition of potential mechanisms of injury and neurological outcomes. J. Neurotrauma 32:1834–48. doi: 10.1089/neu.2014.3352

[two] ↑ Davidsson, J., and Risling, Thou. 2011. A new model to produce sagittal plane rotational induced diffuse axonal injuries. Front. Neurol. four:41. doi: x.3389/fneur.2011.00041

[iii] ↑ Andriessen, T. Thousand., Jacobs, B., and Vos, P. Due east. 2010. Clinical characteristics and pathophysiological mechanisms of focal and diffuse traumatic brain injury. J. Cell. Mol. Med. xiv:2381–92. doi: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2010.01164.x

[iv] ↑ Ibrahim, North. G., Wood, J., Margulies, S. S., and Christian, C. Westward. 2012. Influence of historic period and fall type on head injuries in infants and toddlers. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. thirty:201–half-dozen. doi: ten.1016/j.ijdevneu.2011.10.007

[5] ↑ Pfister, T., Pfister, K., Hagel, B., Ghali, W. A., and Ronksley, P. E. 2016. The incidence of concussion in youth sports: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brit. J. Sports Med. 50:292–7. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094978

[6] ↑ Sharma, V. Yard., Rango, J., Connaughton, A. J., Lombardo, D. J., and Sabesan, Five. J. 2015. Current land of caput and cervix injuries in extreme sports. Orthopedic J. Sports Med. 3:1–6. doi: x.1177/2325967114564358

[seven] ↑ Daneshvar, D. H., Baugh, C. One thousand., Nowinski, C. J., McKee, A. C., Stern, R. A., and Cantu, R. C. 2011. Helmets and mouthguards: the part of personal equipment in preventing sport-related concussions. Clin. Sports Med. 30:145–63. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.006

[eight] ↑ Kuo, C., Chiou, H., Lin, J., Tsai, S., Chiang, Y., Lin, C., et al. 2015. Seatbelt use and traumatic encephalon injury in Taiwan: a 16-year study. Iran J. Public Wellness 44:470–8. doi: ten.1016/b978-0-12-802686-one.00010-ix

[9] ↑ Globe Health Organization. The Need for Seatbelts and Kid Restraints.

[10] ↑ Gomez-Pinilla, F., and Kostenkova, Thou. 2008. The influence of diet and physical activity on brain repair and neurosurgical outcome. Surg. Neurol. seventy:333–6. doi: 10.1016/j.surneu.2008.05.023

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Source: https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2019.00127

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