Signs of Brain Injury: A Practical Look

Looking Beyond the Clinical – What You Might See With a Brain Injury

We often see brain injury, especially in cases where there are other related physical elements, referred to as a “silent” condition. Stroke, accidents, and combat are prime examples of those cases where brain events are not the first things detected nor are they the primary focus after the incident.

I read a piece this week in the Alzheimer’s Reading Room (an excellent practical blog that serves as a wonderful resource for caregivers, family members, and others living with someone with AD) that listed not just clinical symptoms of AD but also practical things to watch for – signs that someone around you might have some kind of cognitive disturbance. In other words, how to “see” a behavior as a signal or a warning sign!

Let’s look, this week, at some of the clinically stated symptoms of brain injury and put them in real life perspective. The following clinical symptoms are the ones that are not so easy to detect and are bits and pieces borrowed from the Mayo Clinic’s Traumatic Brain Injury page.

SYMPTOM: Sensory problems, such as blurred vision, ringing in the ears or a bad taste in the mouth
EXAMPLE:
• “What is that smell?” when there is nothing unusual.
• Favorite foods don’t taste good or are no quite right. You might hear “Did you try a different recipe?”.
• Children might have “crawly” feeling (skin sensations) or hear mosquitoes or bees.
• Limbs “fall asleep” more than usual and for not identifiable reason.
• Repeatedly cleaning glasses, moving closer to the TV, changing the position (closer and farther away) of reading material.
• Does not turn on the lights or sits in silence.

SYMPTOM: Change in ability to pay attention
EXAMPLE: The key word here is “CHANGE”.
• You have to repeat instructions more than usual and maybe things still don’t get done.
• Everything gets started (projects, tasks, chores, thoughts, games, puzzles, books, preparing dinner, laundry, etc.) but nothing is finished when that is normally not the case or at least to a lesser extent.
• Can’t sit still for personal normal periods of time.

SYMPTOM: Mood changes or mood swings
EXAMPLES:
• Unusual emotional outbursts or periods of long silence.
• A lack of patience (resulting in agitation) in situations that would not normally be a source of anxiety as seen in little things like waiting for toast to finish or clothes to finish drying.
• Not interested in favorite things or routine things. In children, this could be things like not interested in favorite toys or activities.
• Does not want to be around people.

The key to all of this is look for CHANGE! Keep a list and report all of this to the person or group managing care. They may be breadcrumbs that will help form better treatment but at the very least all of these things are indicators that help build the best plan for recovery.

What other practical, everyday signs and symptoms have you seen?