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Traumatic Brain Injury Prevention Tips
Safety
Tips for You and Your Family
(Unless
otherwise noted, the following safety tips have been adapted from the
Brain Injury Association of America fact sheets.)
Motor vehicles are
the leading cause of TBI-related hospitalizations (Thurman 2001).
Below are some safety tips for driving or riding in motor vehicles:
- Always wear a seat
belt.
- Properly secure or
buckle children into child safety seats appropriate for their ages and
weights every time you travel.
- Properly secure or
buckle children under 12 in the back seat to avoid air bag injuries.
- Never drive after
using alcohol or drugs.
- Do not ride in a car
with a driver who is drug- or alcohol-impaired.
- Prevent others from
driving while impaired with alcohol or drugs.
Sports- and
recreation-related TBIs are an important public health problem (Thurman
1998). Follow the tips below
to make sports and recreation activities safer for you and your children.
- riding
a bike, motorcycle, scooter, or skateboard;
- in-line
skating and rollerskating;
- skiing
or snowboarding;
- horseback
riding.
- Always
wear helmets during the following sports activities:
- Football
- Ice
hockey
- Batting
and running the bases in baseball and softball
- When
children play at a playground
- Check
the quality of playground equipment and the surfacing below. The
surface below equipment should be shock absorbing material such as
wood products, pea gravel, sand, or rubber products.
The surface should be approximately 12 inches deep.
- Make
sure there is adult supervision.
Falls are the second
leading cause of TBI-related hospitalization (Thurman 2001).
To help prevent falls for you and your loved ones:
- Place
non-slip mats on the bathtub and shower floor;>
- Install
grab bars in the shower and bathtub;
- Use
a step stool with a grab bar to reach objects on high shelves;
- Wear
sturdy non-slip shoes;
- When
possible, reduce the use of medications with side effects that
increase the risk of falling (Thurman 1999);
- Perform
a home safety check and remove things that pose a tripping hazard;
- Secure
banisters and handrails at all stairwells;
- Use
safety gates at the bottom and top of stairs when young children are
around (National SAFE KIDS Campaign 2002).
- Install window
guards on all windows that are not emergency exits (National SAFE KIDS
Campaign 2002).
(More information
about preventing falls is located in the CDC Injury Center's Toolkit
to Prevent Senior Falls)
Firearms are the
leading cause of TBI-related death (Thurman 2001).
If you have firearms in your home, the following steps can make
your home safer:
- Keep
firearms stored unloaded in a locked cabinet or safe.
- Store
bullets in a separate location (Mercy 2002).
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Symptoms of TBI
- If
you think you or someone in your family may have a TBI, seek medical
care right away. Symptoms of concussion among adults (CDC
1999):
- Low-grade
headaches or neck pain that won't go away
- Having
more trouble than usual with mental tasks (e.g., remembering,
concentrating, making decisions)
- Slowness
in thinking, speaking, acting, or reading
- Getting
lost or easily confused
- Feeling
tired all the time, lacking energy or motivation
- Changes
in sleeping patterns (sleeping a lot more or having a hard time
sleeping)
- Feeling
light-headed or dizzy, losing your balance
- Blurred
vision, eyes that tire easily, increased sensitivity to light
- Loss
of the sense of smell or taste
- Ringing
in the ears
- Mood
changes (e.g., feeling sad or angry for no reason)
- Children
may have some of the same symptoms as adults, but they may have a hard
time letting others know how they are feeling. Symptoms of concussion among children include:
- Listlessness
or tiring easily
- Irritability
or crankiness
- Changes
in eating or sleeping patterns
- Changes
in the way the child plays
- Changes
in performance at school
- Lack
of interest in favorite toys or activities
- Loss
of new skills, such as toilet training
- Loss
of balance, unsteady walking
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Recovery Tips for People with TBI
General tips to aid in
recovery include:
- Get
lots of rest. Don't rush into daily activities such as work or school.
- Avoid
doing anything that could cause another blow or jolt to the head.
- Ask
your doctor when it's safe to drive a car, ride a bike, or use heavy
equipment, because your ability to react may be slower after a brain
injury.
- Take
only the drugs your doctor has approved, and don't drink alcohol until
your doctor says it's OK.
- Write things down if
you have a hard time remembering.
- If the brain injury
was severe, the injured person may need therapy to learn skills that
were lost, such as speaking, walking, or reading. Your doctor can help
arrange rehabilitation services.
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In Your Community
There
are many opportunities to raise awareness in your community about the
causes and consequences of traumatic brain injury. Below are some times of
the year that may be appropriate for drawing attention to a particular
issue.
- October
is Brain Injury Awareness Month.
- The
second week of March is Brain Injury Awareness Week.
- December
is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.
- The
week of Valentine’s Day is National Child Passenger Safety Week.
- The
fourth week of April is National Playground Safety Week.
In
addition, school is a great place to incorporate prevention efforts. The National
SAFE KIDS Campaign website
and the National
Program for Playground Safety website have teacher plans and
student handouts about motor vehicle, sports and recreation, and
playground safety.
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Links to Partner
Organizations
Government
Organizations
National Bicycle Safety
Network (NBSN)
NBSN works to
coordinate efforts among government, private, non-profit, and research
organizations to reduce the number of bicycle injuries.
It promotes bicycle safety through public education,
information-sharing among member organizations, and appropriate
environmental changes.
www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike/
Phone:
800-554-PLAY (7529)
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
NHTSA is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses
resulting from motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA provides consumer information
about motor vehicle safety topics.
www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Child Passenger Safety: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/
Phone:
888-DASH-2-DOT (888-326-4236)
National <>Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
NINDS’s
mission is to reduce the burden of neurological disease—a burden borne
by every age group, by every segment of society, by people all over the
world.
www.ninds.nih.gov
NIH
Neurological Institute
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
Phone: 800-352-9424
Non-Government Organizations
Brain Injury
Association of America (BIAA)
BIAA
identifies and responds to the needs of individuals with brain injury and
their families. It creates
new and innovative programs to serve its constituencies.
BIAA has state-chartered affiliates, to help injured persons.
BIAA also has a number of fact sheets about TBI.
www.biausa.org
105
North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone:
703-236-6000
Toll
Free: 800-444-6443
Fax:
703-236-6001
BIAA
fact sheets:
www.biausa.org/Prevfacts.htm
National Program for
Playground Safety (NPPS)
Under a grant from the CDC NPSS works to reduce the annual
playground-related injuries suffered by America’s youth. NPPS also
serves as a recognized national clearinghouse for playground safety
information.
www.uni.edu/playground
School for Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services
WRC 205
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0618
Phone: 800-554-PLAY
(7529)
National SAFE KIDS
Campaign
The
National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national organization
dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury, the
number one killer of children ages 14 and under.
www.safekids.org
1301
Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202-662-0600
Fax: 202-393-2072
ThinkFirst National
Injury Prevention Foundation
Thinkfirst Foundation works to prevent brain, spinal cord, and other
traumatic injuries by educating of individuals, community leaders, and
policy makers.
www.thinkfirst.org
5550 Meadowbrook
Drive, Suite 110
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Phone: 847-290-8600
Fax: 847-290-9005
Email: thinkfirst@thinkfirst.org
Reference
Thurman
D. The epidemiology and economics of head trauma. In: Miller L, Hayes R,
editors. Head Trauma: Basic, Preclinical, and Clinical Directions.
New York (NY): Wiley and Sons; 2001.
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