If you have found yourself dealing with a severe head injury, then it can be very frustrating. It doesn't matter if you have banged your head on a door or in a car accident, or while playing sports. A head injury is something that needs to be looked at and analyzed by a doctor. If you have been injured in an accident, here's what you need to know about how to take care of yourself.
Head Injury -- Urgent Care or ER?
It can be very difficult to determine if you need to go to the ER for your head injury, because most people don't get severe head injuries that often. But the worst thing you can do is to put off getting some serious help because you don't think your head injury is a big deal, so look out for these symptoms.
If you have lost consciousness and blacked out, then seeing a doctor and calling 911 to get into the ER is typically the first thing that you need to do. If you are bleeding from your head, then you need to seek out the ER doctors in order to get some help with taking care of yourself and getting your head stitched back together.
You also want to call for medical help if you suspect you have had a concussion. A concussion can cause various injuries to both your brain and the inside of your head, because your brain will move from the impact and hit the inside of your skull. So don't be afraid to reach out and call for urgent care for a head injury if you start showing any of the symptoms of a concussion.
Causes Of Cognitive Impairment
Head Injuries
Head injuries and especially concussions can cause serious impairment to your brain. While one head injury isn't going to do too much, depending on factors like your age and the damage that was caused, if you continually receive constant head injuries, then your cognitive impairment will be much worse. This is why you see boxers and sports stars have to worry so much about concussions and the damage they are doing to their heads, because the more they get knocked around the worse their brain health gets.
Age
Of course, our brain and our thinking skills start to really slow down as we start to age. Getting older does a number on our physical and mental capabilities, especially if our bodies are having to recover from injuries and diseases as well. Thankfully, there are a great many things people can do at all ages to overcome the cognitive impairment that comes with age.
This includes eating brain healthy foods, getting time outside and spending time with loved ones, regularly challenging the brain with puzzles and facts, and taking supplements to boost brain health and power.
Illness
Finally, regardless of age, various illnesses and ailments can affect the brain. These include diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke, and Parkinson's disease. Additionally, mental health problems like depression have been shown to have a negative impact on the brain as well. So make sure to take care of every aspect of your health, and check with your doctors regularly in order to make sure that problems can be caught before they mess with your brain.
Don't Be Afraid To Keep Training Your Brain
Your brain is a muscle, and just like any muscle it needs to be used, so don't be afraid to keep learning and retaining information. That's the best way to keep the brain healthy.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
