• 09
  • November
    2011

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that emergency rooms and hospitals throughout the country have seen a 60 percent increase in the number of visits for adolescent and child brain injuries. The significant rise in visits is likely due to the increased awareness of the harm caused by brain injuries, but many medical professionals believe that brain injuries are still underreported.

The majority of the brain injury visits to the emergency room for children between the ages of 1 to 19 were due to sport-related or activity-related injuries. However, children can also suffer a life-threatening traumatic brain injury in a car accident or pedestrian or bike accident with a car.

Parents must be alert to the warning signs of a brain injury including:

  • Head or neck pain
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Difficulty walking or speaking
  • Limited mobility
  • Sleepiness or lethargy
  • Trouble breathing

After a sports injury or a car accident with the possibility of a brain injury, parents should immediately help their child seek medical emergency attention. Brain injuries in children take longer to heal and often require medical intervention to lessen the long-term symptoms of memory loss and behavior and learning problems, according to the CDC.

Source: JS Online "Emergency room visits for brain injuries soar," Don Walker, 10/17/2011