You might already be familiar with some common signs of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). If a loved one suffers a blow to the head, you might check to see if their pupils are dilated, if they are unusually sleepy or if they have a headache that does not go away after a while or grows worse.
What you might not already know is that there are some less common, but incredibly serious side-effects of a TBI. One of these side-effects is seizures.
What is a seizure?
A seizure takes place when the brain’s normal synapses are disrupted and there is a sudden jump in electrical activity in the brain.
A seizure can come on suddenly and cause a person to fall unconscious and lose muscle control. They may have trouble breathing, and it can take a while to snap out of a seizure.
But not all seizures are this violent. Sometimes a person who suffers a seizure experiences milder symptoms such as headache, tiredness or mild loss of balance. Still, even a mild seizure can disrupt a person’s life.
TBIs and seizures
Some side-effects of TBIs, such as seizures, are not experienced for days or weeks following the initial injury. It is important to know when seizures might occur following a TBI, so you can be on the lookout for signs of a seizure if you or a loved one suffer a head injury.
Some seizures take place within the first week of the TBI. These are referred to as early post-traumatic seizures.
Some seizures do not take place until a week has passed since the person suffered the TBI. These are referred to as late post-traumatic seizures.
And some people will have ongoing incidents of seizures following a TBI. This condition is referred to as epilepsy.
Seizures can seriously impact a person’s daily life, making it difficult if not impossible to go back to work or even perform routine tasks such as driving or cooking. Those who suffer a TBI due to someone else’s actions and subsequently develops seizures might need to seek compensation for the financial harm they suffered.