March Is National Brain Injury Awareness Month

The purpose of National Brain Injury Awareness Month in March is to help those who suffer from brain injuries tell their stories and raise awareness of the different types of brain injuries that can occur. With this national event, plus the awareness raised by the Brain Injury Association of America, a lot of people suffering from brain injury will have access to great resources.

The Brain Injury Association of America, founded in 1980, is currently the leading national organization that services individuals, families and medical professionals who deal daily with traumatic brain injuries that are life-altering and can be devastating. There are currently over 5 million Americans living with traumatic brain injuries and the BIAA has hundreds of local support groups across the United States to help them cope.

A traumatic brain injury is when a blow or jolt hits the head hard enough it causes the brain to move within the skull or the skull breaks and the brain is directly hurt. When this happens, the injury disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. Not all head injuries result in brain dysfunction. A traumatic brain injury can result in both short-term and long-term problems that involve impairment of cognitive abilities, physical functioning or both.

Brain injury is very complex because no two injuries are the same. How each person may react to the same type of trauma is unknown. The cause, location and severity also are factors in how a person will react to a brain injury.

According to the Brain Injury Association of America, approximately 1.4 traumatic brain injuries occur each year. Every 23 seconds someone will suffer from a traumatic brain injury. Out of those injuries, 50,000 people die, 235,000 are hospitalized, and over 1 million are treated and released from the emergency room. It is unknown how many people suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) who do not receive medical assistance.

Men seem to be at a higher risk of receiving a traumatic brain injury than women. African-American males have the highest death rate from traumatic brain injury. Age groups at the highest risk are from newborn to 4 years old and 15 - 19 years old. For those in the military, certain military duties can increase the risk of traumatic brain injury.

The most common causes of traumatic brain injuries include falls, motor vehicle crashes, pedestrians struck by a car, and assaults. Traumatic brain injury that affect military employees usually result from blasts in war zones and paratroopers.

Traumatic brain injuries can increase the risk for other medical conditions including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer's and other brain disorders. Other problems traumatic brain injury can cause include changes that affect thinking, sensation, and emotions.

To make a donation to the Brain Injury Association of America during Brain Injury Awareness Month, you can visit their website. You can select whether you want to make a general donation, memorial donation or a tribute donation. Through donations the BIAA has been able to provide support to victims and families of traumatic brain injuries for the past 28 years.