“PREVENTION OF BRAIN INJURY” February 24, 2010

Posted by davedemarest in Uncategorized.
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There is no “cure” for brain injury.  As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  The prevention of a brain injury is the only way to guarantee that an individual and his/her family don’t have to deal with the potential life-long effects of such an injury.  There is hope for the future in research, such as that being conducted using stem cells to restore brain functioning in damaged brains, but prevention remains the only cure for a brain injury.

Here at On With Life, we are also doing our part to prevent brain injuries, through our education to persons served and their families about the increased risks to brains that have been injured, from another injury, from the negative effects of alcohol on the brain, or from other dangerous practices. We are also represented on the Iowa Governor’s Advisory Council on Brain Injuries, which will soon publish a card game that can be given to children and parents, schools, doctor’s offi ces, etc., to teach children about preventing brain injury. We have also partnered with the Iowa Brain Injury Association to sell bicycle helmets at cost.

The following material is from the Governor’s Advisory Council on Brain Injuries and the Brain Injury Association of Iowa, related to prevention of brain injury, including prevention in children, athletes, and seniors:

Prevention Task Force
The Governor’s Advisory Council Prevention Task Force looks at activities that the Council can support or be involved in that would prevent or reduce the number or severity of brain injuries in the state of Iowa. These activities over the years have included supporting legislation that would make motorcycle and bicycle helmets mandatory in the state of Iowa, support of legislation that made seat belts mandatory in Iowa and recent support for more strict child passenger restraint legislation, funding the distribution of bicycle helmets to children through the SAFE KIDS Coalitions in Iowa, and support of local initiatives that would also further the goal of preventing or reducing brain injury in Iowa.

Of particular concern to the Prevention Task Force is the fact that falls were the second most frequent cause of brain injury hospitalizations in Iowa. Falls account for about one in three brain injury hospital admissions and they occurred most frequently among the elderly.

Of fall related brain injury hospitalizations in 1999, 62 percent occurred among those aged 65 and older while persons in this age group represented just 15 percent of the Iowa population.

Brain Injury Can be Prevented!!
Many of the brain injuries that occur annually in this country can be prevented.

Each year 140,000 persons die from brain injuries and 70,000 persons sustain severe brain damage.

The true extent of brain injury is conveyed by numbers, but lives, hopes, dreams, families, and friendships are often altered in the wake of a brain injury. Research, rehabilitation, public awareness, and PREVENTION can help to lessen the occurrence of brain injuries in our society. Following are some of the resources available:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
provides a variety of information on how to prevent brain injuries.

• The National Safe Kids Campaign provides a great list of tips for kids.

• The Bike Helmet Safety Institute provides quick answers on how to buy a helmet and other Frequently Asked Questions.
Resources

• Concussion prevention tools for coaches, parents and athletes – A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Even a “ding,” “getting your bell rung,” or what seems to be a mild bump or blow to the head can be serious. The CDC has created free tools for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, athletes, and health care professionals that provide important information on preventing, recognizing, and responding to a concussion, available at http://www.cdc.gov/concussion.

✧ Each year, U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 sports- and recreation-related TBIs, including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18. (MMWR July 2007)

✧ Athletes who have ever had a concussion are at an increased risk for another concussion.

✧ Children and teens are more likely to get a concussion and take longer to recover than adults.

• The National Bike Safety Network -
www.bicyclinginfo.org/bikemore/helmet 

Each year, more than 500,000 people in the US are treated in emergency departments, and more than 700 people die, as a result of bicycle-related injuries.  In 2001, children 15 years and younger accounted for 59% of all bicycle-related injuries and an estimated 140,000 children are treated each year in emergency departments for head injuries sustained while bicycling.

Safety tips for bicyclists
✧ Always ride with traffic and follow the rules of the road. Ride in a straight line, use hand signals when turning and stopping. Obey traffic signs, signals, and lane markings and yield to traffic when appropriate, including pedestrians.

✧ Don’t ride on the sidewalk. At every driveway and intersection, you are at much greater risk of being hit by a motorist than if you were riding on the road with traffi c. Pedestrians will thank you for riding on the road as well.

✧ Ride on the trail, paved shoulder, bike lane, or bike route. Ride to the right, signal your turns, obey traffic signs and signals.

✧ Be predictable and visible. Make sure everyone can see you and knows where you are and where you are going. If riding in the dark, use headlights, taillights and reflectors, and wear reflective materials and brightly colored clothing. Do not wear headphones or talk on a cell phone while bicycling.

✧ Watch for stuff on the road or trail that might make you fall or swerve. Rocks, trash, storm grates, wet leaves, potholes, gravel, railroad tracks, and even wet pavement markings can all send you fl ying. Also watch
for parked cars, doors opening, and cars pulling in and out of driveways.

✧ Watch for turning traffic.

✧ Always wear a helmet. Helmets provide a 63 to 88 percent reduction in the risk of head, brain, and severe brain injury for all ages of bicyclists (Thompson, 2007).

• A Tool Kit to Prevent Senior Falls –
http://www.cdc.gov/braininjuryinseniors
The CDC’s Help Seniors Live Better, Longer: Prevent Brain Injury campaign is targeted to children and caregivers of older adults and includes an activity guide, media guide, fact sheet, and other materials to assist in prevention, recognition, and response to fall-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adults 75
and older.

The Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas

• In the United States during 2005, 1,335 children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and approximately 184,000 were injured. That’s an average of 4 deaths and 504 injuries each day.

• Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years.

• According to researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, for children 4 to 7 years, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to seat belts alone.

• All children ages 12 years and younger should ride in the back seat. Adults should avoid placing children in front of airbags. Putting children in the back seat eliminates the injury risk of deployed front passenger side airbags and places children in the safest part of the vehicle in the event of a crash.

• Overall, for children less than 16 years, riding in the back seat is associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of serious injury in children under age 5. In 2006, an estimated 425 lives were saved by car and booster seat use.

Iowa State Dept. of Health: http://www.idph.state.ia.us

Think First National Injury Prevention Foundation: http://www.ninds.nih.gov

The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives:  http://www.dana.org

Brain Injury Assoc. Family Help Line: 1-800-444-6443

Visit our website http://onwithlife.org for links to these resources and additional information.

STAY SAFE! PREVENT INJURIES

BEFORE THEY HAPPEN!