Prevention - Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury is a life-altering event. A TBI can affect nearly every aspect of one's life. The following are tips and suggestions on the prevention of traumatic brain injury:

• Wear a seat belt every time you drive or ride in a motor vehicle.
• Be sure to have your child buckled into a child safety seat, or booster seat, or seat belt according to the age of the child.
• Never drive when under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• When riding a motorcycle or bike always wear a helmet. This also includes when riding a three wheeler, snow mobile, even skiing. Contact sports, such as football, baseball, hockey, rollerskating, and horseback riding are all reasons to protect, and prevent you from injury.

A big percent of head injuries occur at home, to prevent these types of things from happening:

• Use a stool to step on when reaching for things that are too high up.
• Be sure that staircases have handrails and there are window guards on the windows to ensure that your children don't fall out.
• Keep hazardous wires and cords out of the way. Small area rugs with no grip on the back, can be hazardous also.
• Be sure that your vision is checked by an eye physician on a regular basis to lessen the risk of falling.
• Make sure that your child's play area is shock resistant, using sand, or hardwood.
• Store all firearms in a location that is locked and secured. This will prevent children and teens from gaining access.

The bathtub is the most common place to have a fall with injury to the head. To prevent this, always use some sort of non slip mat in the tub, or shower. The elderly need to have a side bar in the tub area for support when getting in ad out.

See also:

Traumatic Brain Injury Home
Causes
Clinical Trials
Complications
Coma
Rehabilitation
Symptoms

CDC - TBI Prevention