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Concussions Are More Serious Than You Probably Think
It is crazy to think that just a few years ago a mild traumatic brain injury was considered an insignificant injury. Concussions are common in sports and athletes were raised in a culture that told them that “getting your bell rung” is just a part of the game.
We’ve made great advancements in the short span of time since then. Every state has legislation of some manner, put into place to protect students from unnecessary risk of severe brain injuries or repeated concussions. Yet, we still have such a long way to go.
The current estimates say 2.5 million people will visit American emergency rooms for traumatic brain injuries of some form over the course of 2014. Of them, 50,000 will die. That is over 130 deaths a day in the U.S. alone. The public is beginning to understand that concussions are a serious issue, but they don’t grasp how severe the problem is or how widespread the injury is.
Tech and culture blog io9 is doing their part in trying to raise public awareness and understanding of traumatic brain injuries, and they closed off National Brain Injury Awareness month with a comprehensive guide to traumatic brain injuries. Their report covers everything from the statistics and social issues that may be contributing to them, to the symptoms, risk factors, and preventative steps you can take to protect your brain.
The only way we can hope to combat the epidemic of brain injuries is widespread education. It is hopeful to see a large popular site like Gawker and io9 taking the brain injury as seriously as it should be.
