7 Tips to Help Your Recover from a Head Injury

It is estimated that 2.8 million Americans sustain traumatic head injuries in a year. Being a sensitive area of the human body, the head should be kept safe. However, despite all the care, it is susceptible to bumps caused due to sports, household accidents, or even road mishaps that can lead to a lifelong disability or even death.

Most people recover after a concussion, but the speed of their recovery depends on multiple factors. Their age, their health, and the way they take care of themselves after the injury has a lot to do with the time to attain complete recovery. In consultation with your health care professional, you should follow these tips for an efficient recovery:

A clean MRI isn’t enough.

If the injury appears to be trivial, your general physician may not recommend higher tests. However, if you feel that something is wrong with your body, you must go with your instincts. Keep pushing for further diagnosis and try to find the underlying cause of the problems you are facing.

Around 95% of Americans suffering from a traumatic brain injury leave the hospital with a clean MRI scan. While the technology is efficient enough to detect critical injuries, it might miss minor anomalies. Hence, one should always be proactive in taking the necessary medications and precautions to ensure brain recovery.

Never hide or minimize your symptoms.

Suffering from a brain injury already puts you in an emotionally and physically challenging condition. It is already hard to accept the changes that your body is going through, but it can be harder to explain to others how you are feeling. But, hiding or minimizing pain can only cause more damage.

You have to be completely honest with your doctor so that he can carry out the right kind of head injury treatment. If you keep the facts to yourself, your doctor may miss out on important information, and the diagnosis process will be of no use if he isn’t able to treat you properly.

Take ample rest.

One of the most important things after a concussion is rest, as it helps in healing the brain. Ignoring the symptoms and trying to act tough can worsen the situation and hinder the process of healing. This requires you to be extremely patient because it will take time before you can return to your normal life.

If your symptoms come back or if you develop new symptoms, then this is because you’ve become more active than you should be. Don’t push yourself hard and follow the advice of your practitioner. Take things slowly and give yourself more time to rest and recover. If you take good care of yourself, you will eventually feel better.

Your symptoms may change with time.

You may experience plenty of symptoms with time, and they keep changing. You will be dealing with so many changes that you might not even notice a symptom until it causes you some serious problem. It is suggested to keep a record so that your doctor is helped in the diagnosis and can treat you better.

It becomes easier to cope with the problem once you start accepting it. Traumatic Brain Injury is indeed difficult to treat, so the healing process is going to take time. You can strive towards recovery by giving your brain complete rest and following the instructions given by your doctor.

Be regular with your medication.

You should never miss your medicine dose. The healing is already very slow in such an injury, and if you miss taking your medicines, then it can take a lot longer than you can expect. Also, missing your dose can lead to other problems that might be even more difficult to treat.

No matter how slow the recovery is, you must always stick to the medicines prescribed by your practitioner. Do not try self-medication in hopes of a quick recovery. You should give yourself and your body enough time to heal properly and come out of the trauma. It might seem to be difficult, but that’s the best you can do for yourself.

Avoid alcohol and smoking.

When your body is in recovery mode, it is advisable to only consume foods that will help in the healing. Stay away from such food items that can deter the recovery process and can cause you damage when you are already more susceptible to it. Eating right is your basic need that should never be ignored.

Apart from taking the right diet, you should also avoid anything that can bring your health down. Give up smoking and drinking and switch to a healthier lifestyle so that your healing becomes quicker and smoother. The more you take care of yourself, the sooner you will be able to return to your older self.

Limit your screen time.

Spending too much time in front of the screen can put pressure on your brain. When you are already suffering from any brain damage, it is advisable to put your brain to rest for a while and do not burden it with the unnecessary workload. Instead of spending time watching television or using your phone, take some rest, and get enough sleep.

If your job is of such a nature that requires you to sit in front of the screen for long hours, you can ask your employer to reduce your working hours. If this is not possible, you can take a break from your job unless you have recovered fully. You can ask your healthcare professional to make your employer understand that you need rest.

Conclusion

A traumatic brain injury can alter the course of your life. If you do not take care of yourself properly, the repercussions can cause permanent damage and deprive you of a normal life. No matter what the test results say, you should ensure complete rest, and never push yourself to perform chores that might worsen your condition. Keep in touch with a specialist who can monitor your progress and keep you on the road to recovery.