The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that each year in the United States, 1.7 million people suffer from a traumatic brain injury; of those people who become injured, 52,000 people die. You can take certain precautions to reduce your risk or a loved one's risk of sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
Tips for Preventing Vehicle-Related Traumatic Brain Injury
Motor vehicle accidents make up 17.3 percent of traumatic brain injury cases, according to the CDC. You can reduce your risk of sustaining an injury to the head if you always wear your seat belt when in a motor vehicle. If you have a child in the car, make sure she is secured with the proper restraints, such as a booster seat. If the child is under the age of 13, she should ride in the back seat of the car. Never drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of a substance.
Preventing Falls
Falling is a major cause of traumatic brain injuries in the United States. The CDC noted that 35.2 percent of all traumatic brain injury cases result from falls; that number rises in children ages 0 to 14 to 50 percent and to 61 percent in adults over the age of 65. If you have young children living in the house, you can install different safety features to reduce their risk of falls. For example, the CDC recommends window guards and safety gates at the stairs. If you have a senior citizen living in your house, you can reduce her risk of falling by installing handrails on any stairways, using nonslip mats in the bathroom and using good lighting throughout the home. Other tips for preventing falls include removing tripping hazards from the floor and using a step stool that has a grab bar when you need to get an object from a higher shelf.
Always Wear a Helmet
The New York State Department of Health points out that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of sustaining a traumatic brain injury while bicycling by 88 percent. Always wear a helmet when do activities such as skating, skiing, bicycling, football, horseback riding, in-line skating, skateboarding, sledding or when riding a motorcycle.
Other Prevention Tips
If you have a firearm in your household, make sure it is kept in a locked cabinet or some place safe. If your child has a playground outside, the CDC recommended that it have a shock-absorbing material, such as sand.
References
CDC: Injury Prevention and Control: Traumatic Brain Injury – How Many People Have TBI?, http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/statistics.html
CDC: Injury Prevention and Control: Traumatic Brain Injury – What are the Leading Causes of TBI?
http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/causes.html
CDC: Injury Prevention and Control: Traumatic Brain Injury – What Can I Do to Help Prevent Concussion and Other Forms of TBI?
http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/prevention.html
New York State Department of Health: Traumatic Brain Injury: Prevention is the Only Cure
http://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/injury_prevention/traumatic_brain_injury/prevention_is_the_only_cure.htm