Brain bruise

The bruise of a brain belongs to heavy traumatic damages with characteristic focal disorders of brain activity. An obligatory symptom of a bruise of a brain is the loss of consciousness. Depending on weight of an injury, the injured person can be unconscious quickly (several minutes) or is rather long (several days and even weeks).

The area of localization of an injury at a bruise of a brain can be located not only in the direct place of a bruise, but also from the party opposite to it, in that case when the brain receives counter-weight blow about a bone of own cranium.

Effects of a bruise of a brain are very heavy and are not always predictable. As one of many adverse forecasts, is possible the following option - emergence of serious disorders of circulator character, increase in pressure of cerebrospinal fluid, development of prompt hypostasis of a brain.

Cases when bruises of a brain are accompanied by subarachnoidal bleedings are frequent. This critical situation is dangerous that blood decomposition products (in particular – bilirubin) in the absence of immediate medicamentous therapy almost inevitably start in action aseptic inflammatory processes in a meninx. The similar condition of the patient is described by the medical term how subfebrile condition or a meningeal syndrome.

Weight of a condition of the patient with a bruise of a brain and possible effects for his health most precisely are defined by specialists in the conditions of a medical hospital after carrying out the corresponding inspections and analyses. Objectivity of assessment of a condition of the victim, forecasts for his successful recovery to a large extent depend on a type of a bruise of a brain and the overall clinical picture.

Types of bruises of a brain

Specialists classify brain bruises according to the following severity:

- Easy degree. It is diagnosed for about 15 percent of all victims of a craniocereberal injury. After a bruise of a brain of easy severity the victim faints for short time (of several minutes till several o'clock). Symptoms of retrograde, anterograde and kongradny amnesia are observed. Developing of repeated or single vomiting is possible. In some cases the cordial and respiratory rhythm is moderately broken, arterial pressure increases.

In most cases poorly expressed symptoms of neurologic character pass through few weeks and health of the patient is completely recovered.

Brain bruises at the child of easy severity are rather widespread cases in pediatric practice since owing to the age juvenile children often fall, hitting-headed.

- Average degree. It is diagnosed for about 10 percent of all victims of craniocereberal injuries. After a bruise of a brain of moderate severity the victim can stay in unconsciousness till seven o'clock. Insignificant disturbances of some vital functions are observed. Body temperature, disturbance of visual functions and so forth increases. Often the bruise of a brain of average degree is combined with subarachnoidal hemorrhage, a change of the arch and base of skull.

- Heavy degree. It is diagnosed for about 7 percent of all victims of craniocereberal injuries. Long stay in a coma is characteristic of the victim of a bruise of a brain of heavy degree. Coma is accompanied by asymmetric or symmetric decerebration (shutdown of functions of a brain). Essential disturbances of frequency and a respiratory rhythm, cordial activity, a hyperhidrosis (strong sweating), increase in pressure, body temperature and other symptoms are observed.

Brain bruise symptoms

There are following symptoms of a bruise of a brain depending on the severity which was traumatized:

- loss of consciousness;

- retrograde amnesia;

- headache and dizziness;

- lack of coordination;

- nausea, vomiting;

- the changed consciousness;

- disturbance of visual functions (a temporary blindness, a photophobia, doubling in eyes);

- expansion of pupils;

- dysfunction of the speech;

- disturbance of acoustical functions;

- disturbance of a deglutitory reflex;

- decrease in pulse;

- weak and bradypnoea;

- blood supertension;

- anesthesia of some parts of a body;

- loss of control over functions of urination and defecation;

- bloody (or without blood impurity) allocations from nasal and ear passes;

- paralysis;

- coma.

Diagnosis of a bruise of a brain

As well as at any other craniocereberal injury for an exception of the prolonged negative effects of a bruise of a brain immediate performing careful medical examination with use of all necessary diagnostic means is shown to the victim.

Before a direct initiation of treatment of a bruise of a brain, the medical personnel estimate a condition of cardiovascular and respiratory system of the victim. Then the general survey of a body of the patient regarding detection of the traumatic damages, combined with a bruise of a brain, is carried out.

The neurologic inspection including definition of reaction of pupils of the victim to a light irritant, diagnosis on a scale of a coma of Glasgow etc. becomes the following obligatory evaluation stage of the general state and probable symptoms of a bruise of a brain.

The most irreplaceable diagnostic means at suspicion of a craniocereberal injury is the computer tomography for today. This type of inspection allows to define most authentically existence of the smallest hemorrhages and hematomas in a brain and possible fractures of bones of a skull. Magnetic and resonant inspection is also rather effective at diagnosis of bruises of a brain, but is put into practice much less often since preparation for this procedure requires considerable time.

Treatment of a bruise of a brain

The existing methods of treatment of bruises of a brain are subdivided on therapeutic and surgical.

Therapeutic methods of treatment of bruises of a brain consist in medicamentous elimination of the raised intracranial hypertensia. Besides, the preventive measures preventing possible developing of hypostasis of a brain are obligatory.

Urgency of neurosurgical treatment of bruises of a brain is dictated by need of urgent elimination of the physical factors causing squeezing of brain fabric. Hemorrhages, hematomas and bone fragments in a craniocereberal cavity which cannot be eliminated by means of medicines are removed during surgery – osteoplastic trepanation.