As far as social awareness issues go, March is quite the busy month. It’s Women’s History Month, with International Women’s Day having occurred on March 8, and World Water Day is March 22.
However, a lesser-known awareness issue that happens in March could be just the one that saves your life. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. The mission of the corresponding events each year is to ensure early and equal access to care for brain injuries for everyone.
But before that care can be received, we must understand how brain injuries might affect us. Believe it or not, 2.4 million Americans sustain brain injuries each year. These injuries can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. The fact is that brain injuries do not discriminate.
Since eye tracking can be the first step in diagnosing a brain injury, we want to do our part in getting the word out about this issue that often doesn’t get much attention in the media. To that end, here is a list of facts to keep in mind about brain injuries:
- A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a blow, jolt or bump to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain.
- 2.4 million people, including 475,000 children, sustain a TBI in the U.S. each year. 5.3 million individuals live with life-long disability as a result of TBI.
- 52,000 people will die. 275,000 people will be hospitalized. 1.365 million people will be treated and released from an emergency department.
- TBIs are caused by caused by falls (35%); car crashes (17%), workplace accidents (16%), assaults (10%), and other causes (21%).
- TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States.
To get involved with Brain Injury Awareness Month, and to support these issues year-round, please visit the website of the Brain Injury Association of America.