Does Brain Injury Affect Intelligence? Discover Why IQ Drops, Then Gets Better

Does a brain injury affect a person’s intelligence? Brain injury can affect many cognitive abilities that make it more difficult for a person to learn new information. However, most of the time, it does not change a person’s overall intelligence. Today’s article will discuss how a brain injury can impact learning, along with the steps you can take to help your brain absorb more information. Does Brain Injury Affect Intelligence? After any brain injury, even a mild one, there tends to be a drop or loss of IQ, but this score usually improves as time passes. This fact leads researchers to argue that most “intelligence loss”...

Excessive Sweating After Head Injury: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments for Hyperhidrosis

Excessive sweating after a head injury is a symptom of dysautonomia. This condition causes automatic bodily functions, such as sweating, to malfunction. This post will explore how dysautonomia causes increased sweating after head injury plus the best ways to manage it. Dysautonomia and Sweating Dysautonomia refers to problems in the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is a complex neural network involving the amygdala, hypothalamus, and brain stem, among other areas. It controls all involuntary bodily functions, such as: Blood vessel dilation or constriction Heart rate Blood pressure Digestion Adrenal gland function Thermoregulation (regulating body temp) If a brain injury damages the structures that control these functions, dysautonomia will occur....

Weight Loss After Brain Injury: Causes and Treatments

Weight loss after brain injury can pose significant problems during recovery. Too much weight loss can even cause muscles to deteriorate. Today you will learn what might be causing you to lose weight after brain injury and how to prevent it. Causes of Weight Loss After Brain Injury Many different conditions can contribute to weight loss after brain injury. Some of the most common reasons a patient might lose weight include: Swallowing difficulties Loss of taste or smell Memory or attention problems Medications TBI can also interrupt the neural signals that alert the body when to eat. As a result, the person may not even realize that they...

Understanding the Link Between TBI and Paranoia (And How to Treat It)

Paranoia is a rare but serious complication of TBI. It causes a person to have exaggerated suspicions of the people around them, especially their loved ones. In this article, you will learn more about the link between TBI and paranoia, as well as what family members can do to help their loved one cope. Let’s get started. Causes of Paranoia after TBI Paranoia is a symptom of psychosis, a group of thought disorders that cause a person to lose contact with reality. There are many possible causes of psychosis after brain injury. Some of these include: Damage to the frontal and temporal lobes Dysregulation of dopamine. Several studies report...

TBI and Heat Sensitivity: How to Stay Cool After Brain Injury

The symptoms of heat sensitivity after TBI can vary from person to person. Some of the most common include: Feeling hot in mildly warm weather Excessive sweating Nausea Not sweating enough Mood swings when too hot Excessive heat can also stop nerve fibers from working. This makes it difficult for messages to get to and from the brain, which can cause problems such as: Confusion Fatigue Weakness Balance and vision problems Symptoms of Heat Stroke Heat stroke occurs when body temperature gets too high, causing illness. TBI patients with heat sensitivity are at an especially high risk of heatstroke. Symptoms of heat stroke include: Body temperature above 103 degrees Fahrenheit Red, hot, and dry skin Strong, rapid heartbeat Throbbing...