Going blue

With numerous issues and ill nesses that deserve public attention, it seems each month of the year is dedicated to multiple topics, each with their own color to help raise awareness.

In the month of March through the efforts of organizations such as the Brain Injury Association of America and the Brain Injury Association of New York, one of the featured colors of the month will be blue and the emphasis will be placed on raising awareness about brain injuries.

For more than three decades, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has led the nation in observing Brain Injury Awareness Month by conducting a public awareness campaign in March of each year.

The theme for the current campaign launched in 2021 and running through 2023 is “More than my brain injury.”

The #MoreThanMyBrainInjury public awareness campaign provides a platform for educating the general public about the incidence of brain injury and the needs of people with brain injuries and their families, according to the BIAA.

Through this campaign, BIAA and the New York organization have established several key goals for March and beyond.

During Brain Injury Awareness month, the goals include destigmatizing brain injury through outreach within the brain injury community, empowering those who have survived brain injury and their caregivers and promoting the many types of support that are available to people living with brain injury.

According to the BIAA brain injury is unpredictable in its consequences.

Brain injury affects who we are and the way we think, act, and feel. It can change everything about us in a matter of seconds.

According to BIAA the effects of a brain injury depend on factors such as cause, location and severity

A person with a suspected brain injury should call 911, go to the emergency room, or contact a physician immediately.

After an impact or injury to the head, an individual can experience a variety of symptoms.

Common symptoms of a brain injury include: spinal fluid (thin, clear liquid) coming out of the ears or nose, loss of consciousness, dilated (the black center of the eye is large and does not get smaller in light) or unequal size of pupils, vision changes (blurred vision or seeing double, not able to tolerate bright light, loss of eye movement, blindness), dizziness, balance problems, respiratory failure (difficulty breathing), paralysis, or difficulty moving body parts, weakness, poor coordination, slow pulse, slow breathing rate, with an increase in blood pressure, vomiting, lethargy, headache and confusion among other symptoms.

After sustaining a brain injury, an individual may experience difficulty performing his or her job safely and operating in their daily lives as they once did.

By raising awareness, organizations like BIAA hope to instill several key points.

The most important things to remember according to BIAA are a person with a brain injury is a person first. No two brain injuries are exactly the same. The effects of a brain injury are complex and vary greatly from person to person. The effects of a brain injury depend on factors such as cause, location, and severity.

To learn more visit biausa.org.