Tens of thousands have TBI, officials say

[unhappycamper]

A soldier stands guard as two U.S helicopters leave the scene of a roadside bomb explosion last year in Iraq.


Tens of thousands have TBI, officials say
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 4, 2009 19:09:37 EST

As Army officials announced the beginning of Brain Injury Awareness Month, they offered up a figure that makes it hard to believe anyone in the military could be unaware of the problem:

Between 45,000 and 90,000 troops have been treated for traumatic brain injury symptoms ranging from headaches to vision problems to an inability to function beyond a coma state.

Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said between 10 percent and 20 percent of soldiers and Marines — about 180,000 people — have screened positive for TBI.

Yet military doctors still fight a culture in which some troops believe they can head right back into the fight after being exposed to a blast — even though high school football players know better than to play again for a few days — and commanders may decide to risk sending someone outside the wire after an injury because there aren’t enough people to make up a patrol team.

Experts at the U.S. Military Academy have said it’s important for someone who has suffered even mild TBI to avoid the risk of re-injuring the brain — especially the not-yet-fully-grown brain of someone younger than 24 — because a second injury can lead to permanent damage or even death.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_tbi_awareness_030409army/


uhc comment: According to a Boston Globe article this morning, up to 360,000 soldiers may be affected.