Myths about strokes
and brain injuries
When I started this website, one of my main aims was to raise more awareness of strokes and the effects they can have on survivors.
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After a lot of conversations with various people, I realised that there were quite a lot of factors people weren't aware of. Below, I've listed some of the misconceptions I have come across both in person and through online research.
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1 - You have to hit your head to get a brain injury.
Reality: Brain injuries can be caused by many different things, including accidents and falls. However, there are acquired brain injuries which are caused by something inside the body or a medical condition. Some examples of this include strokes, brain tumours and infections such as meningitis or encephalitis.
2 - If there is a visible injury, there is no injury.
Reality: Brain injuries are internal. Someone can look perfectly fine but still have a serious injury that affects memory, mood or cognition.
3- A mild brain injury has mild consequences.
Reality: Even a so-called mild brain injury can cause significant problems. This is especially the case when it comes to multiple concussions or "mini strokes "(transient ischemic attack).
4- You can recover from a brain injury in a few weeks.
Reality: Some brain injuries, such as a mild concussion, can be recovered from in a few weeks. Sometimes, however, recovery takes longer, maybe months to years. This can be when the injury is more severe, or there is loss of consciousness for more than a few minutes, bleeding, swelling, or visible damage on brain scans, and ongoing issues with memory, speech, coordination, and so on.
5- Brain injury always shows up on scans like an MRI.
Reality: Some brain injuries do not show on standard scans like CT or MRIs, especially mild traumatic brain injuries such as, especially mild traumatic brain injuries such as a concussion. They are great for spotting bleeding, swelling, skull fractures and large structural damage, but can't detect other symptoms as well.
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6 - Strokes only happen to older people.
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Reality: Strokes are more common in older people, but can happen at any age. Cell factors and certain medical conditions can raise the risk early on.
7– If someone can walk or talk, it's not a stroke.
Reality: Not all strokes immediately display the typical symptoms of facial droop, arm weakness, and slurred speech. Some strikes might cause other issues, including confusion, vision issues, or even numbness or weakness on one side of the body without slurred speech or paralysis.
8- You have plenty of time.
The faster someone gets medical treatment, the better. Every minute counts because brain cells are dying during a stroke.