A penetrating head injury occurs when a fast moving object such as a bullet pierces the skull. Both closed and penetrating head injuries may result in localized and widespread, or diffuse, damage to the brain. Facts Each year, an estimated 2 million people sustain a head injury. About 500,000 to 750,000 head injuries each year are severe enough to require hospitalization. Head injury is most common among males between the ages of 15-24, but can strike, unexpectedly, at any age.
Many head injuries are mild, and symptoms usually disappear over time with proper attention.
Others are more severe and may result in permanent disability. Loss of sense of time and space, identity of self and others. Motor Deficits -Paralysis, poor balance, lower endurance, reduction in the ability to plan motor movements and poor coordination. Perceptual Deficits -Possible changes in hearing, vision, taste, smell and touch, loss of sensation of body parts, left or right side of body neglect. The individual may have difficulty understanding where limbs are in relation to body.