Safety Precautions for Brain Injuries

Functioning within the home environment following a brain injury or a stroke may be impacted in several different ways.

It’s important to consider physical limitations leading to accessibility challenges, activity modifications for cognitive challenges, and environmental adaptations for safety. Also consider ways in which the caregiver can best support and assist a person with a brain injury as the level of function changes and improves, and as independence continues to build.

Household items

Common household items including car keys, medications, and sharp objects may not have previously been dangerous to keep in your home. After someone has a brain injury, it is now important to keep your surroundings clear and free from sharp objects, fire hazards, medicines, poisons, heavy machines, and weapons.

Please keep these potentially dangerous items locked up away from loved ones. You may still keep these items in your home, but they now require special safeguards, ideally locked up.

To reduce the potential for behavioral issues including overstimulation, confusion, and aggression:

• Limit number of visitors and length of visits.
• Avoid events that are noisy and crowded.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks and drugs.
• Ask your doctor before taking new medications.
• Keep the day as structured as possible.
• Get enough sleep and take rest breaks throughout the day.
• Wear a MedicAlert bracelet.
• Keep light sources, including a flashlight, within easy reach. Maintain good lighting in all environments.

These safety tips may help reduce the risk of having a concussion or more serious brain injury.

• Wear seatbelts in the car and use car seats for children installed according to the manufacturer’s directions.
• Wear an appropriate helmet that fits well when engaging in activities such as riding a bike, skating, skiing, or playing sports.
• Use handrails on the stairs and install baby gates on the stairs in homes with small children.
• Remove trip hazards and increase lighting in dark areas of the home.
• Children should use playgrounds with soft surfaces, such as sand or mulch.
• Wear bright or reflective clothing and use lights on bicycles to improve visibility.
• Practice safe sportsmanship – follow rules, remove injured athletes from play, use appropriate equipment, and report concussions.
• Practice motorcycle safety – wear a helmet, use designated roadways, drive at or below the speed limit, and use an alternate form of transportation in inclement weather if possible.
• Strengthen the neck muscles, asathletes with stronger neck muscles may be at lower risk for concussion.
• Avoid driving or participating in risky activities while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Avoid distracted driving.

• It is important to prevent another head injury while the brain is recovering from concussion. Second impact syndrome (SIS) is a rare condition that may occur if a person experiences concussion and then has another injury before the brain has healed. This can cause swelling in the brain that may lead to death.
• It is important to prevent SIS and reinjury by not returning athletes to play too quickly following concussion.
• Athletes with a suspected concussion should work with their athletic trainer and medical professionals to determine the right time to return to play, and they should not return to play until they are symptom-free and have been cleared to participate.
• Also, although helmets do not prevent concussion, it is important for athletes to wear an appropriate helmet to avoid more severe brain or skull injury.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a comprehensive list of sport-specific prevention measures and helmet safety guidelines.