Musings on Head Injuries

[Little Rickie]

That's how I lost my hair!

 

[skiguy]

That's how I lost my hair!

There could be hope........


http://www.hair4helmets.com/

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2005/12/27/hair-helmet-literally/

 

[wardsgirl]

Here's some hope for Little Rickie. And so natural...

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

 

[Little Rickie]

You all are killing me!

I was thinking of this during the winter and it's cheap.

http://www.stupid.com/fun/RSTA.html



I think it would look good with my dark beard. I could get a tie dye t-shirt, cutoffs, sandles and hang out on main street corners until I got arrested.

 

[Neil]

This data seems pretty straight forward;

"Improving the Odds

Cyclists not wearing helmets are killed more frequently than cyclists who do wear helmets, according to data collected for 2007 in California, public safety officials say.

124 bicyclists killed

25 were wearing helmets
99 were not wearing helmets

10,590 bicyclists were injured

2,324 were reported as wearing helmets
8,266 were reported as not wearing helmets

Source: California Highway Patrol, Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System "

These data could be interpreted as saying that cyclists with helmets get into less accidents. It could be suggested that helmet wearing and careful cycling are correlated.

Just making trouble.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I thought the results were very impressive considering the small group who posted.HELMET


2.Petey Hickey- helmet cracked avoid
serious head injury and/or death.

But that is not really what I said. And you illustrate exactly what I was talking about.

I THOUGHT that I did avoid serious injury or death because of the cracked helmet, but my other more serious fall, WITHOUT a helmet convinced me to beleive that, had I not been wearing the cracked helmet, the injuries would not have been as serious as I had thought.

There is SO MUCH of, "If I didn't have a helmet on I would be dead.", and I am convinced that much of this is false.

For me, it's not a question of whether it protects or not. It's a question of what are the risks. Make kids wear a helmet when learning to walk. I'm sure you can find stats that it WILL prevent some injuries.

Wear one when walking downtown in Canadian cities in winter. People have been killed from ice falling off buildings.

My favorite... Wear a helmet when driving. The number of people suffering head injuries in car accidents is HUGE in comparison to cyclists.

I'm sure that if I had been wearing a helmet when I was hiking and fell off the cliff that I would be telling everyone that I'd be dead if I didn't have it.

How safe do you want to be? IMO, safety isn't everything

 

[Neil]

safety isn't everything

That's a killer of a signature line ya got there Pete.

 

[Tim Seaver]

The Ultimate Authority Speaks

 

[Maddy]

But that is not really what I said. And you illustrate exactly what I was talking about.

I THOUGHT that I did avoid serious injury or death because of the cracked helmet,

....but realistically speaking, the helmet cracked instead of your head, or the other possibility is that the helmet was defective or very poor quality, and it cracked with minimal impact.
I would venture a guess that your initial "thought" was probably right on. You did "avoid a serious injury, or at the very least an injury.
Obviously not all head injuries are going to kill you but they certainly can have some very undesirable repercussions, some more than others.
And you are absolutely right, safety "isn't everything".
Some people do appear to be very cautious, but we have all met folks who repeatedly throw caution to the wind and are thriving. Hopefully there luck will not run out.
I am way too old to not be extra cautious and I am really tired of "rehab".

 

[Pete_Hickey]

....but realistically speaking, the helmet cracked instead of your head,.......

What makes you think that the force would have cracked a head? The only fact is that the helmet cracked.

I would venture a guess that your initial "thought" was probably right on. You did "avoid a serious injury, or at the very least an injury.

... "guess"..... "Probably"

And as I said, a bit after that, I had a MUCH more serious fall and hit my head MUCH harder. Yes, I was injured, but not seriously. That told me that a bang which can crack a helmet is not NECESSARILY one that will cause much of an injury.

By the same token, people WEARING helmets sometimes die of head injuries.

I'm not saying that they do nothing, and I'm not saying that they are useless. I am saying that they are sold on fear, guesses, beliefs, etc. They are marketed to areas where they CAN be sold, not where they provide the MOST benefit.

If everyone wore helmets while driving many lives would be saved. But you can't convince people to wear helmets while driving. On the other hand, it is much easier to convince people that cyclists (skiers, hikers, swimmers, etc) should wear helmets...

There is lots of, what I call, "Dear Abbey logic" : "If it saves one life, it's worth it."

 

[Neil]

There's a parallel between helmets and water filters. I know it.

I would wear a helmet if I was rock climbing or going to outer space but not while driving the kids to their soccer game.

 

[Maddy]

What makes you think that the force would have cracked a head? The only fact is that the helmet cracked.


"

I know that "what makes me think the force would have cracked a head" comes from 30 years of working in a Level 1 trauma center. The boards are not the place to discuss in depth each and every kind of head trauma that can occur.We saw it all, we heard it all, every day 24-7. It was not pretty and some of it could have been prevented. One would be a fool to have that kind of exposure and not learn something from it.
I am happy for you that you did not have any serious trauma when you fell. Not all are so fortunate.
I sometimes try to share some of my knowledge in a very limited way with hikers on the boards in hopes that maybe some will think twice about taking unnecessary risks.
BTW, I don't thing "Dear Abbey" had any critical care experience.
I feel very sad that Natasha Richardson died an untimely death. Her passing is a cruel reminder to all of us to be careful out there.