National Geographic - Army Medics

[spqr]

Here is the link to a National Geographic article about Military Medicine.  The story covers Americans in Iraq but it was still a heck of a read.  The evolving nature of injuries and where new risks are actually realized are covered.

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0612/feature3/index.html

There are a bunch of features, like the photo's and some multimedia stuff on the left of the article itself.

Happy reading,

Rob

 

[HItorMiss]

Thats a really impressive article. With this TBI injury they are talking about, makes me wonder how much of what many suffer as PTSD might not be a honest physical ailment.

 

[Donut]

HoM, that's a big topic for discussion among the health care teams.  I've seen it in a couple of AAR/ Points for discussion from national and international level meetings.

DF

 

[MedCorps]

TBI - traumatic brain injuries.

Cheers,

MC

 

[simysmom99]

We got that in the mail yesterday.  Kudos to those medics and doctors and guys in the field who have no medical training at all. 

 

[tank recce]

HoM:

I'm not sure you meant it that way, but do watch comments about "honest" ailments when discussing PTSB and other "mental" injuries. I am entirely too familiar with the fact that many if not most "mental" illnesses are in fact due to a physical insult, whether chemical imbalance or a rock through the back of the cranium. I believe the medical institutions as a whole do their patients a disservice by referring to such things as "mental illness", implying it's all in your mind, instead of perhaps "brain illnesses."

Maybe I'm just touchy on the subject. No insult was read, but I vent sometimes...

Edit - The article was fascinating, and I don't mean to hijack the thread. Just... a vent.

 

[ex-Sup]

Thought it was an informative article...especially from a educators point of view. Since I just finished my unit on WWII, I want to show my students the article, especially the parts about the amputees and battlefield injuries. I think it will have a huge impact on their Hollywood view of war. I will also be passing it on to my science/biology colleagues to share with their students. Sometimes there are things that you can't read about/experience in a textbook.

 

[Donut]

Tank Recce, hence the use of the term Traumatic Brain Injuries, TBI.

No "organic" basis to these complaints whatsoever, it's all about the squished up neurons.

DF

 

[HItorMiss]

I think you miss read my my comment's

Many of the symptom's described as PTSD are mirrored by a TBI injury, which leads one to wonder how many people diagnosed as PTSD are suffering less a mental trauma and more a physical (as in disconnection of neuron's and pathways due to cranial pressure or contusion) to the brain matter. I'm not really sure how you could have misconstrued my comment on it but I hope my clarification was sufficient.


EDIT: When I said honest physical ailment, I ment that vice an honest mental stress injury, was that word honest what caused the conflict?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Good point raise re:  a possibly neurological cause for some emotional changes following an injury. 

Looking at this USA VA handout, I was surprised at how many possible symptoms (like irritability, depression, personality change, substance abuse, decreased concentration & focus) some people say they see in PTSD sufferers.

From what little I understand about TBI, it doesn't take much of a blow to leave permanent effects.  That said, I'd love to hear from experts on how subtle a physical or chemical imbalance can be to be detected and linked to emotional changes.

 

[tank recce]

HoM:

There is an unfortunate tendancy (thankfully becoming less common) for many to assume those claiming symptoms of mental illness are malingering to a greater or lesser extent, as opposed to those with an obvious, "honest" physical injury. The comments on the various PTSB threads by those who suffered this ailment from earlier tours are testimony to this.

Like I said, I wasn't sure you meant it that way, but the word poked me in a particularly sore spot. In this case, I'm willing to sit back down, say "No harm meant, no harm done," and carry on reading the board.

ParaMedTech: This is actually the first time I've heard of "TBIs" bandied about as a an actual diagnosis for many of these symptoms, and I find this fascinating. My point was that, for those without TBI, chemical-imbalance-induced depression is still a physical ailment, not a mental one. The outward symptoms are mental / emotional, certainly, but the underlying cause is often purely physical. My "not-professional-but-interested-layman's" $.02