Amnesia is, in the minds of so many people, one of those things you see on television and in the movies. Someone is injured in a car accident, they forget everything about their lives, and then they find out who they are when they meet the love of their life and live happily ever after. It does make for an interesting movie plot, but amnesia is more than that. It’s a health condition many people deal with, but it’s not always as dramatic as it is in the movies. Many people with amnesia know who they are and have most of their memories, but they have incident-specific memory loss.
It’s not uncommon for people to lose their memories after a surgery, an injury, or even after they’ve been involved in a situation they simply cannot fathom. The brain works in mysterious ways despite the sheer knowledge the medical world has regarding the inner workings of the brain. While no one can cure amnesia, doctors do know many people’s brains work to shut down memories associated with certain things specifically to save and protect them. For example, the emotional shock of being sexually assaulted is so painful the body might block that memory so you can live your life.
Amnesia is present all over the world, but it’s not always obvious. Many people who suffer from amnesia know who they are and where they are, but they have problems forming new memories or even recalling the memories of specific events. It’s devastating, but not everyone is aware of what they are living with. It’s not curable, but there are many symptoms that might cause someone to suffer amnesia. Not everyone loses their memory forever, but sometimes it’s impossible to recall things you lose when amnesia occurs.
1. Head Injury
A head injury is something that might happen to anyone at any time. The problem with head injuries is they are not always obvious, either. It might be a car accident that seems minor. It might be a fall off a swing or down the stairs. It might even be a hard hit to the head playing contact sports or a hard landing during a fun game of gymnastics in the yard. Head injuries can occur anytime, and they are dangerous. It’s why doctors tell patients there is never a good time to ignore a head injury or assume it’s not a serious condition.
When the head is injured, it can affect the brain in ways you cannot see. It might not cause any visible damage to someone’s body or head, but it might cause your brain to suffer some serious damage. it’s going to cause you to lose your memory if the injury is in the correct location, and it might even cause you to lose your memory permanently. The trauma in the brain might be severe enough it affects the portion of the brain controlling memory, and it’s not always possible to know if your memory will come back or if it will never return following a head injury.
2. Severe Illness
An illness that’s severe enough to affect the brain can cause amnesia. The good news is many people will never face an illness this serious, but it can happen. One of the most common causes of serious illness associated with amnesia is encephalitis. It’s an infection that can be transmitted from mosquito bites that cause the brain to swell. When this occurs, the brain changes. It no longer works as well as it should, and it doesn’t allow your memories to work the way they need to work. This means you could lose your memories or find it impossible to create new ones.
3. High Fever
High fevers are dangerous in so many ways. They not only indicate there is a serious illness present in a person’s body, they also have a way of affecting the way the brain works. When a person has a high fever that doesn’t go away with medication or with one of the many ways people are able to lower their temperature, they are at risk of suffering from seizures. Seizures are serious health problems that can cause the brain to stop working efficiently. It’s not good news when your body isn’t functioning properly, but it’s something you can handle if you go to the hospital the moment you realize your fever is high and not going down.
4. Seizures
Seizures, as mentioned above, are dangerous. This is when the body goes into a form of shock in which sudden and very rapid movements occur out of nowhere. These movements are dangerous, they are scary, and they are going to cause serious health problems. Seizures affect the brain and the way it works, which can also cause amnesia. This might cause a form of amnesia, but you won’t know if your memories will return at any point. There’s never any way to tell, though your doctor can tell you more when you see him or her regarding your seizures and any amnesia you have.
5. Emotional Shock
Emotional shock is one of the most common causes of amnesia in victims of crimes and other horrific situations. The brain might not see any injury, but it still shuts down and protects you from these memories. It’s why so many children who suffer abuse of any sort have any memory of it as they grow up. Their brain works to protect itself and you from the horrible shock that’s happening, and it allows your body to heal and your mind to continue working as a result. It’s a form of protection the brain uses on its own accord, though doctors can’t really explain it in medical terms when this happens.
6. Alcohol-Related Brain Damage
It’s no secret alcoholism is a major health concern, but it does seem to surprise people to learn it affects their brain. Most people assume it affects their liver more than anything else, but it can cause the brain to become dysfunctional. The long-term abuse many people put their bodies through can cause something called a thiamin deficiency, which can cause the brain to stop functioning properly. If this occurs in someone who has suffered drinking problems for a long time, it can cause you to stop remembering things as they happen, it can cause you to develop certain types of amnesia, and it can even prevent you from retaining new memories.
7. Heroin
This is still new information, and it’s baffling medical professionals. Users of this drug are becoming more and more likely to suffer from amnesia of various sorts, and doctors are learning how it works, what’s happening, and how it’s starting. All they know right now is if you are a heroin user, your chances of developing amnesia as a result are much higher than if you don’t use. This is a dangerous drug in many ways, but this new revelation makes it seem that much more dangerous to medical professionals. If you use heroin or know someone who does, it’s time to take action and get help before this causes major brain damage.
8. General Anesthetics
General anesthetics can cause amnesia if it’s not done well or if you have a negative reaction to it. Most people never worry about what happens when they go under for a routine procedure or even a major surgery, but the process of being put under is just as dangerous as the surgery. It’s why you want your doctors to go over your chart with you a half-dozen times at an appointment, and it’s why you want to be open and honest about your own health history, your family health history, and more when you are speaking with the doctor. Knowing everything does help prevent anesthesia complications such as potential amnesia.
