I Have a What? A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBI

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RRTC ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OF PERSONS WITH TBIsense of smell. You may notice that you can’t smell food burning on the stove or a gasleak. Sometimes the loss of smell and taste can cause a reduced appetite and weightloss. You may need to ask a family member or friend to help you keep track of youreating habits.What can I do?Add spices to your food. Herbs and spices can beadded to food to give more flavors.Add smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide is acolorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It can be formed by open flames,space heaters, and blocked chimneys. Detectors will help keep your homesafe by alarming if there is too much smoke or carbon monoxide in yourhome. You may be at increased safety risk if you are unable to smell smokeor natural gas.Avoid food that may be spoiled. Ask others to smell the food for you. Ifyou live alone, monitor how long you have had certain foods for your safety.It might help to label your food with the date you prepared the food.Sensitivity to noise and/or lightYou may notice that bright lights or loud noises bother you.This may happen more if you are also having headaches.Being more bothered by light and noise is normal after abrain injury. Paying too much attention to this can makethings worse. Planning ahead can help you reduce how much light and noise you arearound. Thinking less about these symptoms will also seem to makethem go away quicker. This will also make the symptoms interfereless with your day-to-day activities. Sensitivity to noise and lightshould improve during the first six months after your injury.Page 19
What can I do?I Have a What?!:A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBILimit yourself to smaller gatherings and events at first. As you feelbetter, slowly build up to attending large social events (like loud parties,carnivals, sports events, etc.).Limit the time you spend at events. If you have toattend an event with lots of noise and light, you maywant to limit your time at the event. Try to find a quietarea or room to go to at the event.Shift your attention to other things. Focus on ahobby or a conversation to take your mind off theproblem. You may find that the problems may getbetter or go away.Page 20
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I HAVE A WHAT?!:A Guide for Coping
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I Have a What? A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBI

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