00:00The 56-year-old Ruel is the man in the video. He has been a construction worker for more than two decades.
00:10He is used to this kind of work, and most of the time, he only works on small constructions in houses.
00:18That's why Ruel doesn't wear safety equipment like a hard hat.
00:26It's just close.
00:28If it's far away, it's really a safety.
00:31Helmets are really for long-distance work.
00:35If you want to go up, you really need a helmet.
00:39That day, he was changing a house.
00:45Because of the wrong step, Ruel suddenly fell while on top of the scaffolding.
00:52It was really sudden.
00:54I was about to move to the other side of the house.
00:59I was about to give up.
01:02From the second floor of the house, which is 9 feet high,
01:06Ruel's head first hit the cement.
01:15I was surprised when I fell.
01:19Ruel didn't even have five seconds to get up.
01:24I fell. I was about to get up.
01:28It's really painful.
01:32Ruel still finished his work.
01:35But when he got home, he felt weak.
01:41Because of the budget, he couldn't consult a doctor.
01:45Because I only have money for my studies.
01:51Almost two months after the accident,
01:54we brought Ruel to Dr. Gerold Justo, a neurosurgeon.
02:01We check if there's an abnormal exam.
02:04It means that there's a possible affected part of the brain.
02:09We also consider if there's a part of the brain that has blood,
02:17or if there's a part of the brain that's damaged because of the fall.
02:22Don't look away from my finger.
02:25Did you have a hard time watching?
02:27Did you have a hard time? Why did you have a hard time?
02:29Did it double? Look.
02:30Did it double? Where did it double?
02:33Don't look to the left or right.
02:36Left.
02:37Dr. Gerold noticed that Ruel was having a hard time with one of his examinations.
02:44There's a part of the brain called cranial nerves.
02:48Those are the nerves that control the movement of the eyes.
02:52Sometimes, if there's a slight injury,
02:56or if there's a pinch, or if it's damaged because of the fall,
03:00there can be abnormalities.
03:03But for him, it's called diplopia in English.
03:08It's the movement of the eyes.
03:10It's a possible symptom that one of the nerves isn't functioning.
03:15So, it can tell us that there's a problem,
03:20but it's not very specific,
03:22that there's a big problem in the patient's brain.
03:26We check if in the future,
03:28if the symptoms are still persistent,
03:32or if he will lose his vision.
03:35Because of his age,
03:36he doesn't need to undergo a CT scan.
03:41We look at the fit criteria for CT scans.
03:44The criteria, usually,
03:46the patient is more than 65 or equal to 65 years old.
03:52These are the patients who have high risk for diseases
03:59like hemorrhage in the brain,
04:01or blood in the brain.
04:03According to the doctor,
04:04the nerves in the body are the most affected
04:07when a person changes his mind.
04:10The most common are the times when their sense of smell is lost
04:15because the nerve that controls the sense of smell
04:19is in the part of the brain near the nose.
04:23The second most common is the so-called facial nerve,
04:26the nerve that controls the movement of our smile,
04:30the so-called muscles of facial expression.
04:37It is also possible that the cause of death is a concussion.
04:43If we don't take care of those,
04:45the brain may stop functioning.
04:48And if it's not addressed,
04:50the affected brain may be stuck.
04:54If that happens,
04:55the person may be fully comatose and may die.
05:01The doctor's advice,
05:02when a person changes his mind,
05:03don't immediately stand up or get up.
05:07Let the patient feel himself first.
05:09Because if the patient is awake,
05:11and he himself can move,
05:14we don't have control over the patient.
05:17But it's better to call medical personnel
05:20to evaluate the patient.
05:23If the patient fainted or had a concussion after the accident,
05:26immediately go to the nearest hospital.
05:29It means that there is a cause of high pressure in the brain.
05:34So the doctor needs to evaluate,
05:37and if necessary,
05:40the patient needs a CT scan
05:42to know if that's what's happening in the brain.
05:45Is it also true, doc,
05:46that patients are not allowed to sleep after the concussion?
05:50Yes, they can sleep.
05:52But this patient needs to be monitored
05:56if he or she is awake.
05:58If there is swelling or concussion in the affected brain,
06:02cold compress is a good first aid.
06:07It's recommended to apply cold compress
06:09to lessen the swelling in the head.
06:14But cold compress is only for the scalp,
06:18just outside the blood vessels.
06:23For people like Ruel,
06:25who works in high places,
06:27he uses a hard hat.
06:29This is for safety,
06:31because we don't know what can happen.
06:34And it can also lessen the risk
06:37if a concussion happens.
06:41Meanwhile, after Ruel's neurological exam,
06:45according to doc,
06:46the result of the exam is normal
06:48and there is no significant effect
06:50of the concussion in his head.
06:53He doesn't have any significant neurological findings.
06:57That's one situation
07:00that we don't need to worry about.
07:04Although there are still situations
07:07that we need to monitor.
07:09We need to be careful
07:11so that the body is more safe.
07:17There are times when danger is inevitable.
07:21That's why it's important to be alert at all times.
07:25Wear safety gear in dangerous jobs
07:28to ensure our safety
07:30or to reduce the possibility of concussion.
07:46Maraming salamat sa pagtutok sa Pinoy MDE.
07:48Para po sa iba pang kaalaman tungkol sa ating kalusugan,
07:51mag-subscribe na sa GMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.
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