For many military families, the time when a soldier returns home from service is one of the happiest moments in their lives. For many of these families, it continues to be happy time afterwards, with the family fully intact and functioning. However, some families are forced to welcome their loved ones home with injuries and sickness, making this time after service for a veteran extremely difficult. Furthermore, many of these sicknesses that soldiers are dealing with aren’t so much physical wounds, but mental health problems.
TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury is one of the most common types of mental health problems that soldiers and veterans must face. This involves the brain being severely impacted by an external force. Common symptoms should be monitored for including dizziness, blurred vision, balance problems, and lightheadedness. They may even include emotional problems such as mood changes and memory problems. Once a number of these symptoms align, it’s important to be checked out and diagnosed as quickly as possible, preventing any further physical or mental damage that may be possible.
PTSD or Post traumatic stress disorder is an extremely difficult problem to diagnose and treat. Even though it’s becoming increasingly common in soldiers alike, the difficulty in diagnosing is still prevalent, which is dangerous because it could be life threatening in some cases. PTSD can lead to a number of problems around the house such as depression and apathy, as many of these soldiers essentially shut down. Support and treatment can be a major boost for soldiers with PTSD. There are therapies such as the cognitive route which can be extremely long, but at the same time beneficial.
One of the more common health problems for older veterans is mesothelioma. This is a form of cancer that often develops in the lining of the chest and abdomen. It’s common with military personnel because of the use of asbestos as a common building material throughout the past 100 years. Asbestos exposure was shown to have direct correlation with diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. Because this disease can have an extremely long latency period after exposure, many older veterans may just now be facing the symptoms and side effects of the disease. With mesothelioma life expectancy being only an average of a year after diagnosis, this makes it one of the most dangerous health risks associated with military service.
Certainly it’s not fair that many of these families must battle health problems such as these after their loved ones have finally returned home. Raising awareness and knowledge of different routes of therapy and treatment for these types of health problems associated with military service.
