Opioid Use & Brain Injury
Brain injury and opioid misuse share a painful bi-directional relationship: opioid misuse is a risk factor for brain injury and brain injury is a risk factor for opioid misuse.
The Brain Injury Association of SC works to support survivors, caregivers, and community members experiencing brain injury following opioid misuse. Opioid misuse may cause slowed breathing, leading to hypoxia, a condition that results when too little oxygen reaches the brain, and anoxic brain injury, where there is a complete lack of oxygen to the brain. Hypoxia and anoxic brain injuries can have short- and long-term psychological and neurological effects, including coma, permanent brain damage, or death.
