Wounds We Don't See the Issue: Study Shows 'Invisible Wounds of War.' Their View: We Must Help Heal the Mind and the Brain.

Summary

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If there is an upside to modern warfare, it is the advance in battlefield medicine. Soldiers with wounds that were typically fatal during the Vietnam War now survive. An extraordinary 90 percent of U.S. soldiers who were wounded in Iraq have survived, compared with just 76 percent of those wounded in Vietnam, and this is a triumph.

But because of the nature of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan - frequent exposure to roadside explosives and other blasts that aren't always fatal to soldiers who wear high-tech body armor and receive high-quality emergency care - the survivors are far more likely to suffer brain injuries. Some of these are less obvious than shell shock. Cognitive problems can be subtle and long-lasting, and symptoms, including forgetfulness, difficulty in concentrating or headaches, can be mistaken for or coexist with post-traumatic stress and depression.

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Extract

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Wounds We Don't See the Issue: Study Shows 'Invisible Wounds of War.' Their View: We Must Help Heal the Mind and the Brain.

When these veterans come home, many find that high-quality mental health and neurological treat...

See the full content of this document

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