Last minute: Simon Sheahan bought a helmet on a whim but it later saved him from serious injury. photos: Kenneth O'Halloran

When Simon Sheahan decided to get a ski helmet two years ago, it was a classic impulse purchase. But after a nasty fall on the slopes during a subsequent ski trip, he thanked his lucky stars that he had bought one.

"I had been on two prior ski trips without a helmet and hadn't considered buying one," says 32-year-old Simon, who is from Baldoyle in Dublin. "It was the week before my third trip and I was in TK Maxx getting the last few bits. Out of its box and randomly lying on a shelf was a blue helmet. I checked the price tag and it was a bargain at €20."

Simon headed off to Italy along with a group of 24 Irish guys and girls. "I was the only one on the trip with a helmet," he says. "I got the usual abuse -- 'you nerd', 'melon head' etc -- but I have thicker skin than that!

"On the fourth day, a few of us were skiing down the hill in a race to the bottom and I got caught on an edge, went over and cracked my head off some ice that hadn't melted yet in the sun. Hitting your head on ice like that is like hitting concrete.

Shaken

"I saw stars and was very slow to get back up. It was my first run of the day but I didn't ski for the rest of the day and was definitely shaken up because of it. I've no doubt in my mind that if I wasn't wearing the helmet, I would have cracked my head open on the ice, or maybe worse."

Unsurprisingly, on the next ski trip, a lot more of the group brought helmets to wear.

"More than half of the group was wearing helmets and when I go away with them to France soon, most of them will have one."

It's a trend that is happening in countries around the world including Ireland, triggered by a set of high-profile cases of head injuries caused during skiing (see panel).

Probably the most influential of these cases was the death almost a year ago of actress Natasha Richardson, who died as a result of a traumatic brain injury caused by a simple fall on the beginner's ski slope in a Canadian resort.

In the last four to five years, sales of ski helmets have steadily increased but in the last year the figures have shot up.

The National Ski Areas Association in the US reports that in the 2008/2009 ski season, 48pc of skiers and snowboarders wore a helmet. This was up from 43pc the previous year and from 25pc in the 2002/2003 ski season.

Outdoor sports stores here in Ireland also report a significant uptake in the number of skiers and snowboarders getting helmets.

"The number of people buying helmets has increased big time," says Stuart Musgrave, manager of Onboard in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

"It's pretty much standard now to have a ski helmet and I would say that since we opened the shop four years ago, there's been an increase of up to 60pc in sales of ski helmets. Snowboarders used to lead the way in getting them because they are a bit more adventurous in how they move on the snow. But we get a lot of people coming in who have been skiing for a while and now want to get a helmet.

"The styling and safety in helmets has improved a lot over the years. They used to be quite practical but not very attractive to look at. Nowadays they are very stylish and lightweight but still conform to safety standards. Pricewise, you can pay as little as €40 to €50 up to more than €120 for the more expensive ones."

The increase in demand for ski helmets meant that Onboard ran out of some stock this season and had to order in more to cater for customers.

Over at the Snow and Rock store in Dundrum, Dublin, the story is very similar.

"We've seen a 30pc rise in sales of ski helmets this season as compared with the same period last year," says store manager Dan Mitchell.

"I remember back in 2000 that the feedback from customers was that only good skiers need helmets. But a lot of people are realising that it's not just about you as a skier but about the people and the environment around you.

"We get a lot of families coming in because a lot of the ski resorts in Europe won't allow children to ski without helmets.

"Manufacturers didn't really anticipate the increase in demand this year and it meant that shops sold out of some ski-helmet lines early on and had to re-order. Don't leave buying your helmet to the last minute -- this time of year is really towards the end of the ski retail season."

The fact that so many more people are using ski helmets has been welcomed by organisations that deal with people who have traumatic brain injuries.

Ned Rispin of Brain Injury Ireland (BRI) says: "It is good news to see that more people are wearing ski helmets and undoubtedly it was sparked by the death of Natasha Richardson.

"Unfortunately it has to be something high profile that lets people know this can happen to you. But out of something so tragic, something good can come."

Compulsory

Suvi Korpelainen, senior neuropsychologist with Headway Ireland, says that just because ski-related injuries are rare doesn't meant that people should ditch the idea of wearing a helmet.

"Quite a few studies have been done on ski-related injuries and the fact is that they are rare. But people use that argument to say that because they are so rare, there isn't a case to make ski helmets compulsory.

"I don't agree with that because if you are unlucky enough to have a brain injury through a skiing accident, it could have a devastating effect on you and could be a long-term disability. It is always worth trying to avoid sustaining a brain injury in the first place and a ski helmet will help reduce the impact and force on the head.

"We can divide brain injuries into primary injury, which is caused by the initial collision, and secondary injury, which is caused by internal bleeding and swelling."

This latter type is what Natasha Richardson died of. But falls are not the only thing that skiers need to be aware of.

"While a brain injury can happen because someone falls over on the snow or ice, the most severe brain injuries through skiing are caused when someone collides with something like a tree or with someone else," says Ms Korpelainen.

Wearing a ski helmet has been shown to lower the risk of head injury. A Canadian study that was published in the British Medical Journal in February 2005 found that wearing a helmet reduced the risk of a head injury overall by 29pc. A Canadian review study published last week has found that the chance of head injury is actually reduced by 35pc.

But just because a person has a helmet on doesn't mean that they can take more risks or that they are protected from other types of injuries to the body.

Training

"Having a helmet doesn't mean someone isn't going to get an injury," says Ms Korpelainen. "So skiers and snowboarders should get proper training, keep their speed under control and be cautious in certain circumstances."

Skiing enthusiast Simon Sheahan says that wearing a helmet doesn't automatically make people more daredevillish.

"It doesn't make you invincible -- you still have to keep in control of what's around you," he says.

Paul Savage, a Munich-based IT contractor, was prompted to get a ski helmet last year after hearing stories about people injuring themselves on the slopes. In Austria, a senior German politician was involved in a skiing collision with a woman who later died as a result of her injuries (see panel).

"Since that happened, the sales of helmets have gone through the roof. Many stores in Germany sold out of them last year after the accident," says Paul.

He most often skis at Stubai Glacier near Innsbruck in Austria and not long after he bought a ski helmet last year, he was involved in a collision there with another skier.

"I was on a higher piste and the rule is that when the pistes merge, the person higher up has the right of way and person merging from below needs to give way," he says.

"What happened to me was that someone didn't observe this rule and he crashed into me -- basically coming in front of me.

"It wasn't a big collision but I fell on the ground and hit my head. I was thankful that I was wearing a helmet -- the other person wasn't but was fortunate to be OK. You can only take enough precautions for yourself -- some people are less cautious when they are skiing."

Paul runs the website www.skiing.ie and has noticed more people talking about getting ski helmets in the forum section of the site.

"It's really changed a lot in the last year to two years and, at the same time, helmet technology has really improved. Now they are pretty light and a good replacement to a cap or a hood, as they will keep you warm ... and safe."

www.skiing.ie, www.headwayireland.ie or call 1890 200 278, www.briireland.ie

- Lisa Jewell

Irish Independent