8 Car Accident Injury Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
After a car accident, it’s normal to feel minor soreness or stiffness. But there are a few symptoms from a car accident injury that demands medical attention.
Without proper diagnosis and treatment, injuries from a car accident could cause permanent brain, spine, or vision issues.
If you’re having trouble deciding whether you should visit a professional for your car accident injury, read this quick list below.
These 8 symptoms should not be ignored!
1. Headache or Migraine
A headache or migraine could be a sign of a serious health issue. If you hit your head during a car accident, you may have a concussion. Or worse, you may have swelling or bleeding in the brain.
Headaches and other symptoms of head injuries like dizziness or vomiting can occur days after the accident. If you have a headache after a car accident, you should visit a doctor of car accident injury clinic for medical attention.
2. Abdominal Pain
Pain or swelling of the abdominal region is a common car accident injury and could be very serious. While the pain may be a result of external bruising, it could also be a result of internal bleeding.
It may take a few days to notice the symptoms of internal bleeding. If you experience vomiting, dizziness, fainting, or blood in your stool, you should consult a doctor or visit the emergency room if necessary.
If not treated, internal bleeding can be fatal, so it’s crucial to monitor for these symptoms and communicate them to a doctor.
3. Numbness
Numbness describes a loss of feeling, usually in an extremity like the fingers or toes. After a car accident, you may experience numbness in your back, neck, arms, legs, hands, or feet. This could be a result of whiplash but could also be a sign of a more serious back or spine injury.
Spinal cord damage, a herniated disc, or a pinched nerve should be treated right away. Numbness may not always be a serious symptom, but there is no reason to take chances when it comes to spinal cord issues.
Working with a chiropractor or other specialist can help alleviate tingling, numbness, or back pain.
4. Changes to Vision
Changes to your vision, including loss of vision, blurry vision, or severe sensitivity to light, could be symptoms of a serious head injury.
Changes to your vision could happen immediately after a car accident or several hours to several days later. Monitor your vision for any changes, and contact a medical professional immediately if you notice changes.
If vision issues go untreated, it could lead to permanent vision damage or blindness.
5. Emotional Distress or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Serious car accidents can have a lasting effect on your mental health. If you experience reoccurring distressing memories from the accident or nightmares, this could be a sign of larger emotional issues.
Flashbacks from the car accident could start to interrupt your ability to complete your day-to-day activities. Emotional distress could also be a sign of a physical injury like a concussion.
If you have trouble sleeping, issues concentrating, changes to your appetite, panic attacks, or sudden spells of anger or sadness, you should seek medical attention to test for any head injury or trauma.
PTSD is a serious mental health issue that can be debilitating. If you experience symptoms of PTSD such as depression, loss of motivation and enjoyment, seek counseling. This could be a result of the emotional trauma from the car accident.
6. Personality Changes
Sudden personality changes may indicate brain trauma. If you find that you are experiencing sudden mood swings or difficulty regulating your emotions, seek medical attention.
Traumatic brain injuries can go undiagnosed and cause serious health problems or death. If you feel that your emotions have been up and down more severely than normal after your accident, you may be able to diagnose and treat the underlying issue.
7. Nausea or Vomiting
Nausea and/or vomiting can be symptoms of serious headaches, as mentioned above. But they also may occur without the headache. If you experience nausea, especially hours or days following the accident, it could be a sign of a traumatic brain injury.
Monitoring and reporting symptoms that a doctor cannot see can help diagnose and treat serious medical issues resulting from a car accident. Do not be afraid to communicate symptoms to a doctor if you are unsure whether they are related to the accident.
8. Back or Neck Pain
Back pain is a very common car accident injury. Some back pain immediately after the accident is normal. But if the pain lasts for several days or weeks without showing any signs of improvement, it’s time to seek medical attention.
Lingering back pain could be a sign of spinal cord injury. With treatment from a physical therapist or chiropractor, you can improve back pain and return to normal mobility.
Neck pain is usually a symptom of whiplash. Whiplash is a condition resulting from rapid unnatural movement of the neck. It can be extremely painful as well as long-term stiffness of the neck and headaches.
If neck pain persists, you may need attention from a physical therapist, chiropractor, acupuncturist, or another specialist that handles whiplash injuries.
Handling a Car Accident Injury
After a car accident, many people are weary of visiting a doctor or hospital because of the potentially high medical bills. This is an understandable concern, but when it comes to car accident injury claims and legal proceedings, a doctor’s note can be crucial.
Documenting your injuries may help you in the event that there is a legal claim following the car accident.
Furthermore, ignoring serious medical issues may cause them to get worse, which could mean even more expensive medical procedures down the road. Your health and safety should always come first, especially when it comes to a car accident injury.
If you are looking for medical attention from injury management specialists, contact us today.
