5 Warning Signs of an Internal Injury You Can’t Ignore

Lateet November 23, 2020

In 2018, 4.5 million injured people sought medical care from a doctor after a car accident and 39,404 people died from car accidents.

All car accidents are serious and should be taken seriously.

If you’ve been in an accident and don’t know whether or not you have an internal injury, keep reading to check for these five tell-tale signs.

1. Headaches

Don’t ignore this symptom just because you think you’re having another bad headache. After a car accident, headaches are the most common symptom that’s often overlooked.

Especially if you get frequent headaches, you may just think it’s from the stress of the car accident. Don’t do this. Getting a headache after a car crash could mean you have swelling, bruising, or deep damage to the brain tissue.

2. Lower Abdominal Pain

Pain in your lower abdomen after a car accident is a sure sign you have an internal injury. Lower stomach pain can occur hours after an accident, so make sure you pay attention to when it starts to hurt and where.

If you notice any bruising or swelling in your stomach, go to a doctor immediately, as this is a warning sign of internal bleeding. There’s more to read here about lower abdomen pain to help identify what could cause this symptom.

3. Neck, Shoulder, or Back Pain

Back, shoulder, or neck pain could be an indicator of many things, such as the following:

Herniated Disc
Soft Tissue Injury
Spinal Injury
Whiplash

All of these can be extremely dangerous and almost impossible to diagnose at home. If you experience any back pain after your accident, make an appointment to see your doctor right away.

4. Numbness

When you have whiplash, you could experience numbness or a tingling sensation in your hands and arms that won’t go away.

Feeling numb or tingly can be easy to ignore, but you absolutely should not ignore this. The tingling could be because the nerves in your spinal cord are damaged from the sudden jerk of your body.

In car accidents, you are stopped abruptly, and this abrupt stop is what causes your body to jerk around, damaging those nerves. Especially if you were going particularly fast when you abruptly stopped, this could cause some serious damage.

5. Dizziness

If you’re feeling dizzy or lightheaded, there could be some serious disturbances in your brain, stomach, vision, or inner ear. Being dizzy is one of the most common symptoms people have after an accident that makes them go to the doctor.

Pay attention to your symptoms. If you feel dizzy for over an hour and start to develop other symptoms, like nausea and vomiting, it’s time to go to the hospital right away.