Every year, thousands of people get into car accidents. Because of the speeds cars travel at and the size of them, car crashes can lead to serious injuries or even death. In some cases, these injuries are due to a lack of safety precautions taken by drivers that result in them impacting other people or objects inside or outside of their vehicles.
In other cases, road design contributes significantly to accidents, and getting seriously hurt becomes inevitable when involved in a crash. Regardless, no matter how safe you drive, it’s important to be aware of what kinds of injuries you might sustain if you do get involved in a car accident.
When someone is injured in a car accident, they need immediate medical attention from experienced professionals who know exactly what kinds of treatment they require for their injuries. Even a broken bone can be a serious issue if it’s not properly treated, and the doctor that receives you might need to take on a number of tasks before you’re released from their care or into the care of another medical professional.
If you’ve been injured in a car crash, here are six common car crash injuries:
1. Head Injuries
When your head slams against the windshield, steering wheel, or another part of the inside of your vehicle during an accident, harmful forces smash your skull and damage delicate tissue. Depending on how fast your brain is moving and what kind of impact it sustains, this sort of “internal bruising” can range from a mild headache to something much worse that requires immediate medical attention.
2. Broken Bones
Broken bones might seem like a common injury, but there’s a difference between “breaking” your leg and sustaining a broken femur that requires surgery to fix. A broken bone can be as simple as a fracture or as serious as something called an open fracture, where the wound penetrates through the skin and exposes you to blood-borne pathogens. Either way, if you break a bone due to impact, it should be treated by medical professionals right away so that it can heal properly — otherwise, it will cause problems later on down the road for your overall health, mobility, and ability to function normally without being in pain all the time.
3. Spinal Injuries
In some cases, the impact of the car accident can lead to injuries that affect your spine. If you suffer an injury to your back in a car crash, it may result in long-term pain and discomfort for years following the accident. This is why it’s important to seek medical attention immediately following any sort of injury that results from a car crash — especially if you’re feeling pain or numbness in your legs or arms.
4. Dental Injuries
When you get in a car crash, the last thing on your mind is what might be happening with your teeth and gums. Unfortunately, sometimes accidents can break or dislocate teeth which can lead to future issues such as tooth loss and even more complicated problems that require surgery. If you feel like something has happened to your teeth during a crash, it’s important to seek medical attention, so they can check for any damage and treat it immediately if necessary. If you lose most of your teeth in the accident, then you might consider getting an all-on-4 dental implant.
5. Vision Loss
Vision loss often occurs when someone sustains an injury from a car accident that tears their retina away from their eye or damages their optic nerve in some other way. You may not realize right away that there is a problem with your vision, but if you notice any changes in your eyesight after being involved in a car crash, then it’s important to get checked by medical professionals. Your vision can be damaged permanently if you don’t receive proper treatment, so always seek medical attention after an accident, even if you think you’re fine, because sometimes injuries are worse than they seem.
6. Emotional and Psychological Injuries
When you’re involved in a car crash, your body suffers — but so does your brain. This is why it’s important to seek medical treatment for any emotional or psychological injuries as well as physical ones after an accident. Even if you think you’re okay, sometimes those mental wounds can take much longer than normal to heal because we don’t realize there’s even a problem until months later when we suddenly break down and start crying unexpectedly or find that we just can’t seem to get our emotions under control at all anymore. These kinds of reactions should be taken seriously and checked out by professionals who know how to diagnose them correctly.
If you’re involved in a car accident, make sure to seek medical attention for any injuries. Often these injuries may not seem like much at the time but can lead to more serious complications later on down the road if they aren’t treated properly.
