When you are involved in an accident, you may have visible and/or invisible injuries. The latter can be serious and lead to worsened conditions, as with some, you may not even tell you are injured.
Here are four accident injuries with delayed symptoms:
Whiplash
The forceful back-and-forth movement of your head and neck after an accident can throw your neck out of alignment, damaging your ligaments, bones and nerves. This neck hyperextension or whiplash injury can cause immediate symptoms, which may feel like a neck sprain, but some symptoms can take longer (a couple of days to weeks) before they appear.
Spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injuries are not uncommon in car accidents, especially rollover collisions. These injuries typically have immediate symptoms, including back pain, muscle weakness, loss of motion, numbness and muscle spasms, but some symptoms take time to show. Further, it may take longer before distinguishing between soreness and a spinal cord injury.
Concussion
A strike or a blow to the head after a car accident may lead to a concussion. Absent the head being hit, a concussion can also occur due to a sudden, forceful change in motion that causes the brain to either move rapidly or when it bangs against the side of the skull.
Immediate concussion symptoms include headaches, nausea or vomiting, dizziness and confusion. However, some symptoms (especially in mild concussion cases) may take hours or days to show.
Internal bleeding
Different factors can lead to internal bleeding after an accident. These include seat belt injuries, compression injuries, broken ribs and so on. Internal bleeding is dangerous, yet it can be difficult to notice. It can take hours before symptoms occur.
It’s vital to seek medical attention immediately after an accident to identify symptoms of injuries sooner. You should also get legal help to protect your rights.