Adrenaline is a mighty beast, often activated during moments of extreme fear or excitement. Produced by your body, this wonder drug can mask excruciating pain after enduring physical trauma post-accident. Although scared, you feel like Superman and probably attempted to deny medical attention.
Make no mistake. Getting your body slammed or trapped during the commission of an auto accident will cause some form of bodily distress; whether or not it’s immediately noticeable depends on your body’s ability to produce adrenaline, and for how long.
Looking for a Los Angeles car accident attorney? You found one. Looking for possible delayed accident symptoms? Here are five.
Headaches
You may still have a full cognitive function, but once the adrenaline wears off and you’ve had time to process the accident, you may experience headaches. The level of discomfort often lays the foundation for the extent of your head injuries. You may have slight migraines, or an agonizing sensation similar to someone driving an ice pick into your head. These headaches should not be ignored.
An early warning sign of concussion, blood clotting issues or significant brain injury, headaches can be a precursor to something far more sinister, so get them treated immediately upon noticing your first one.
Numbness
Often felt hours after initial shock and fear have worn off, numbing sensations across shoulders, arms, and legs could signal something wrong with the back, perhaps even extensive nerve damage. You’ll feel like limbs are ‘dead’, but they’re actually not.
Spinal injuries and damaged nerves should be addressed immediately when noticing numbness. Slipped or pinched discs can cause sciatic nerves to get trapped and flare, which will cause shooting pains when numbing sensation wears off.
Stomach pains
Stronger than hunger pains, discomfort in the stomach area could signal several things, the most serious being internal bleeding. Organs that are lacerated or badly bruised enough to cause bleeding can cause serious, if not fatal, complications which need medical attention.
If you’re urinating blood or have bloody stools before experiencing stomach pains, the root cause is similar and should be immediately addressed.
Upper back discomfort
Similar to numbness, experiencing upper back discomfort signals something’s wrong with the neck or vertebrae around or above the shoulder area. These pains aren’t immediately apparent because adrenaline is just that powerful.
Vertebral injuries left unattended may cause permanent damage or require extensive surgery to repair. Turning your head left to right may also set off alarms within your nervous system that something’s not right. Do not ignore these pains.
Emotional suffering
People who’re normally ‘happy, go lucky’ may suddenly feel depressed, and experience thoughts of suicide or extreme anger if they’ve sustained head trauma. This doesn’t mean you’re crazy; you’re experiencing PTSD with possible brain swelling or bleeding. This gets really serious, really quick.
If you or others notice you’re acting out of character, head immediately to the emergency room because you’ll only worsen unless someone professionally scans your brain for injuries.
In closing: Be safe, not sorry
Immediately following an accident, you’ll want justice and seek an aggressive Los Angeles car accident attorney. We get this; you’re ticked off, and want accountability properly dished out.
Horrifying car accidents will impact the human body and psyche differently from person to person. Don’t be fooled by ‘false positives’ like sudden rushes of anger or excitement; your body is hurt, and though you’ll not immediately notice symptoms of internal injuries, they’re there. Waiting.
Once injuries have been addressed, then you’re free to find the car accident attorney Los Angeles professionals, friends, or family have suggested you retain.
