What To Expect When You've Been Injured In A Car Accident

Posted on: 1 April 2015

When you get into a car accident and suffer an injury, you will likely find yourself scared, confused, and wondering what will happen to you next. As you are attended to by emergency medical services and moved into an ambulance for transport to the hospital, the only thing you can think of is your health and the health of those who were also involved in the accident. So, before this happens to you, learn what to expect when you have been involved in a car accident. 

Be Prepared To Answer A Lot Of Questions

Once you get to the hospital, the doctors and nurses will ask you many questions. They will want to know any and all sources of your pain, for starters. Be sure to be honest, particularly if you hit your head or have pain in your center mass (abdomen, chest, and back). Injuries to these areas, particularly your abdomen, may not be easily visible immediately following the accident but could be serious.

Be honest and upfront in your responses to questions the doctors ask you. They are trying to determine the extent of your injuries and how to proceed with treatment and testing. 

Provide Background Medical Information

Even if the doctors and nurses do not explicitly ask, inform them of any existing medical conditions or drug allergies you have. This is especially important if you have known allergies to pain killers, sedatives, or anesthetics. The sooner you do this upon arrival, the better.

You may even want to wear a medical alert bracelet if you have severe drug allergies. These metal bracelets will list your first and last name, medical allergies, and emergency contact numbers. Doctors and nurses know to look for such jewelry when patients arrive. So, if you lose consciousness, you will still be able to provide your physicians with pertinent information. 

Be Prepared For Many Diagnostic Tests

Car accidents can be highly traumatic on the body and injuries are not always obvious. As such, to ensure you receive the best care possible, you will need to undergo a series of comprehensive tests. First the doctor will manually and visually examine you. 

Then, depending on what you say about your pain or what they find in their exam, you will get either an x-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, or MRI to further assess your injuries. A CT scan is quite common following a car accident. Abdominal CT scans, for example, give your doctors a detailed view of all of the organs in your abdominal cavity. This will determine if you have internal injuries that are causing abdominal pain or internal bleeding. 

The diagnostic tests will determine whether or not you require further treatment and surgery or if you made it through the accident with only superficial injuries. So be patient and compliant with these tests. Even if they seem tedious, they could save your life. 

Now that you know what to expect should you find yourself injured in a car accident, you will be able to handle the situation with less fear and worry. Be sure to keep these facts in mind and remember to get your medical alert bracelet if you have any major medical conditions or drug allergies. 

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Welcome to Sara's Site

Hi there! My name is Sara Jerba. I'm no doctor, but I'm very familiar with them due to experience. You could say I was a sickly child. Between various allergies and a few other conditions, I got to be very good friends with my doctors and nurses. Although I hate staying overnight in the hospital, I do feel quite at home there. Now, don't feel sorry for me. Most of my conditions have eased or even abated entirely as I've grown up. And none of them were ever life-threatening--just inconvenient. It's actually been very positive in the long run; it's brought a lot of wonderful people and important knowledge into my life that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

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