An accident can result in severe injuries, including sneaky injuries. Sneaky injuries include any injury that does not appear on the accident scene. Instead, you may not see symptoms for hours or days following the initial injury.
For example, traumatic brain and internal injuries may not present with symptoms immediately.
Traumatic brain injuries
While headaches can indicate a traumatic brain injury, they can also indicate various other injuries or stress. In addition to headaches, you may experience drowsiness, nausea and dizziness. Your headache may worsen in moderate to severe cases over several hours or days. Watch out for clumsiness or weakness in your hands and feet.
If you want to sleep more than normal after an accident, it could indicate mental stress and a brain injury. Additionally, the injury could result in mood swings and anxiety.
Internal injuries
After a traumatic event, internal bleeding may not show symptoms right away. As you bleed, the symptoms will start to appear and steadily worsen. The type of symptoms depends on the location of the injury. For example, if you have internal bleeding in your stomach, you will have swelling and abdominal pain. You may see bruising on the skin where the blood pools in the soft tissues. Blood loss can also cause you to become dizzy or lose consciousness.
Internal injuries and traumatic brain injuries can share symptoms or overlap. Following a motor vehicle accident, you cannot always determine the extent of your injuries without imaging exams. If you feel steadily worse after an accident, do not ignore the symptoms.