It can be tempting to think that a lack of initial symptoms after a car accident shows that you aren’t seriously injured, but that may not be the case. The symptoms of some serious injuries like traumatic brain injuries (TBI) may take hours, days or weeks to appear. What delayed symptoms might be cause for concern?
1. Changes to personality or mood
Injured people face a variety of emotional challenges, and that strain could cause a person to act differently than they usually would. However, changes like mood swings, depression, anxiety or irritability could be signs that your brain was injured during an accident.
2. Sensory changes
Just as mood changes can indicate underlying damage to the brain, changes to the senses can also be signs that an injury has effected the related areas of your brain. These sensory changes can include decreased ability to smell or taste, blurry vision, ringing in the ears and increased sensitivity.
3. Headaches
Headaches could be the result of stress after a crash, but persistent headaches or headaches that worsen over time could be an indication of damage within the brain.
4. Fatigue or sleep changes
One subtle way that brain injuries can impact a person involves changes to their sleep schedule. Drowsiness, fatigue, sleeping more than usual and insomnia can all be signs of damage.
Because the severity of injuries after a crash might not be immediately apparent, it can be particularly important for injured people to seek medical care. Immediate medical attention allows doctors to fully assess your injuries and proactively treat brain injuries.