Why should you not try to diagnose your own injuries after a car accident?
Some people are trying diagnosing their own injuries after a car accident. It is known as self-diagnosing an injury. This may seem like a great idea. However, in most cases, this isn’t really recommended and you should not consider doing it.
There are different reasons why you should go to a doctor. Rather than trying to diagnose your own injuries. This might not be the best thing, and you might have a more serious injury than what you might think. If this is something that you have done before, then this next information is to show you, how dangerous it can be to diagnose yourself after a car accident.
Know that there is a difference between observing your injuries after an accident and diagnosing your own injuries
The first thing that you should know is that there is a huge difference in observing your injuries after a car accident and diagnosing your own injuries. Normally the first thing that you should do after an accident, is to observe your injuries to see if you are seriously injured or not. If you don’t feel like you have broken bones or excessive bleeding, you can exit the vehicle and find out the extent of the injuries of the people in the other vehicle. Then, you are going to the doctor to make sure that you really don’t have any serious injuries.
If you are self-diagnosing your injuries after a car accident.
You may decide that you don’t have any serious injuries, and you don’t need to see a doctor. This is dangerous because you can’t see if there are any internal injuries that might be serious. Those injuries may have serious consequences.
Reasons why people self diagnose there injuries
- have no money to see a doctor
- don’t want to see a doctor
- waste time sitting and waiting at doctors office
The top three, right there. They have no money, or if you are like me, you just don’t want to go see a doctor. My wife has to literally make me go see a Doctor. I just don’t want to spend the time waiting in a room for the Doctor to see me. However, if you have been in a car accident, it would be wise to go ahead and see a doctor. If you are concerned about money, you shouldn’t be. Your health should be your number one priority no matter the cost.
Obvious Signs that you may go to the ER after a car wreck
There are some obvious signs that you should go to the emergency rooms for immediate medical care. This is when there are any visible injuries like blood, broken bones and if you have lost consciousness after the accident.
- Broken Bones
- Pain around your stomach area (seatbelt)
- Signs of bleeding
- Stiffness in neck and or back
- Head pain
- You have lost Consciousness
- Children and infants should go to the ER no matter what you think there condition is
If you have any stiffness in your back or neck, this is also serious and you need to go to the ER immediately. These are injuries that can’t wait for treatment. The longer you are waiting the more serious the injuries might become.
The accident was a serious accident, and people are seriously injured. You may not have a choice; the ambulance is going to take you to the ER. There are not many people that are walking away from an accident scene when other people were seriously injured.
The dangers of delayed injuries
One of the other reasons why self-diagnosed injuries can be serious or even fatal is because of delayed injuries. They think that only injuries that you can feel right after an accident are serious and that if you feel something is wrong a couple of days afterward, it isn’t something serious.
However, some injuries are visible days after the accident. This includes internal bleeding and head injuries. Delayed injuries should always be treated as serious and you need to make sure that you are going to see an accident doctor right away. The longer you are waiting, the more serious the injury might become. And, don’t even think to diagnose these injuries yourself. Any delayed injuries require immediate medical care.
When should you see an accident doctor
The question that many people are making is when you should really see an accident doctor and when is it okay not to go to one. When you were in any form of a car accident, it is safer to see an accident doctor make sure that you and your passengers aren’t injured. You should see the doctor as soon as possible so that they can diagnose any delayed injuries and serious internal injuries as soon as possible.
The only time that you don’t need to see your accident doctor, is if the emergency services took you to the ER. After the ER visit you need to schedule an appt with a doctor who treats car accident injuries.
A chiropractor can be also a great choice
Many people consider going to a chiropractor after a car accident. This is because some of them specialize in accident injuries. However, they are more ideal for mild injuries like back and neck injuries and any muscle injuries. The more serious injuries are going to be referred to a specialist for treatment.
They may effectively treat
- Back Pain
- Headaches
- Leg or arm pain
- Neck pain
- Numbness or tingling sensation
- Pain radiating down arms or legs
- Shoulder pain
- Whiplash
Chiropractic care has been shown to be effective in treating people who have been injured in car accidents. The majority of car accident injuries are soft tissue injuries. Chiropractors are trained in nothing but soft tissue injuries. But not all chiropractors can treat, and document car accident injuries.
Some chiropractors are geared more towards wellness or sports related injuries. In some areas you will find chiropractors who do nothing but auto accident care. Most doctors listed on accident doctor are chiropractors. However, in some areas we have Medical, Orthopedic, and Pain management.
Mistakes people are making when trying to diagnose own injuries
There are a couple of mistakes that people are making when they are trying to diagnose their own injuries. Mistakes that can mean that your injuries are becoming more serious and even life-threatening. These are some of the mistakes that you should avoid making.
- They think that a headache is always just mild whiplash.
- Whiplash isn’t a serious condition
- Diagnosing themselves without considering delayed injuries
- Trying to go to a normal physician instead of an accident doctor
- Thinking that they are not injured at all
Self-diagnosing your injuries after a car accident may not be in your best interest. And, because of delayed injuries, you might not even realize that you are injured at all.
It is important to make sure that you aren’t seriously injured right after the accident, but then you should still go see an accident doctor for a final diagnose to ensure that you are really not injured. Too many people are self-diagnosing their accident injuries and not seeing an accident doctor as soon as possible.