After a collision, abdominal symptoms could mean serious injuries. If you developed an upset stomach after an automobile accident caused by another driver’s carelessness, please know that our Eason & Tambornini personal injury lawyers are ready to answer any questions you may have about traumatic injuries. Our lawyers can help you get answers as to why you feel dizzy after a car accident, vomiting after a car accident, feeling sick after a car accident, or developing a sore stomach after a car accident. For any concerns about traumatic injuries affecting your personal life, you may set up a free consultation with one of our attorneys to learn more about your legal options.
Why am I feeling dizzy after a car accident?
The dizziness you feel after a car accident may be due to a nerve or middle ear affectation.
A pinched nerve commonly happens during whiplash injuries. Say, for example, you were involved in a rear-end accident. Even though the impact forces your car to stop suddenly, you still move because the momentum throws you forward. In the process, your head forcefully flexes from the effect and then extends.
Many injuries could result from whiplash – cervical fracture, disc herniation, disc bulging, muscle tear, tendon, and ligament tear. All these could influence the nerve supplying the part of the brain responsible for balance and position sense, so you feel dizzy and nauseous.
The middle ear contains tiny hair cells and fluid that detect body position and balance. During loud explosions, like airbag deployment, these can become damaged and affect their normal functioning, causing dizziness.
Why do I have vomiting after a car accident?
The three most common causes of vomiting after a car accident are vertebrobasilar artery impingement, brainstem and cerebellum injury, and abdominal injuries.
The brainstem and cerebellum are the regulatory centers for vomiting and nausea. Injury in these areas can impair functioning and cause vomiting and nausea. Whiplash and head injuries, especially to the back of the head, typically cause injury to these areas.
On the other hand, the vertebrobasilar artery is located in the neck region—the main artery supplies the brain’s lower regions, including the brainstem and cerebellum. Any affectation of this artery can result in reduced oxygen in the brain. If these regions don’t get enough blood supply, it could result in injuries and impaired functioning.
Any injury to the abdominal area, significantly if it affects the organs, can also cause nausea and vomiting.
Why am I feeling sick after a car accident?
I was feeling sick after a car accident is standard and is often caused by a lot of things, from stress from the traumatic event to neck injury, head injury, abdominal injury, etc.
The symptom typically goes away in minor accidents after a few days of rest and medications. However, suppose the symptom persists or starts to worsen. In that case, you need to return to your primary care physician or the emergency department to assess your injuries and receive proper medical care. There may be a more severe injury that needs to be addressed immediately, like gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal rupture, diaphragm injury, peritoneal injury, and injuries to the liver.
Physical examination, blood tests, imaging studies, etc., will be ordered to look for any injury causing your symptoms.
Why do I have a sore stomach after a car accident?
There are many ways a car accident can injure your abdominal area. The seatbelt can cause injuries as it tries to restrain you from being thrown forward. Airbag deployment can also hurt the abdomen as it deploys. Head-on collisions could push the steering wheel against your abdomen.
Any of these events can cause injury to the tissues. When there is an injury to the tissues, there will be inflammation. The immune cells flock to the injured tissues to heal the wounds, releasing chemicals that signal other immune cells to go to the site. These chemicals, though, send signals and irritate nerve endings, so there can be pain and soreness.
These symptoms usually resolve independently, but you can control pain and inflammation with meds, hot and cold compress, and rest.
What can you do?
Don’t ignore any of the symptoms you might develop after a car accident, especially if they start to worsen and do not improve with rest and medications. These could mean more severe injuries. If you or a loved one sustains injuries after a collision, please get in touch with an Eason & Tambornini car accident attorney. We can help you understand how a car accident can cause dizziness, vomiting, feeling sick, and sore stomach. Our Sacramento auto accident attorneys regularly handle traumatic injuries following accidents, so call us if you are suffering from an upset stomach after a car accident.
