As you probably know, car accidents are some of the more stressful situations anyone can go through. This is true even if your accident is a relatively minor one. According to the Cleveland Clinic, stress can cause a person to develop a headache. As a result, it might be normal to have one soon after a motor vehicle accident.
Even though many post-accident headaches are nothing to worry about, pain in your head can be a symptom of potentially life-threatening injuries. Consequently, if you have a headache following a car crash, it is imperative to go to the emergency room for a medical evaluation.
Thunder headaches
A thunder headache is one that comes on quickly and painfully, much like a clap of thunder. If you have major head pain that onsets rapidly after a car accident, you might have one or more of the following conditions:
- A rise in blood pressure
- A bleed in your brain
- A traumatic brain injury
- A blood blockage in your brain
Each of these medical conditions can be deadly, so you do not want to take a wait-and-see approach to any thunder headache you have after a car accident.
Body trauma
Your body only has so many ways to tell you something is wrong. Just as an accident-related headache can signal some type of brain injury, your head pain also might be a symptom of body trauma. That is, you may have organ damage, internal bleeding, nerve injuries or other physical injuries that are causing your head to hurt.
While going to the emergency room for an accident-associated headache can be expensive, it is foolish to try to put a price tag on your physical health. Ultimately, you may be eligible for substantial financial compensation to help you cover the cost of medical treatment.