Car accidents can be scary, no matter how experienced a Georgia driver is. After a more severe car accident, the shock could keep the driver or passengers from noticing any severe injuries or head trauma.
A common symptom that drivers and passengers who have been in an automobile accident will experience is blurred vision. While it can be caused by a direct impact or trauma to the eye, it can also be a symptom of a traumatic brain injury.
What to know about head injuries
It may seem like common sense that you should see a doctor if you hit your head and suffer some sort of flesh wound or large bump. However, even knowing this, many people will choose not to go to the doctor if they feel that their symptoms aren’t extreme enough. If you know that you have hit your head at all in the course of the accident, see a doctor right away, even if you think your injury isn’t serious.
In car crashes, everything happens so fast that it could be hard to know if you hit your head or not. Symptoms like blurred vision will often get passed off as something else like needing new glasses. Some vision problems that could be symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include:
- Double vision
- Sensitivity to light
- Vision fluctuations
If you’re experiencing one or more of the above symptoms, it’s very important to get to a doctor right away. Brain injuries that impact vision can have devastating long-term consequences.
Long-term vision problems after a car accident
Retina detachment, which is where the thin layer of tissue behind the eye detaches completely, is common after a head injury. Another common accident is optic nerve damage caused by extreme pressure from the brain or a vitreous hemorrhage.
While some problems will clear up on their own, other problems require immediate medical attention for the patient to save their vision. Going to the doctor or filing a claim after a car crash can be nerve-wracking and inconvenient, but it’s important to put your safety first.