I was just in a mild but shocking car accident - should I be worried?

[jalapeno1234]

Hey guys,

One hour ago I was with my mom in the car and as we stopped at a roundabout to let a driver from our right go past, some guy went right into the back of us very fiercely. Both me and my mom immediately got out, shaking, trembling, crying as I managed to slam my head back into the headrest very jolty and what felt like the speed of light. Mum only hurt her shoulder but I noticed the pain at the back of my head and neck on and off and had a mild pain in the right hand side almost like a tension headache. It eased as we took the guys number and lots of people drove past looking very concerned. Me and my mom felt bad for the guy as he was apologising profusely and we all ended up hugging saying we were all lucky. But my head has been very mildly paining in all the places it did at the start after the bump - when I touch my head there is zero pain but now and then I get waves of the front-tension area and the back on the right. Amazingly, I have no stomach issues. No nausea, not even an urge to use the bathroom (I had a similar incident in 2018 on my driving test and coming to think of it felt very sick the next day but assumed it was just anxiety and my IBS) and weirdly my stomachs rumbling. I'm freaking out as im hearing stories from friends and the internet about how peoples concussion starts the next day and obviously Im thinking of the stomach issues that come with it as Im emetophobic- am I ok? has anyone ever bashed their head bad on the headrest on the seat?

Great start to 2020!

[Pamplemousse]

I suspect many who've been rear-ended have - that's what they're there for, after all.

[AntsyVee]

Why don’t you just get checked out by your doc?

[Sparky16]

Yeah, that's an unpleasant feeling. I doubt you have a concussion, but I think Vee is right that you should get checked out by your doctor. One of my coworkers had a similar accident, and she needed PT for a few weeks afterward for the neck muscle strain. I don't know how this works in the UK, but in the US it's important to get this kind of thing documented for insurance reasons so any treatment needed gets covered by the driver's insurance.

[AntsyVee]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[ankietyjoe]

Muscle twinge is by far the most likely outcome of this. You have to be whacked pretty hard in the head to get a concussion.

Worth getting checked out for peace of mind, and in the event of any weird insurance claims, but the chances of you having concussion are very, very minute.

[ErinKC]

I think it's always a good idea to get checked by the doctor after an accident, but you most likely just have a lot of muscle pain/tension. When you're in an accident you instinctively brace your whole body. You'll probably have more muscle pains tomorrow from all the tensing. I hit someone who ran a stop sign into the middle of an intersection I was crossing and my whole body was sore even though I had slowed down considerably and not hit her very hard.

[jalapeno1234]

12 hour wait In A and E apparently , the hospital is 5 mins from my house so I'm gonna call them in an hour or so. Slept well and nothing too concerning but the right side of my head has a recurring pressure every so often so I'm feeling diligent. Thanks guys

[ankietyjoe]

You don't need to go to A&E anyway. Call the GP on Monday.