Talking About Diagnostic Tests For Medical Care
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Talking About Diagnostic Tests For Medical Care

Hello, my name is Gregory. When I was a young lad, I had to enter the health care world in an unexpected way. I developed a serious disease out of the blue that took doctors by surprise. I went through so many different testing procedures before my doctors could diagnose the rare disease. Everyone around me reeled as they tried to understand the purpose and process of the diagnostic tests. I hope to help others understand these important tests better through this website. Please come by often to learn all you need to know about medical diagnostics and working closely with health care professionals.

Talking About Diagnostic Tests For Medical Care

Methods for Helping Your Child Recover After a Car Accident

Nanja Bongers

If you and your child experienced a serious car accident, it can take a lot of effort to get your life back on track. Your child will face some post-trauma damage—both mental and physical—that might be hard for them to communicate and process. Even though you will have your own medical, insurance, and psychological needs to care for, you will also need to make sure your child is on their way to recovery. Here are some things you can do to make dealing with the aftermath of an accident easier for your child. 

Be aware of the signs for past-traumatic stress in children.

Car accidents can be a source of trauma for adults and children, but trauma stress symptoms often manifest differently in children. You child may:

  • recreate the accident during play or in drawings.
  • have recurring dreams that remind them of the trauma.
  • be fearful to get in the car or to ride near the area that the accident occurred.
  • show fear around adults, including you, who were involved or injured in the car.
  • have increased agitation or changes in eating, sleeping, or dressing habits.
  • demonstrate higher levels of aggression or depression, including unexplained crying or tantrums over small incidents. 

These symptoms are serious, as children, especially young children, have trouble processing the feelings associated with traumatic events like car accidents. Therefore, they will often need to help to learn to express them in healthful ways. These often depend on the extent of the accident and the injured parties. In cases where a parent or sibling was severely injured or killed, it will take more intensive therapy. Professional counseling is often necessary. 

Look for signs of physical discomfort and treat them as soon as you can.

Beyond mental health, physical health can be difficult to repair after a car accident, even if injuries seem minor. Things like whip lash, dislocated limbs, or breaks and sprains can be difficult for children, especially if they are not old enough to understand the treatment and to assess their pain level. You should look for warning signs that your child is not "back to normal", even weeks or months after the accident has passed, including:

  • they suddenly use one limb more than another. Children may not complain or pain or think that pain indicates a deeper problem. If you notice that your child does not like to hold things with a specific hand or consistently uses one leg more than other, something is not correct and your child should be assessed by a chiropractor with experience in pediatric patients
  • squinting, holding the head a strange position, or hunching the shoulders. Headaches and neck pain are common after car accidents. Usually, it takes several sessions with a chiropractor and some physical therapy to release muscles that are pulling the spine out of alignment or to fix spinal subluxations that lead to headaches. You child may want to lie down frequently or have trouble sleeping if they have persistent head and neck pain, as it can be hard to get comfortable. Local services and resources like Vanderloo Chiropractic can help.
  • they have a sudden change in interests. Pain can lead children to say they don't like to do things they did before. For example, if your child was an avid runner or climber, but now avoid the opportunity to be active, even when invited, you should look into the reason why. 

Getting your child back on the path pf physical and mental health after a car accident is a journey that involves close observation and support of a trusted adult and several professionals, including counselors, doctors, and chiropractors. 


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