Motor Vehicle Accident, No Serious Injury (Child)
Your child has been seen today because of a car accident. Your child’s exam does not show any sign of serious injury. But it’s important to watch for new symptoms that might be a sign of hidden injury.
Your child may feel sore and tight in their muscles and back the next day. More areas of their body may hurt over the next 1 to 2 days.
Your child may have no head injury that you can see. But a person can get a concussion from their head suddenly moving forward, backward, or sideways. It's common to have a mild headache and feel tired, nauseated, or dizzy.
A car accident can be very stressful. It can cause emotional or mental symptoms. Your child may have any of these:
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Anxiety and fear
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Recurring thoughts or nightmares about the accident
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Trouble sleeping
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Changes in appetite
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Feelings of being depressed, sad, or low in energy
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Feelings of being irritable or easily upset
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Feeling the need to avoid activities, places, or people that remind them of the accident
These are normal reactions. They should go away in a few days or weeks. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider if these signs last longer, get worse, or disrupt your child’s daily life.
If your child uses a car seat, the seat may need to be replaced. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA) advises replacing a seat after a moderate to severe car accident.
Home care
Muscle pains and strains
Your child may feel sore all over. They may have new aches and pains in the next 1 to 3 days. During this time:
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Make sure your child gets rest.
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Don’t have your child stretch sore muscles. If your child has a muscle strain, stretching may make it worse.
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You can put an ice pack or cold gel pack on sore spots. This may help reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain. Wrap the cold pack in a thin towel or cloth. Don't put it directly on your child’s skin. Use it for no more than 20 minutes at a time.
Wound care
If your child has scrapes or other wounds, they should heal in about 10 days. Keep wounds clean. Follow all wound care instructions from your healthcare provider.
Watch for signs of wound infection, such as:
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Fever
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Redness, warmth, or swelling around the wound that gets worse
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Red lines around the wound
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Fluid leaking from the wound
Medicines
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You can give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen to ease pain. But talk with a healthcare provider first if your child has liver or kidney disease, or ever had bleeding in the stomach (ulcer) or intestines. Follow the provider's advice. The dose of these medicines is based on age and weight. Read the package instructions. Don’t give your child aspirin. Never give aspirin to anyone under age 18 who has a virus or fever. It may cause severe liver or brain damage, or death.
Follow-up care
Follow up with your child’s healthcare provider, or as advised. If emotional or mental symptoms continue or get worse, call a provider right away. Your child may have a more serious traumatic stress reaction. There are treatments that can help.
If X-rays or a CT scan were done, you'll be told about the results by a healthcare provider.
Call
Call if your child has any of these:
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Trouble breathing
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One pupil larger than the other
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Repeated vomiting
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Headache along with a change in mental status or behavior
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Restlessness or agitation
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Confusion, drowsiness, or trouble waking
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Fainting, convulsions, or seizures
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Fast heart rate
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Trouble talking or seeing
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Trouble walking or loss of balance
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Numbness or weakness in 1 side of their body
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Drooping on 1 side of their face
When to get medical care
Call the healthcare provider if your child has any of these:
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Pain not helped with pain medicine. This includes headache, belly (abdominal) pain, chest pain, back pain or neck pain.
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New or worse pain
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Signs of wound infection. These include increasing pain in the wound, increasing wound redness or swelling, or pus or bad odor coming from the wound.
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Mental and emotional symptoms that don't get better or that get worse