Whiplash... should I force him to go to the doctor?

[mia1181]

DH was in an accident last night. The back of his car is all smashed in. He was fine but sore in his back arms and neck. He felt that it wasn''t too bad and decided to sleep on it and if he was still sore to call the Dr. in the morning. Well when he woke up only his neck was still sore, but again he said it seemed like it would get better. Well later this morning when I talked to him he said it was hurting. Now, he is one of those "tough guys"

so I would imagine if he says the word "hurt" it must be pretty bad. Well he called the doctor and they said they will see him tomorrow morning.

If it were me, I would have been in the emergency room last night. But he wants to tough it out because he is swamped at work.

He may not be worried but I know if he knew I was worried he''d do what I want. So should I make him go to the emergency room tonight?
He did tell the Dr. he was in an accident, so if they aren''t worried enough for him to come in earlier should I be?

 

[choro72]

When I was in a total car accident, I didn't see the doctor until the next day and everything was fine. If he had internal injuries, he would be throwing up, hurting when coughing, etc. If you don't see these things I think tomorrow is alright.

He probably has muscle spasm, and just to give you an idea, it took me about a week to recover. During that time, I couldn't get to a sitting position without supporting my neck with my hand. I only had to keep it fairly stable, no neck braces or anything, but I had to cancel a ski trip

Good luck, and I hope your DH recovers properly.

ETA: One thing to consider is, if there is going to be any law suite involved it might be better to get a doctor to check it out as soon as possible.

 

[fieryred33143]

I was in a car accident either last month or month before (can''t remember). I woke up with a sore neck and back. I didn''t go to the doctor and 4 days later I was fine and haven''t had any issues since.

Maybe its not whiplash?? I would make a deal with him and just say that if he isn''t better by tomorrow evening, then he''s going to the ER.

 

[neatfreak]

He needs to go to the doctor if he wants to have it on record that he was injured. I am always on the "erring on the side of caution" side, so I would say to go. But I think he could make an appt tomorrow, doesn't sound like he needs to go to the ER IMO. I agree that if the doc thought he should go in right away they would have told him that.

 

[deegee]

I''d go just in case there are future medical bills.

I was in a bad accident, but I was a tough chick and refused medical treatment. Hey - I could walk, so I was okay. The next day I could barely move, but I had been hit by a semi and figured I''d have a few days of being sore. My husband persuaded (forced) me to go to the ER, and it''s a good thing I did! I ended up being hurt worse than I thought and was in PT for a year. My insurance wouldn''t cover anything since it was a car wreck, so the other driver''s insurance paid the bills. I waited a day to go to the hospital, and the other driver''s insurance tried to get out of paying the bills saying that I must not have been that hurt if I didn''t go right away. I think if I had waited any longer, they would have skipped out all together! I some pretty big injuries, but thought the pain was just due to being hit by a big truck.

 

[mia1181]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

There won''t be any lawsuit or anything like that. His car was totalled and the insurance company is handling it. It just sucks because the car was paid off and know we will have a new car.

He is going to go to the doctor''s first thing in the morning. He says it feels a little better, but I''m a little annoyed that he is choosing to stay late at work tonight. He is a scientist so I know he is either hunched over in the lab, or hunched over a computer.

Not good for a sore neck! Oh well he is a big boy...

 

[VRBeauty]

I''d send him to a good chiropractor. Sometimes after an injury, you avoid using certain muscles etc to avoid pain... and that causes further problems down the road. A good chiro can help you get deal with the painful spots more quicky so you don''t get into that cycle.

 

[oobiecoo]

I was in a car accident where my car was totaled. My mom came and brought me to the hospital because I had some cuts, burns, and aches. Of all the things I told them about, I don''t think they did anything about the whiplash. They just gave me some pain medicine. I think he is probably ok to wait and see the doc tomorrow. Emergency Rooms are expensive.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

DH was rear-ended about 24 years ago, we did very little at the time, mostly because the MD said it was ok because nothing was broken but it definately was not ok. Just cos there were no broken bones, doesn''t mean there was no damage. DH is convinced his lifetime neck pain was a result of that accident. Never hurt before, never felt good after. Now he goes to chiropractor monthly or he would be in a lot of pain, so I would err on the side of caution and do everything possible now to treat it.

DD ended up with a root canal on a bottom front tooth 4 years after her car was totaled from a rear-end collision. Of course you can''t prove it was the accident but that is highly unusual without a history of trauma and the whole back end of her car was crushed. If your car is totaled--your body had to absorb a lot of that momentum, so don''t minimize how much trauma might have occurred to soft tissue that is not apparent on x-rays. If your hubby is like mine (scientist, too) you may need to badger him to seek care. Tell him it won''t be fun 24 years later.

I hope he''ll be feeling better soon and you find great health care providers

 

[scarleta]

Some problems may occur later therefore he should see a physician so they have a record of his accidents,complaints and any injuries.Encourage him to go asap.
hope all will be ok, but he should have a record of his visit with his doctor.