These accidents differ based on the extent of damage they cause. Some of these accidents will leave you with minor injuries, while others will cause catastrophic injuries. The accidents that cause catastrophic injuries include car accidents, medical malpractice, slips and falls, defective products, work accidents, and many more.
Due to how severe catastrophic injuries are, it may not be easy to recover after you get these injuries. But luckily, you can do some things to help in the recovery. This article explains what catastrophic injuries are and the journey to recovery after sustaining them. So, sit back and keep on reading to learn more.
What Is A Catastrophic Injury
A catastrophic injury is a physical injury that severely affects your health and may take a long time to heal. Additionally, these damages can be permanent and hence cause a life-changing impact. Some of the catastrophic injuries include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Severe burns
- Amputations
- Multiple bone fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Damage to internal organs and
- Eye injury
After a catastrophic injury among the first things, you may want to hire a personal injury lawyer like the Jacksonville personal injury lawyers in Jacksonville or those near you. Most of the time you as the plaintiff is entitled to compensation caused by a catastrophic injury. This is especially true if it was an accident caused by the negligence of others. If this is the case, you’ll need a personal injury lawyer for legal representation. It’s the work of the lawyer to see to it that your medical expense is catered for, loss of income compensated, and mental and emotional anguish including other types of compensation.
What To Do To Recover After A Catastrophic Injury
Here are some steps that can help you recover after a catastrophic injury:
1. Seek Medical Assistance
After being involved in an accident, you may be rushed to an emergency room. There are various forms of treatment that you may receive in the emergency room, and they include:
- Lab tests
- Blood transfusion
- X-rays
- Sedation
- Scans and many more
However, some catastrophic injuries may take a while before they’re detected. This means they may not be treated in the emergency room. For instance, it may take hours, days, or weeks before you start experiencing pain from spine damage or concussion symptoms. Therefore, visiting a doctor as soon as you start experiencing the pains and symptoms would also be best. This is because the longer you wait, the more the injuries get worse, increasing the damage caused.
Depending on your injury, your doctor will recommend a treatment option that will help. For example, you may receive injections or undergo surgery. It’s best to receive these treatment options immediately, as it’s the beginning of recovering from your injury.
2. Take Your Medications
Despite undergoing surgery or having injections, you may have been prescribed medication. Usually, the medicines are prescribed chiefly to help manage the pain. Apart from pain management, medication also helps in other ways, such as:
- Curing infections
- Lowering your blood pressure
- Managing blood sugar levels and many more
However, you’ll experience these benefits if you take your medicine as prescribed by your doctor. This means you have to stick to the dosage prescribed and finish the prescribed medicine.
At times, it may be challenging to stick to your medication routine. However, if you have this issue, you shouldn’t worry as you may use the following tips to help you take your medicine as it should be:
- Set reminders for the time you need to take your doses
- Get yourself a daily pill container
- Link your medication with actions that you do daily, such as taking meals. This will help you remember to take your medicine when having your meals.
- When traveling, ensure to carry extra doses just in case you overstay
- Also, you need to understand how your medicines are helping you so that you get the importance of taking them.
3. Attend Therapy Sessions
Catastrophic injuries may leave you with difficulty in moving some body parts. Moreover, your mental peace may be interfered with. Unfortunately, some of these issues can’t be fixed by taking medications only. Instead, you may be required to undergo therapy.
There are different types of therapy you can attend depending on your issue. These types include:
- Physical Therapy. This therapy mainly helps with pain management and body movement. It involves body stretches, exercises, massages, cold therapy, and training.
- Speech Therapy. After an accident, you may have difficulty communicating. Speech therapy helps in communication by assessing the problem and receiving treatment that could help with your speech.
- Cognitive Therapy. As earlier mentioned, catastrophic injuries may be mental too. This means you may have anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and others. Having these issues isn’t easy, and you need psychotherapy to be in a better space mentally.
- Occupational Therapy. Having a catastrophic accident may require you to take some time off work due to health complications. You may have a challenging time returning to work as it means taking care of yourself and your work responsibilities. Occupational therapy helps with developing, recovering, and maintaining activities in your personal life as well as at work.
4. Eat Healthily
The type of food you have impacts your health. For instance, taking unhealthy food increases your chance of getting health conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and many more. This means even in good health, it’s best if you avoid taking unhealthy foods.
On the other hand, healthy foods are essential, especially in the recovery stage, because:
- They provide you with the energy you need to be active.
- They contain nutrients that help in repairing damaged organs.
- They help maintain a healthy weight.
- They strengthen your immune system.
- They strengthen your bones.
Further, taking lots of water is also beneficial in recovery as it reduces inflammation and helps in replacing the damaged cells with new ones.
5. Don’t Forget To Have Enough Rest
You may underestimate how rest can help you recover, but it’s essential. Having enough sleep and rest after a catastrophic injury can help you recover through its benefits. Some of the benefits of resting include:
- Increased blood flow which helps in repair and growth
- Reduced internal inflammatory
- Better energy levels needed for recovery
- It gives you a better mood
Being careful in what you do should be among your top priorities. However, despite how careful you are, there’s a chance of accidents happening. As a result, you may have minor injuries or catastrophic injuries. Catastrophic injuries are severe as they may take a long time to heal or be permanent. In other words, they may be life-changing.
Having catastrophic injuries may leave you unsure of what to do to recover after getting them. This article has provided information on how to recover after a catastrophic injury. You can use this information to help yourself or those you care about. All the best!
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