When you are in a car, train, boat or any other vehicle, you have some risk of being in an accident. Fortunately, most accidents are minor, often allowing individuals to walk away from them with few or no injuries. If you suffer from asthma, though, you may not be out of danger for a few days.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, there is a causal link between stressful situations and asthma flare-ups. More accurately, experiencing strong emotions can trigger an asthma attack.
Accidents are stressful
You do not have to suffer physical injuries for an accident to be stressful, of course. Indeed, because accidents jumpstart the fight-or-flight response, you can expect to feel the immediate effects of stress hormones after any stressful event. Unfortunately, difficulty breathing might not be far behind.
Symptoms can worsen
If you are experiencing asthma symptoms after an accident, it is imperative to get yourself to the hospital as quickly as possible. After all, your asthma symptoms can persist and even worsen for up to 48 hours after their onset. This might be true even if you have access to a rescue inhaler.
An attack can be fatal
You do not want to ignore any asthma attack, as doing so might put your life in grave danger. Indeed as the AAFA points out, 11 Americans die from asthma flare-ups every single day. Going to the emergency room increases your chances of surviving, of course, as doctors there have a variety of tools to stop and reverse your attack.
Ultimately, even though visiting the hospital might be expensive, you may have grounds to pursue financial compensation for your accident-related asthma attack.
