An internal injury or internal bleeding is one of the severe repercussions of trauma. Bleeding usually happens from obvious injuries or the ones we can see topically. These need quick medical attention and can prolong for hours. The internal injury usually stops on their own. However, if it continues, it can be dangerous.
Causes of an internal injury
Internal injury happens usually after physical injury. You will find two types of trauma related to internal injury:
- Blunt trauma
This type of trauma happens when one body part collides with another and at a high speed. The blood vessels inside the body tear or get crushed by shear forces or blunt objects. For example, car accidents, falling, or physical assaults relate to this.
- Penetrating trauma
This type of trauma refers to the condition when a foreign object going into the body tears up the hole in the blood vessels. For example, gunshot, stabbing or falling into a sharp object.
Trauma can leave an impact on any blood vessel or body organ, and lead to an internal injury. The most severe cases are:
- Head trauma and bleeding are known as intracranial hemorrhage
- Bleeding around lungs known as hemothorax
- Bleeding around heart known as cardiac tamponade and hemopericardium
- Tearing of large blood vessels right at the center of the body. These can be the inferior or superior vena cava, aorta, and other branches.
- Abdominal damage like spleen lacerations or organ perforation
Symptoms of an internal injury
In most cases, internal injury happens from trauma and the condition is serious. People need to seek immediate aid and expert medical support. As internal bleeding continues, the symptoms might start worsening. They depend on the kind of trauma your body is going through. They can be as follows:
- Abdomen pain or swelling from internal bleeding due to trauma in the liver. The symptoms get worse as bleeding continues.
- Light-headedness, fainting, dizziness, can be results and sources of internal bleeding when much blood is lost
- Skin showing purple color tone and covering a large area might happen from bleeding into the skin or soft tissues.
- Swell, tightness, pain in the leg can happen from internal injury of the thigh. It usually happens from thighbone fracture.
- Loss of consciousness, headache, and seizures happens due to internal bleeding of the brain.
Any such sign of internal bleeding after a trauma needs immediate medical attention. Injured people must be checked in a hospital and under proper medical supervision.
Treating internal bleeding from trauma
Internal bleeding damages our body because a lot of blood is lost and also due to the pressure of misplaced blood put on tissues and organs. It is a case of emergency and needs prompt action. The sufferer needs to be carried to the emergency department as soon as possible. Fleming might be able to help in such critical cases.
The treatment might involve blood transfusion and intravenous fluids to prevent an unsafe drop in blood pressure. The patient needs to go through imagine tests like CT scan, ultrasound, and sometimes both. These tests confirm if the internal injury still prevails. The level of bleeding, blood pressure, and severity of injury suggests the right form of treatment. When internal bleeding is slow and delayed, the doctor might take some time to observe. There are chances of such condition to stop of its own.
Severe internal bleeding like trauma requires surgery for correction. When bleeding becomes severe, it might be replaced by emergency surgery. Doctors might detect this requirement as soon as they diagnose the patient’s condition in the emergency ward.
Type of surgeries required for internal injury
The following types of surgeries might be applicable in the case of internal injury:
- Exploratory laparotomy
In this case, the surgeon makes an incision in the patient’s adnominal skin and explores the abdomen. The surgeon seals the end of leaking blood vessels with heat probe or a suture material.
- Thoracotomy
If there bleeding near the heart and lung region, a surgeon makes an incision along the patient’s rib cage or breastbone. They gain access to the chest and that might identify and stop bleeding. It protects that lungs and heart from pressure due to excess blood.
- Craniotomy
When bleeding happens due to brain injuries, the surgeon might have to make a hole in the patient’s skull. The process relieves pressure and reduces the chances of injury to the brain.
- Fasciotomy
If there is an internal bleeding is an area like the thigh, it can create a high pressure. It can also prevent blood from flowing onto the rests of the leg. A surgeon deeply cuts the thigh and relieves pressure. He then gains access to stop bleeding.
These were the basic ways of treating an internal injury. If you ever have symptoms or find someone else with such condition, note that they need immediate aid. Internal injury when prolonged can be life-threatening.
