Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Air Crash Victims

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Accidents occur unexpectedly and the effects they bring about may be severe depending on their nature. The effects that are brought about by accidents vary in severity, and duration within which they affect individuals either directly or indirectly attached to the incidence. Air crash is one of the most fatal accidents and in most of the reported cases; there have been more casualties than survivors. The effects that are brought about by an air crash may be classified as either physical or psychological. In the physical effects, air crash brings about death, disability and injuries. The effects from air crash are determined by among other things, the cause of the crash, the altitude and its speed at the time of crash. In addition, whether the aircraft catches fire or not after crash is another issue that determines severity of air accidents. There have been situations when survivors of air crash succumbed to fires erupting upon hitting the ground. Since the crash limits mobility, most of the victims succumb helplessly before the arrival of rescue teams. Among the different categories of persons affected by air crash, there are the survivors, family members and friends, members of the rescue team and the health practitioners handling the victims. While the survivors may be affected by both physical and psychological aspects, most of the indirect victims suffer from psychological problems. After crashing, there are individuals who manage to remain arrive and in some instances leave the airplane before fire eruption. These persons are mostly partially hurt but get to experience the others burning helplessly inside the aircraft. The experiences by either direct or indirect victims lead to development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Epstein, Fullerton & Ursano 1998). This is a serious condition that affects persons having disturbing pasts, and who might have experienced shocking incidences. The problem is manifested within an individual after the scenes from past experiences starts top recur, and they disturb the peace and rational aspect in an individual. Such persons may start to hallucinate, experience strange and horrifying dreams and if not monitored in time, the disease can get worse. Physical defects that may be experienced after air crash differ according to the impact and the nature of the crash. While to some it may be worse, there are those who manage to escape with slight injuries. The survivors of air crash first develop stress and depression, coupled with fear.

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