Introduction:
Broken bones and fractures are common injuries; an average person might experience a broken bone twice in their lifetime. This traumatic injury also requires immediate medical attention. It’s essential to know how you can attend to a broken bone or any injuries in case it happens to you or someone near you.
How to deal with a fracture> – First things first:
- Call for Emergency Help
It’s advisable to seek professional help since you aren’t sure how severe the injuries are. When it comes to broken bones and fractures, professional assistance is vital as most internal injuries can only be analyzed clearly with the help of an x-ray. Therefore, before you even perform first aid on the victim, ensure emergency help is on the way.
- Assess the Injured Area
In case of an emergency and there are no trained medical practitioners around, you need to check the condition of your injury. While pain after a fall doesn’t necessarily mean the victim has a broken bone.
Injuries on the head, pelvis, or spine might be difficult to assess without an x-ray. But if you suspect the victim might have sustained injuries on these parts, avoid moving the victim at all costs. If the injuries occurred to fingers, legs, arms, nose, or toes, they’ll look crooked or out of place. Also, a severely broken bone might protrude through the injured area and cause excess bleeding.
Other symptoms of a broken bone or fracture include the inability to use the injured part, numbness, immediate swelling and bruising, nausea, or shortness of breath.
When examining the injury, be careful with movements. Moving an individual with spine, neck, skull, or pelvis injuries is highly risky and might worsen the injuries.
- Stop the Bleeding
Suppose the broken bone or fracture is causing bleeding; attempt to stop it. Addressing bleeding is even more vital than addressing a broken bone since bleeding from the primary artery can cause death within a few minutes. Apply firm pressure on the wound using a piece of cloth or towel.
Hold the towel or cloth over the injury for several minutes to initiate a blood clot in the injured area and stop the bleeding. If possible, secure the towel with an elastic bandage to ensure it stays in place.
If the bleeding continues, you might need to tie a tight tourniquet above the injured area to prevent circulation until you get help from professionals. You can use a rope, rubber tubing, string, cord, necktie, leather belt, or scarf as a tourniquet.
If there’s a large object penetrating the injured area, avoid removing it since it can cause even more bleeding that might not be easy to control.
- Immobilize the Broken Bone
After stabilizing the victim, try to immobilize the broken bone if you need to wait for health practitioners for more than an hour. Immobilization helps reduce pain while protecting the fractured bone from further injuries caused by an accidental movement. If you aren’t sure how to realign the bone, leave it the way it is to avoid damaging blood vessels and nerves that might cause paralysis. Remember, splints work on limb bones only, not on the pelvis or torso.
For a successful immobilization, place a piece of rigid cardboard or plastic on each side of the injury to support the bone. Use a tape, string, or something else to tie the supporters firmly together. When using a splint on a fractured bone, allow movement in the adjacent joints and avoid securing it too tight to allow blood circulation.
- Apply Ice to the Injury
After immobilizing the injury, apply ice while waiting for professional help. Cold therapy helps numb the pain, reduce swelling or inflammation, and reduce bleeding. If finding ice is impossible, wrap anything cool on the injury as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Broken bones and fractures require immediate medical attention. However, after calling for emergency medical help, it might help if you perform first aid on the injuries. However, you can assist or even save someone requiring immediate first aid for broken bones or fractures as you wait for a professional. If you find it challenging to do some of the things mentioned above, wait for the medical professionals to avoid worsening the matter.