For what purposes are immobilizing dressings used? This is a common question. With many ailments, there is a need to ensure rest of the affected part of the body.
This goal is achieved by applying a special bandage, which will provide the right place with immobility in a certain position for a long period of time.
What is this?
Immobilization is the immobilization of limbs or other parts of the body. There is a transport type of such immobilization. This is a temporary preventive measure for the period of transportation of the victim. Fractures, joint damage, extensive soft tissue injuries; injury to blood vessels and nerves; anaerobic and general purulent infection; stumps after surgery are all indications for the use of such devices.
The purpose of immobilizing dressings is to create, under certain medical indications, a state of immobility for a damaged organ, which is the main condition for effectivetherapy. Indications for immobilization are various bone fractures along with joint injuries, torn ligaments, large vessels and the nerve trunk.
Types of immobilizing dressings
Before immobilization, the patient requires the introduction of painkillers. These dressings include splints and gypsum products. Tire dressings basically have support devices in the form of various kinds of tires that provide temporary immobilization of the injured limb. They are applied directly to the victim's body. On the limbs, two nearby joints need to be immobilized.
In case of a closed fracture, during the application of the splint, it is necessary to produce a slight traction along the axis of the diseased limb by the distal part and fix it in this position. In addition, the following types of immobilizing dressings are distinguished:
- Plaster immobilization.
- Using synthetic bandages.
- The use of modern immobilizing dressings called "Turbocast".
Gypsum immobilization and the result of its application
A plaster bandage, although it provides a person with the necessary fixation of a diseased limb, can cause great discomfort to the patient:
- After contact with water, such a bandage may collapse, which will not allow the patient to fully wash, take water procedures, and so on.
- Has a relatively large mass.
- May cause discomfort due to hair sticking andskin itching.
- Inadequate ventilation increases the risk of pressure sores and chafing.
- This bandage crumbles easily and also breaks.
- Often caused by the formation of so-called conflicts on the skin (we are talking about bloody blisters akin to burns).
The main advantage of a plaster cast is its low cost along with ease of manufacture.
Using synthetic bandages
Synthetic bandages are usually made from fabric impregnated with polyurethane resin and fiberglass added to it. The benefits of immobilizing bandages, which are made from synthetic bandages, are as follows:
- Have a much smaller mass.
- Do not break down after contact with water.
- Do not break or crumble during use.
- Different in neat appearance.
Disadvantages of synthetic bandages
But these bandages also have significant drawbacks:
- Their removal usually requires special equipment.
- The patient's skin is not adequately ventilated.
- The polyurethane resin used for impregnation is toxic.
The use of modern dressings called "Turbocast"
Several years ago, a new material appeared in the world, which is used for bandaging and individual orthotics. We are talking about a low-temperature plastic called "Turbocast". Mainits property is harmlessness to the human body, since this material is absolutely non-toxic and non-allergenic. Other benefits of these immobilization bandages are:
- Light weight along with bandage volume.
- This material is allowed to come into contact with water and other liquids.
- Excellent ventilation due to multiple openings.
- Probably dressing remodeling (i.e. for immobilization dressing you can use the same material instead of buying a new one).
- This material is completely radiolucent.
- Easy to remove the dressing (usually no special instrumentation required). It can be removed at any time for physiotherapy or hygiene purposes.
- Material approved for pediatric orthotics.
- Turbocast headband has an aesthetic and neat appearance.
In modern clinics for patients, as a rule, absolutely all of these materials are available for the manufacture of immobilizing dressings. True, it is worth remembering that the listed varieties are far from always interchangeable. The selection of the optimal variant must necessarily be carried out only by a doctor. Next, we will talk about how the immobilizing bandage is applied.
Overlay technique
Creating rest for damaged organs with the help of such dressings, you need to follow a number of rules:
- Bandagesuperimposed in order to provide reliable immobilization to a person. When imposing, it must be remembered that usually in case of a fracture of the limbs, the fracture site and two nearby joints (one above and the other below the injury area) should be fixed. Against the background of a hip fracture, three joints are immobilized, that is, the knee, hip and ankle.
- Before immobilization, you need to prepare the splint, namely lay it with cotton and gauze all over or put a special cover on it. Next, cover the protruding parts with gauze pads to avoid the appearance of bedsores.
- As part of the splinting, the injured limbs are given an average physiological position, which relieves muscle tension. This can be achieved by slightly bending the large joints directly at an angle of five to ten degrees.
- In case of a closed fracture of the bones, immediately before applying the splint, a careful elongation of the limb is performed along the axis. The splint itself is applied over clothes and shoes.
What other rules should I know about applying such bandages?
The following rules must also be observed:
- With an open fracture, it is impossible to produce traction and reduction of bone fragments. They must be fixed in the position that they acquired as a result of injury.
- With an open fracture, it is imperative to apply a pressure bandage to the wound, and if necessary, a tourniquet is used to stop the bleeding, and then a splint. The tourniquet is applied over clothing(it must be exclusively visible). The accompanying sheet indicates the time of its imposition. The tourniquet on the limbs can be kept for no more than one hour.
- In the event that it becomes necessary to remove clothing from the injured person, it is removed first from a he althy leg or arm, and then from a damaged one. Clothes are put on in the reverse order, that is, first on the injured limb, and then on the he althy one.
Next, we will find out for what purposes immobilizing dressings are used.
When is such dressings necessary in medicine?
In fact, there are quite a few options for using this tool. An immobilizing bandage is necessary for fixation in the presence of damage to bones, blood vessels, joints and nerves. With extensive damage to soft tissues, there is also a need for their use. Rest for damaged organs is created by special standard Dieterichs and Kramer splints.
Against the background of the lack of standard tires, immobilization is provided by improvised means (plywood, board, rail, stick, skis of the required strength and size). And also in special circumstances (when the necessary materials are not at hand), you can fix the injured arm or leg to a he althy limb.
It is worth noting that the variety of immobilizing dressings largely depends on the location of the damage. The technique of applying them is quite simple, but it requires certain knowledge along with skills and abilities. Next, we will discuss the essence and advantagesimmobilizing polymer dressings.
Polymer dressings
Their obvious advantage lies in the ease of wearing them. The patient, when using such a remedy, as a rule, does not feel constrained in the literal sense of the word, since his position is similar to the fact that the leg or arm immediately after the fracture is bandaged with an elastic simple tourniquet. At the same time, the materials from which such a product is made are extremely durable.
Polymeric immobilizing material created as an alternative to plaster casts. They are waterproof and lightweight, moisture-resistant, have low radiopacity. Such a bandage can withstand the functional load forty minutes after application. A polymeric immobilizing material is made from synthetic fibers, then impregnated with a polyurethane resin that hardens in the presence of water.
Polymeric immobilizing dressings can completely replace traditional plaster in the treatment of fractures. The combination of unusual lightness and strength of this material (five times lighter than gypsum) makes it much more comfortable to use.
It is worth emphasizing that the materials from which the polymer dressings are made are absolutely non-toxic, and therefore cannot provoke allergic reactions along with dermatological irritations in the patient. Thus, we have covered the basic information about immobilization dressings.
