Unfortunately, human bones, muscles and tendons are not as strong and elastic as those of the animal kingdom. One awkward turn, wrong movement of the body can result in either a fall and subsequent injury, or a pinched nerve, sprain, or other painful consequences.
Trauma is a common occurrence for both a child and an adult. The peak of injury usually falls on the age of 20 to 30 years and is expressed through bruises, abrasions, cuts and other injuries to the body. Many of them are quite dangerous and pose a threat to human life. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to properly provide first aid to the victim if it was not possible to avoid injury.
What is trauma?
Injury is an external or internal damage to the tissues of the human body, the cause of which is a physical impact, in its strength exceeding the level of possible elasticity and strength of tissues.
Injuries are categorized according to several factors: severity, type of impact, circumstances, and so on. Depending on the severitydistinguish macrotrauma (severe damage to a large area of the body) and microtrauma (regular, but minor tissue damage). For injuries of this kind, including dislocations, first aid should be provided within the first 2-3 hours after they are received.
Mechanical injuries and their classification
Paramedics and traumatologists most often deal with mechanical injuries. The probability of falling, hitting always exists, and the human body is not always able to withstand their negative effects.
In most cases, patients come in with the following types of injuries:
Soft tissue injuries. These are, first of all, bruises, detachment of muscles from bones, as well as wounds (stab, lacerations) received from the impact of piercing objects or weapons
Traumatic dislocations. First of all, in the shoulder area. Dislocation is one of the most common injuries in medical practice and does not entail extremely negative consequences that are dangerous to he alth. Therefore, providing first aid for a dislocation is within the power of almost every person
Injuries to internal organs. Most often, such injuries are accompanied by car accidents, in which the organs of the abdominal cavity or chest are severely damaged. They are usually accompanied by bone fractures and profuse bleeding. First aid in such cases is ineffective, qualified medical assistance and surgical intervention are needed
Bone fractures. The weakest bones in the human body are the clavicle, radius, ribs andsome others. Fractures are open (a broken bone protrudes beyond the boundaries of soft tissues) and closed
Dislocation is the most common injury
Dislocation is a displacement of the joints, in which the head of one joint falls out of the groove of another. Distinguish complete dislocation, with it there is a complete separation of the two joints from each other, and incomplete (the joints partially cling to each other), which is commonly called subluxation. There are about ten types of joint dislocations throughout the body.
Also, dislocations, depending on the change in the position of the joint, are posterior and anterior. There are also open and closed (integral skin) dislocation. First aid for dislocations that are open can be problematic.
Not only physical impact is the cause of dislocation. Also, diseases such as tuberculosis and arthritis greatly weaken the joints and lead to negative consequences.
Dislocation diagnosis
How to identify a dislocation? The patient may experience the following symptoms: sharp and severe pain when trying to move the damaged area, fever and fever / chills. From the external manifestations of dislocation, one can distinguish: large edema, as well as redness of the skin at the damaged point of the body.
Signs of dislocation are divided into two groups: reliable and relative. The first is the change in the size of the damaged area. To the second - pain, deformity of the joint and the inability to move it.
Which places are prone to dislocation?
Most frequentThe dislocation is caused by a fall and, in rare cases, by a direct blow. A common dislocation is in those places where the bones of the limb articulate with the body. First aid for a dislocation of a limb should be provided by a person who has at least a general idea of \u200b\u200bdislocation of this kind.
The most common shoulder dislocation occurs, it occurs in 55% of cases and may be the result of a fall on the arm from a great height. Also, the elbow, as the junction of the bones of the forearm with the humerus, is also prone to injury.
How to help the victim?
First aid for dislocations should be provided immediately after injury. The method of providing assistance depends on which part of the body was damaged. However, there are general rules that apply to any type of dislocation.
The key moment in first aid is immobilization of the victim and subsequent fixation of the damaged area. First you need to calm the person who needs help, then place him in a lying or sitting position. Call an ambulance. It will be better if first aid for fractures and dislocations is provided by a professional.
Ideally, a special medical splint is suitable for fixation, but if it is not at hand, then the splint can also be built from improvised means. Since its main task is to fix the damaged area of the body, any oblong object (board, handle from a mop) that matches the desired size will do.
Pain relief andtrauma treatment
If the pain is unbearable for the victim, then you need to give him a drug that paralyzes the nerve endings and relieves the pain. For these purposes, painkillers such as Nurofen, Ibuprofen, Ibuklin or a stronger Nise are suitable. The presented drugs do not require a prescription from a doctor and are bought at any pharmacy. However, you need to know if the victim has allergies or other contraindications that prohibit the use of a particular painkiller.
Serious narcotic drugs like morphine and other opioid analgesics can only be prescribed by a doctor during treatment.
Dislocation, just like a fracture, exists in the form of closed and open. Therefore, first aid for fractures and dislocations has similar points. With an open dislocation, as with an open fracture of a bone, the soft tissues are torn and the joint/bone comes out. In this case, it is necessary to treat the skin around the injury with an antiseptic to prevent infection of the injury and subsequent suppuration.
Do I need a bandage?
First aid for dislocations is successful when a tight bandage is correctly applied to the damaged area of the body. An elastic medical bandage is suitable as the material used.
Depending on the site of injury, the method of applying a bandage may vary, but the main task does not change - a tight bandage serves to stop bleeding in an open dislocation and reducepotential hematoma when closed. It also fixes the damaged area of the body, preventing the joint from injuring nearby soft tissues. The bandage should not press too hard, so if the space below is pale, then the fixation should be loosened.
Cold and trauma
First aid for bruises, dislocations and fractures always includes the application of a cold compress. This compress is a cloth or other easily impregnable material (towel, items of clothing), which is placed in ice water and applied to the damaged area after wringing.
Compress is needed to reduce bleeding in a certain area of the body, as well as to reduce the feeling of pain in case of injury. The process of applying cold should be periodic, that is, once every 2-3 minutes, the cooling material should be updated. Do not use compresses if the victim has chills, if he suffers from skin diseases or diabetes.
Sprain and contusion accompany dislocation
Because a dislocation is most often the result of an unfortunate fall, it is accompanied by a bruise and sprain.
Bruising is damage to tissues under the skin from a blow, characterized by rupture of blood vessels and subsequent internal bleeding. The severity of the bruise and the area of the bruise depend on the force of the blow. In most cases, a bruise does not pose a serious danger. Blood leaking from the vessels usually resolves without problems.
Bruising can also appear inas a result of dislocation of the joints: the head of the bone, flying out of the corresponding cavity, injures soft tissues from the inside, which leads to bruising. First aid for bruises and dislocations always involves fixing the damaged area of the body by applying a splint, as well as cooling this area. Cold helps reduce internal bleeding and relieve pain. The compress is applied to the site of injury and changed every few minutes. Instead of a compress, a bubble/ice pack can be used, but in this case it should not be applied to the naked body and used for more than 20 minutes.
After applying an antiseptic, the site of a closed dislocation can be smeared with a special ointment to reduce the area of distribution of the subcutaneous hematoma and also reduce the recovery time of the injured body area. Ointments containing heparin are suitable for such purposes.
Since a dislocation is accompanied by a sprain of the ligaments that connect the bones to each other, first aid for dislocations and sprains must necessarily include fixing the injury with a splint, as well as fixing torn or damaged ligaments by applying a tight bandage.
General conclusion
Dislocation is one of the most common injuries in medical practice. Usually, such an injury occurs as a result of an unsuccessful fall from a dangerous height and is expressed through acute pain in the damaged area, its increase in size and redness. First aid for a dislocation includes fixing the injured part of the body.
Internal bleeding concomitantdislocation, expressed through a bruise - subcutaneous hematoma. Also, with a dislocation, there is usually a rupture of the ligaments connecting the bones that have been subjected to strong external influences. The rupture may be complete or partial, depending on the strength of the blow received.
First aid for bruises, dislocations and sprains is impossible without a tight bandage on the affected part of the body, as well as without a cold compress that relieves pain and reduces the degree of internal bleeding. It is also necessary to give the victim an anesthetic.
