Types of wounds, signs, first aid

A wound is damage in which the integrity of the skin and deep tissues, as well as the mucous membranes, is violated. The wound is accompanied by the release of blood and pain. The intensity of bleeding depends on what types of wounds were inflicted and which vessels were damaged. The most severe bleeding is observed if large arterial trunks were touched when wounded. It will tell you all about the wounds, types and treatment of them with special antiseptic agents.

What are the wounds?

Depending on what the wound was inflicted, wounds are divided into the following types:

• cut (appear after cuts with a knife and other sharp objects);
• chipped;
• firearms (from pistols, machine guns, rifles and other weapons);
• chopped;
• crushed (after a person’s contact with something very heavy and massive);
• bruised;
• bitten (bites of dogs, snakes and other animals);
• torn, etc.

Cut wounds

This type of wound is obtained as a result of exposure to a cutting tool - a knife, glass and other sharp objects. Such lesions are characterized by smooth edges, a minor lesion area and severe bleeding.

Stab wounds

These wounds are the result of striking with a piercing object (awl, bayonet, needle, etc.). The damage zone from above is very small, but the wound can be very deep and, of course, very dangerous for human health and even human life. The danger is that internal organs can be affected and an infection can be introduced into them. Penetrating wounds of the chest with damage to organs located in it violate cardiac activity, which causes bleeding through the nose and mouth, hemoptysis. Injuries to the stomach can cause ruptures of the stomach, liver, kidneys or intestines.

Gunshot wounds

If the damage occurred as a result of a fragmentation or bullet wound, then gunshot wounds are obtained. The types of wounds and first aid in this case depend on how the bullet or splinter hit. Injury may be:

• through;
• blind
• tangent.

Chopped wounds

Such damage is caused by sharp heavy objects such as an ax, checker, and the like. As a rule, such wounds are shallow, but often have a large area, characterized by crushing of soft tissues and significant bruising. May be infected.

Bitten wounds

One of the most common types of wounds is bites, most often they are inflicted by dogs, much less often - other animals. Determining the bite is quite simple, you just need to look at the wound, it has the wrong head start, if you look closely, you can see the saliva of the animal. In most cases, such wounds do not pose a huge danger to humans. However, it should be understood that the animal can be sick with rabies, in which case it will be necessary to carry out prolonged treatment.

Signs, types of wounds and bleeding

Specialists distinguish several types of bleeding, they directly depend on which blood vessels were damaged. The most dangerous for humans is arterial bleeding. Arteries with high speed carry a large amount of blood, so if you do not take measures in time, you can no longer save a person. It is quite simple to determine such bleeding, blood is scarlet, and it does not just ooz or leak from the wound, but beats with a pulsating stream.

Less dangerous is venous bleeding. Blood is also difficult to stop, but it no longer pulsates, but simply flows. When small vessels are damaged, capillary bleeding occurs. In this case, the wound bleeds over the entire surface. Parenchymal bleeding appears only if a person has seriously damaged internal organs. Along with arterial bleeding is considered the most dangerous and carries a huge threat to life.

According to medical terminology, there are only two types of bleeding: external and internal. In the first case, everything is quite simple, a person sees that blood is released from the wound, and he can immediately take appropriate measures. With internal bleeding, everything is much more complicated. An outpouring of blood occurs in organs, tissues, or cavity. It is easiest to determine the internal bleeding in the tissue, then a certain swelling forms on the human body.

First Aid Injury

When injured, a person may experience pain shock, in which the activity of vital organs is disrupted. To prevent this from happening, the wounded person should be given a special syringe-tube of an analgesic, given a drink of coffee or hot tea.

First aid depends on the type of wound. Wounds must be exposed before proceeding to treat them. To do this, a person should undress. If clothes cannot be removed, they must be cut. The clothes are removed in the following order: first from the healthy side, and then from the one where there is a wound. To avoid hypothermia in the winter or if help should be provided very urgently, you can simply cut clothing in the area of ​​the wounded. If the clothes stuck to the wound, then it must be carefully trimmed with scissors, you can not tear off.

How to stop bleeding?

It is immediately worth noting that there are a large number of different ways to stop the blood, but much depends on the type of bleeding. Here are the most common ways to stop the blood:

1. The first step is to give an elevated position to that part of the body on which there is a wound. In this case, less blood will flow here, which will lead to a slowdown in bleeding.
2. If the wound is on the limb, bend it as much as possible in the joint.
3. The tourniquet should be applied only above the wound. It is extremely important to remember this point, because improper overlay will not only not help a person, but can also cause more serious harm to health.
4. For a while, you can stop the blood by pressing the bleeding vessel with your fingers to the bone above the wound.
5. Cover the wound with a sterile swab.

The method of stopping bleeding by pressing the vessel to the bone is used only for a short time, during which a pressure dressing or tourniquet will be prepared.

There are different types of wounds, and first aid often depends on where the wound is located:

• if the wound is located below the face, then bleeding can be stopped by pressing the jaw artery to the edge of the lower jaw;
• blood that flows from wounds on the head and neck is stopped by pressing on the carotid artery so that it is pressed against the cervical vertebrae;
• temporal bleeding is difficult to stop if you do not know one feature - press the artery in front of the ear, so the blood will stop flowing almost immediately;
• if the wound is located on the forearm, blood flow can be stopped by pressing on the brachial artery located in the middle of the shoulder;
• bleeding from a wound in the leg is recommended to be stopped by pressing the femoral artery to the bones of the pelvis;
• if the wound was in the foot area, then bleeding is stopped by pressing an artery located on the back of the foot.

Dressing

If blood is secreted from veins or small arteries, then in this case, a pressure dressing should be applied to the wound. This is done as follows: on the wound area you need to put a sterile bandage or gauze in several layers. You can also use an individual dressing bag. Place a layer of cotton wool on top of the gauze and secure with a circular bandage. Make sure that the dressing is pressed tightly against the wound and squeezes the blood vessels. Such a bandage can stop bleeding from veins and small capillaries.

Stopping bleeding with a tourniquet

When the bleeding is very strong, it is usually stopped with a special tourniquet. If it is not at hand, then you can use any improvised materials, such as a scarf, belt, etc.

The tourniquet must be applied above the wound. This is done as follows: wrap the leg or arm where the tourniquet is applied, wrap it with a lining (this is done so as not to damage the skin). Then raise the wounded limb and wrap it several times with a tourniquet, fix the end. If the tourniquet is applied correctly, bleeding stops, and the pulse below the wound is not felt. The tourniquet should be tightened until the bleeding stops.

A tightened tourniquet cannot be held on a limb for more than 2 hours. The wounded limb should be raised all this time. In order for the tourniquet to be removed on time, usually a note is placed under it, indicating the exact time when the tourniquet was applied.

People who are rarely in such emergency situations very often commit the wrong actions that lead to bad consequences. The most common mistakes:

• use the harness only last, when all other available methods have not yielded a positive result;
• very often people put a tourniquet directly on the wound, sometimes below it, but this is fundamentally wrong, it should only be above the wound and nowhere else;
• they don’t put anything under the tourniquet, its presence on naked skin can lead to pinching of the skin and even to their necrosis;
• Also, quite often, people who provide first aid are mistaken with a stretch of the tourniquet, if it is tightened too loosely, the blood will begin to flow even faster, if too much, then nerves can be transmitted.

Damage handling

The treatment of wounds depends on the type. They begin to process after the allocation of blood is stopped. For this procedure, you can use solutions of brilliant green, potassium permanganate, iodine, alcohol, vodka. Moisten a gauze swab with liquid and grease the edges of the wound. No need to wet the damage, as this increases pain and slows the healing of damaged tissues. It is also forbidden to wash the wound with water, lubricate with ointment or apply cotton to it. Such actions can lead to surface infection. Foreign bodies cannot be removed from the damaged area if they are there. This should only be done by a doctor.

If a prolapse of the internal organs occurs with a penetrating wound of the abdomen, then in no case can they be set back. The wound just needs to be covered with sterile gauze, around the dropped organs put a soft ring of cotton wool and gauze, and then apply a bandage, it should not be too tight. Such a wounded person is not allowed to drink or eat.

If it is not possible to apply a sterile dressing due to the lack of one, then you can use just a clean cloth, having previously held it several times over the fire. Then saturate the place that will touch the wound with iodine.

Types of dressings:

1. In case of a head injury, dressings from napkins, scarves and a patch are applied. What kind of dressing to apply depends on the nature of the wound. For example, if the scalp is damaged, then in this case the bandage has the shape of a cap. The bandage should be attached to the lower jaw with a bandage.
2. If the wound is located on the back of the head, on the larynx, or on the neck, then a cruciate dressing should be applied.
3. A bandage in the form of a “bridle” is applied when there is damage in the area of ​​the face.
4. When a nose, chin or forehead is injured, first the affected area is covered with a sterile bandage or tissue, and then a sling bandage is applied .
5. When injured in the lower abdomen, the dressing should be spike-shaped, in the upper part the wound is covered with a sterile cloth and bandaged in a circle from the bottom up.

Basic First Aid Rules

The one who was the first to be near a wounded man and trying to help him should observe the following rules:

• Before you begin to provide first aid, you should understand that your hands should be clean, otherwise you can only harm the injured person, so they must be washed thoroughly. If this is not possible, you can wipe your hands with iodine tincture. But even with clean hands, you cannot directly touch the wound itself.
• It is not allowed to pour alcohol, iodine on the wound, rinse it with water, ointment or pour powder on it, and also cover with cotton. Otherwise, damaged tissue will not heal well, suppuration may occur.
• It is forbidden to remove foreign bodies or blood clots sticking out of the wound, as this is fraught with severe bleeding.
• If a wound has formed on a leg or arm, make sure that a person cannot move it, in this case the bleeding will stop faster and the limb will not be even more damaged.
• It is strictly not allowed to use insulating tape to rewind the wound.

How to transport the victims?

A wounded person should be taken to a medical facility as soon as possible, and this must be done so as not to harm the victim even more. Transportation can be carried out in the following ways: transportation by any means of transport, removal on a stretcher or on hands, maintenance.

For any transportation, make sure that the head is higher than the legs. If transportation is carried out using a stretcher, it is necessary to lift and stack the injured on command. It should be laid so that it is comfortable. When carrying, you need to go “out of step”.