Chest injuries can be safely attributed to the most dangerous injuries, because it closes the vital organs - the heart and lungs. Therefore, with injuries such as a chest injury, treatment is simply necessary, delay can threaten the death of the patient.
Treatment of a bruise in the rib fracture
A chest injury can have a variety of consequences. In the best case, everything costs a fracture of the ribs, in the worst - in addition to this, the heart and lungs are damaged. Consider these situations in order.
To begin with, we will figure out how to treat a chest injury, in which there is no damage to internal organs. To determine if the ribs are broken and which ones, it is possible by such symptoms. Sensitivity and swelling are observed at the fracture site, breathing becomes shallow, and deep breathing and movement causes severe pain. Especially dangerous is the fracture of several ribs located nearby - the so-called "dangling ribs". Its sign is not only cyanotic skin, but also abnormal movements of the chest (with inhalation, it moves inward, and with exhalation it moves outward). First of all, remove clothing from the victim to facilitate breathing. Seat it (half-sitting position) and make a supporting bandage (tie your hand to the body to immobilize the ribs). Call an ambulance. Do not forget to check the patient’s pulse and breathing before the doctors arrive.
Help and treatment for damage to the heart and lungs
Consider a chest injury, the symptoms of which indicate lung damage. In this case, two types of injuries can occur: pneumothorax and hemothorax. Pneumothorax occurs when a rib pierces a lung during a fracture. In this case, air accumulates around the lungs. With open pneumothorax, the victim can experience severe shortness of breath, blue skin, severe pain, agitation, as well as rapid surface respiration. With tensor pneumothorax, acute chest pain appears , the cervical veins swell , and the pulse quickens. Hemothorax is the accumulation of blood in the region of the lungs. With it, shortness of breath and frequent breathing are also accompanied by coughing up blood, bloody foamy sputum, darkening of the skin and severe sweating. This type of injury most often causes shock with a bruised chest. In case of lung damage, it is necessary to carefully monitor the pulse and respiration. In the event of their disappearance, you need to resort to indirect heart massage. A bruise with lung damage is that bruise of the chest that can only be treated in a hospital setting. First aid can only briefly bring the patient in order. As for medical care, the problem is eliminated in various ways. With pneumothorax, a special tube removes air from the chest and straightens the lungs. If this is a tensile pneumothorax, then before inserting the tube, a needle is inserted into the chest to reduce pressure. With hemothorax, a physiological saline solution is administered intravenously to a patient to prevent shock, and a special tube is used to remove blood from the chest cavity. With large losses of blood transfusion is done.
It is difficult to recognize heart damage with a bruised chest. For this, careful monitoring in a hospital setting is necessary - only in this way arrhythmia can be seen and shock prevented. This is a bruise of the chest, the treatment of which requires the use of oxygen and drugs that normalize the functioning of the heart and eliminate heart failure.
Any injury is easier to prevent than to treat. This also applies to such an injury as a chest injury, the treatment of which can take a lot of time. Of course, it is difficult to insure against such damage. But sometimes it’s possible. For example, to avoid injuries in car accidents, it is recommended that seat belts be used even for short trips. Small children (up to 6 years old) must be transported in special seats, not forgetting the restrictions on the weight of the child. And children from 6 to 8 years old should be transported in the back seat. Take care of your health!