The most common injury is a bruise. It can be obtained on the street, at work, and even at home. A bruise is damage to soft tissue. Most often this happens without loss of integrity of the skin. A bruise is usually accompanied by severe pain, swelling. If the vessels are damaged, a hematoma appears. To prevent such consequences of this injury, treatment should be started as soon as possible. In most cases, it can be carried out independently at home. Compresses are most commonly used for bruising. They can be done with drugs as well as with folk remedies. If you follow the rules for using this method, you can quickly get rid of all the consequences of an injury.
Features of the treatment of bruises
A bruise is an injury sustained when struck or dropped. In this case, only soft tissues and subcutaneous tissue are damaged. The skin usually suffers slightly. But blood vessels often burst. Because of this, edema develops, hematoma appears, pain. An inflammatory process can also occur that spreads to nearby joints. But usually a bruise is accompanied by a bruise. In this case, it is considered a simple injury that can be treated independently at home.
First-degree bruises without damage to the skin, muscle or tendon ruptures can heal in 3-5 days. After more complex tissue injuries, I will recover 1-2 weeks. And bruises accompanied by fractures, dislocation or damage to internal organs should be treated only in a medical institution.
First aid
Immediately after such an injury, ice should be applied to the sore spot. A cold compress with a bruise helps prevent the development of edema and hematoma, relieve pain. For this purpose they put ice, a heating pad filled with cold water, a wet towel or even any frozen product. If a limb is injured, you can also apply a pressure bandage or use a special bandage. For severe pain, you can use anesthetic ointment or tablets. But to apply such ointments is possible only in the absence of skin damage.
In addition, severe pain, a rapid increase in edema and impaired mobility of the limb should be the reason for going to the doctor. And in mild cases, such injuries are treated at home. On the first day you need to apply cold compresses and use cooling ointments.
What is a compress?
This is a medical procedure, which is the application to a sore spot of a piece of tissue soaked in a medicinal product. Compresses are used for injuries, pain in joints, colds. Unlike lotions, the compress is held for a longer time, often all night or more. In addition, most of them involve the application of several layers on top of the medicine - film, tissue, warm scarf. This is done with the aim of creating a greenhouse effect, which improves blood circulation to tissues and absorption of drugs.
The compress can also be any components that are wrapped in tissue and applied to the site of injury. It can be ice, plant leaves, ointment.
What are compresses made for?
The main purpose of this procedure is to alleviate the condition of the patient. Compresses are made to improve blood circulation and metabolic processes at the place of application. This allows you to quickly relieve pain and swelling, prevent the appearance of a hematoma. And drugs, penetrating into the tissues, contribute to their faster healing. But compresses at home can only be done with minor injuries, without cracks in the bone, dislocations or serious damage to soft tissues.
Indications for the use of compresses for bruising are slight pain, the appearance of bruises and bruises, small abrasions on the skin. The correct selection of drugs helps restore blood circulation in the area of injury and prevents the accumulation of blood in the subcutaneous tissue. Compresses after a bruise relieve pain, eliminate redness and swelling, accelerate the healing of abrasions.
Application rules
After a serious bruise, you should always consult a doctor to determine the consequences of an injury. This is especially important for head injuries. You can not use compresses yourself with a bruise, if severe swelling develops, skin color changes quickly, bursting pains are felt. This may indicate the development of an inflammatory process in which warming compresses are contraindicated. Home compresses are also not used for head and abdominal injuries. In these cases, special treatment is necessary. A doctor should also be consulted if the pain persists within 5-7 days, swelling increases or the mobility of the injured limb is impaired. Compresses for severe bruises are used only after consultation with a specialist and together with the means prescribed by him.
This method of treatment will be effective only if certain rules are followed:
- you can hold a cold compress for 3-5 minutes, then you need to take a break to prevent frostbite;
- if there is an inflammatory process, you can not do warming compresses;
- when injuring a limb, you need to raise it up, this will help prevent the development of edema;
- some drugs, such as iodine or Bodyagi, can only be applied if there is no damage.
Bruising alcohol compresses
On the second day after a bruise, it is necessary to do warming compresses. The alcohol base is most suitable for this. Such compresses help remove swelling, dissolve the hematoma, and improve blood circulation. You can take ordinary vodka or alcohol diluted with water 1: 3 for this. Doctors recommend doing such compresses in the evening or at night, because for several hours after removing them you can not go outside and you need to protect the damaged area from overcooling.
Most often, doctors recommend doing alcohol compresses for bruised legs or arms. Vodka needs to be heated to body temperature. This should be done in a container of hot water, but not on fire. The fabric soaked in vodka is squeezed out a little and applied to the sore spot. A film is placed on top, a layer of cotton wool and insulated. You can hold an alcohol compress for no more than 4 hours. To enhance the effect of a vodka compress, tinctures of different herbs can be used.
Salt compress
With bruises, doctors often recommend dressing with saline. A feature of such compresses is that they are able to draw fluid from the tissues. This helps to relieve even severe swelling, to prevent the spread of hematoma. Saline solution also draws out pus, toxins, pathogens. Therefore, such compresses are used even with serious wounds.
For the compress, you need to prepare an 8-10% saline solution. It is better to take sea salt for it, but ordinary stone is also suitable. It is usually recommended to make a solution of 3 tablespoons of salt per liter of water. It should be at room temperature. If you need to activate blood circulation in the subcutaneous tissue or relax spasmodic muscles, they make a hot salt compress, but it should be less concentrated.
Medicinal herbs for compresses
Most often used for bruises decoctions or tinctures of plants. Such compresses are less likely to cause side effects and have a mild effect. But they are able to relieve pain and prevent the appearance of a large bruise.
- The best plant, according to doctors, to eliminate unpleasant symptoms of mild injuries is plantain. True, it is possible to apply such a compress with a bruise only in the summer, when there are fresh leaves. They need to be washed and knead a little so that they let the juice. Then attach to the injury site and secure with a bandage. If you change the compress every 2 hours, you can prevent the appearance of a bruise and quickly relieve pain.
- Mountain Arnica perfectly relieves inflammation and pain, reduces swelling and hematoma. You need to make a strong decoction of the roots and flowers of the plant. Compress is applied several times a day.
- Rubbed aloe leaves mixed with honey have a strong analgesic property. They can be used as a compress for severe inflammation.
- You can make in a thermos infusion of a mixture of rosemary, hop cones, St. John's wort and wormwood. For 500 ml of boiling water you need 3 tablespoons of herb. Apply tissue soaked in a hot solution to the affected area and keep until cool.
Effective folk methods
It is impossible to determine which compress with a bruise will be the most effective, because they all have different effects. Therefore, you need to focus on individual characteristics and the severity of the injury. But there are several recipes that are used most often.
- You can use cabbage leaves. They need to be crushed and applied to the site of injury. Such compresses remove bruises, swelling and inflammation well.
- Fatty cottage cheese, best of all homemade, copes well with the consequences of the bruise. It must be kneaded with a fork with honey and salt. The compress is fixed with a bandage, it needs to be changed several times a day.
- Brew strong tea, moisten gauze and apply it to a bruise. Change the compress as it dries.
- Good relieves puffiness and pain of raw potatoes. It must be finely chopped, mixed with honey and a raw egg, then applied to a bruise. Change the compress several times a day.
- A compress of onions has the same effect. Chop the onion, add a spoonful of honey or sugar. The compress is fixed and insulated with a scarf.
- A compress with vinegar has warming properties. It is necessary to mix in equal amounts of 9% vinegar, vegetable oil and water. In the resulting solution, moisten the tissue and apply to the site of injury. Cover with a film and insulate.
- To relieve swelling and resorption of the hematoma, a compress of birch leaves is suitable. 200 grams of crushed fresh leaves need to pour a liter of boiling water and add a tablespoon of salt. Compress changes up to 6 times a day.
Compresses with drugs
To treat the effects of bruises, you can also use funds from a pharmacy. Typically, such drugs are in every home. These are ointments, liniment, powder or solutions. Such compresses after a bruise will help remove bruise, swelling and inflammation, relieve pain and accelerate tissue healing.
- "Cervix" is the most common treatment for bruises and pain after a bruise. It can only be used if there is no skin damage. The drug draws out toxins, speeds up blood circulation. Bodyagi can be used in the form of a powder or ointment. The powder is diluted with water and this slurry is used for a compress.
- The drug "Dimexide" is also effective. It quickly relieves swelling, inflammation and pain. Such compresses are used for severe bruises, but without damage to the skin. The drug must be diluted with water or Novocain. You can not rub the resulting product into the skin, you need to use it only for compresses.
- With bruising without damaging the skin, you can also use heparin ointment. It is applied in a thick layer and strengthened with a bandage.
- If the bruise is accompanied by abrasions or scratches, it is better to use the Vishnevsky liniment. The ointment is applied in a thick layer and bandaged.
- There are also several special ointments and creams that are designed to treat bruises. This is “Rescuer”, “911”, “SinyakOFF”.
Other drugs can be used only on the recommendation of a doctor. A specialist will help you choose the best remedy that quickly helps to cope with the consequences of a bruise.