Unfortunately, human bones, muscles and tendons are not as strong and elastic as in representatives of the animal kingdom. One awkward turn, improper body movement can result in either a fall and subsequent trauma, or a pinched nerve, sprain or other painful consequences.
Trauma is a typical occurrence for both a child and an adult. Peak injuries usually occur between the ages of 20 and 30 years and are expressed through bruises, abrasions, cuts and other damage to the body. Many of them are quite dangerous and pose a threat to human life. Therefore, you need to know how to provide first aid to the injured if the injury was not avoided.
What is an injury?
Injury is an external or internal damage to the tissues of the human body, the cause of which is a physical effect, which in its strength exceeds the level of possible elasticity and strength of the tissues.
Injuries are divided into categories depending on several factors: severity, type of exposure, circumstances, and so on. Depending on the severity, macrotrauma (severe damage to a large part of the body) and microtrauma (regular, but minor tissue damage) are distinguished. For injuries of this kind, including dislocations, first aid should be provided in the first 2-3 hours after receiving them.
Mechanical injuries and their classification
Paramedics and traumatologists most often deal with mechanical injuries. The probability of a fall, a blow always exists, and the human body is not always able to withstand their negative effects.
In most cases, patients come with the following types of injuries:
- Soft tissue injuries. First of all, these are bruises, detachment of muscles from bones, as well as wounds (punctured, lacerated) resulting from exposure to piercing-cutting 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 health consequences. Therefore, the provision of first aid for dislocation in the strength of almost every person.
- Injuries to internal organs. Most often, such injuries are accompanied by car accidents in which the abdominal organs or chest are severely damaged. Usually accompanied by bone fractures and heavy bleeding. First aid in such cases is ineffective, requires qualified medical care and surgical intervention.
- Bone fractures. The weakest bones in the human body are the collarbone, radius, ribs and some others. Fractures are open (a broken bone protrudes beyond the boundaries of the soft tissue) and closed.
Dislocation - The Most Common Injury
A dislocation is a displacement of the joints in which the head of one joint falls out of the groove of the other. Distinguish a 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 called subluxation. There are about ten types of dislocations of joints 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 integument) 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 significantly weaken the joints and lead to negative consequences.
Diagnosis of dislocation
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. Of the external manifestations of the dislocation, one can distinguish: swelling of a large size, as well as redness of the skin at a damaged point in the body.
Signs of dislocation are divided into two groups: reliable and relative. The first includes resizing the damaged area. The second is pain, joint deformity and the inability to move it.
What places are subject to dislocation?
The most common cause of dislocation is a fall and, in rare cases, a direct hit. A common dislocation is in those places where the bones of the limbs articulate with the body. First aid for dislocation of a limb should be provided by a person who has at least general ideas about a dislocation of this kind.
More often than others, there is a dislocation of the shoulder, 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 methodology for helping depends on which part of the body has been damaged. However, there are general rules that suit any type of dislocation.
The key point in first aid is the immobilization of the victim and the subsequent fixation of the damaged area. First you need to reassure a person who needs help, then put him in a lying or sitting position. Call an ambulance. It will be better if the first aid for fractures and dislocations is provided by a professional.
A special medical tire is ideally suitable for fixation, but if it is not at hand, the tire can also be built from improvised means. Since its main task is to fix the damaged part of the body, any oblong object (a board, a stalk from a mop) that fits the desired size is suitable.
Anesthesia and trauma treatment
If the pain is unbearable for the victim, then you need to give him a drug that paralyzes the nerve endings and relieves pain. For these purposes, such painkillers as Nurofen, Ibuprofen, Ibuklin or the stronger Nise are suitable. 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 an allergy or other contraindications that prohibit the use of a pain medication.
Serious 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 bone fracture, soft tissue ruptures and the joint / bone creeps 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 you need a bandage?
First aid for dislocations is successful when a tight bandage is correctly applied to the damaged area of the body. As the material used, an elastic medical bandage is suitable.
Depending on the location of the injury, the method of applying the dressing may vary, but the main task does not change - a tight dressing serves to stop bleeding with an open dislocation and to reduce the potential hematoma when closed. It also fixes a damaged part of the body, preventing the joint from injuring nearby soft tissues. The dressing 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 implies by itself including the application of a cold compress. This compress is a fabric or other easily absorbable material (towel, clothing items), which is placed in ice water and after pressing is applied to the damaged area.
Compress is needed to reduce bleeding in a certain area of the body, as well as to reduce the feeling of pain during an injury. The process of applying the cold should be periodic, that is, once every 2-3 minutes, the cooling material should be updated. You can not use compresses if the victim has chills, if he suffers from skin diseases or diabetes.
Stretching and bruising accompany dislocation
Since dislocation in most cases is the result of an unsuccessful fall, then a bruise and sprain are an addition to it.
A bruise is damage to tissues under the skin from an impact, characterized by rupture of blood vessels and subsequent internal bleeding. The severity of the injury and the area of the bruise depend on the strength of the impact. In most cases, a bruise is not a serious hazard. Blood flowing from blood vessels usually dissolves without problems.
A bruise can also occur as 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 implies fixing a damaged part of the body through the application of a tire, as well as cooling this area. Cold helps reduce internal bleeding and relieve pain. The compress is applied to the site of the injury and is changed every few minutes. Instead of a compress, you can use a bubble / ice pack, but in this case it should not be applied to a naked body and be used for longer than 20 minutes.
After applying the antiseptic, the site of the closed dislocation can be smeared with a special ointment to reduce the area of the subcutaneous hematoma and also reduce the recovery time of the injured body area. For such purposes, ointments containing heparin are suitable.
Since a dislocation is accompanied by a sprain of the ligaments connecting the bones to each other, first aid for dislocations and sprains must necessarily include fixing the injury with the tire, as well as fixing the torn or damaged ligaments by applying a tight bandage.
General conclusion
Dislocation is one of the most common injuries in medical practice. Typically, 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 dislocation involves fixing the injured part of the body.
Internal bleeding, accompanying dislocation, is expressed through a bruise - a subcutaneous hematoma. Also, with a dislocation, a breakdown of the ligaments connecting the bones, which have undergone a strong external impact, usually occurs. The gap may be full or partial, depending on the strength of the received blow.
First aid for bruising, dislocation 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 a pain medication.