Rib fractures are a fairly common occurrence. According to statistics, they make up 5-15% of all diagnosed cases of fractures in general. The most common causes are falls and bumps, chest squeezing. Fractures of the ribs may not pose a direct danger to the life of the patient, but can also be deadly. In the article, we will analyze in detail what to do when the ribs are broken.
Causes
Why does this happen? Most often due to all kinds of injuries, falls, emergency. In some cases, the patient’s age, certain diseases of the bone tissue can contribute to the fracture. Both age and these pathologies affect how bones become more fragile.
The most common causes are as follows:
- Accident. During a collision or sudden braking, the driver hits the steering wheel sharply, which can lead to broken ribs. For pedestrians, falling on the asphalt or hood is dangerous here.
- Household Injuries. Here you can break the ribs during the fall. Such injuries are most common in older people.
- Sports and professional injuries. In many sports, injuries like rib fractures are common. The same can be said of professions that require active physical labor, work with large loads, work at height, etc.
What to do when the ribs are broken, we will analyze in detail below.
Symptoms
How to determine that you have a broken rib or multiple ribs at once? There are several main symptoms:
- "Interrupted breath." This is the name of the condition when a person cannot fully inhale air - during this process he feels a strong, sharp pain in the area of ​​the ribs. Therefore, the victim has rapid, but shallow breathing.
- Pain in the area of ​​injury. It can be amplified even with a slight turn of the body or muscle tension.
- Swelling of the tissues at the site of the alleged fracture.
- Hematoma, if there was a fact of mechanical action on the chest.
- A person is trying to take a pose with an inclination in the direction where the supposed fracture may be.
- With a slow breath, you can hear a small click, which also indicates a fracture.
- Depending on the location of the injury, in some cases it can be noted that the side of the chest where the rib fracture is located is slightly behind the neighboring one in movement when breathing.
When is an ambulance needed?
What to do when the ribs are broken? Seek qualified medical help as soon as possible. Of course, in the case of a fracture of 1-2 ribs, the condition of the victim does not pose a threat to his life. However, it is unrealistic for a layman to determine whether the vital vital organs have affected the fracture.
You should be alerted by the condition of the victim:
- Gradually there are signs of suffocation: it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to inhale and exhale air, the skin of his face, and his lips gradually take a bluish tint.
- The victim notes a strong thirst, begins to complain of dizziness or completely faints.
- When breathing or coughing, blood spills from his mouth.
In these cases, you should try to call "ambulance" as soon as possible. The life of the victim is in danger.
First aid
What to do when the ribs are broken? How to treat? In this condition, it is dangerous to engage in amateur activity. You need to go to the hospital, and if there are disturbing symptoms, call an ambulance.
What to do if a person broke a rib before the doctors arrived? Try to give him first aid:
- Help take the most anatomically comfortable pose. It is sitting or reclining with support on the back. Make sure that the victim is sitting level, not leaning toward the damaged part of the body.
- If several sections of the chest are damaged at once, the victim is transferred to a reclining position, and rollers are placed under his head so that it rises by 5-10 cm.
- If the victim complains of severe pain, you need to offer him an over-the-counter pain medication from the list of those medicines that he has already taken before - Analgin, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, etc.
- Provide fresh air to the place where the victim is.
- If the fracture is closed, apply a tight bandage to the incomplete exit to the area of ​​damage. This will prevent the movement of the sharp ends of the broken ribs, which can damage vital organs.
- In the event that the fracture is open, it is necessary to stop the bleeding and try to keep the wound clean until the ambulance arrives.
Medical assistance
What to do with broken ribs? First of all, you need to come to an appointment with a therapist, traumatologist, surgeon, or at a hospital emergency room. To determine the severity, location of the fracture, the fact of damage to internal organs, the specialist will first refer the patient to diagnostic examinations:
What should I do if my ribs are broken? If the internal organs are not damaged, then active treatment is not required. Within 1-2 months, broken ribs in a healthy person grow together on their own. To alleviate the condition of the patient, he is prescribed painkillers over-the-counter drugs. If organs are damaged, surgery may be required. If they are slightly affected, the matter may be limited to conservative treatment - the use of anti-inflammatory drugs.
If you fell and broke a rib, what should I do? See a doctor as soon as possible. If the injury does not pose a danger to life and health, but is accompanied by severe pain, you may need injections of corticosteroids. These are prescription drugs that are not dispensed from pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.
Such medications help get rid of pain and inflammation, facilitate breathing, and increase body mobility. But do not forget about the side effects of these funds:
- Bleeding.
- The development of infections.
- Local atrophy of ligaments and muscles.
- Damage to nerve endings.
- Weakening of the body's immune forces.
Injections of drugs that block precisely the intercostal nerves can also be prescribed. The drugs seem to “freeze” the nerve endings. Thanks to this effect, a person does not feel pain for 6 hours after the injection.
Home treatment
If a rib is broken, what to do at home? All necessary recommendations are individual - they should come only from your doctor.
In the past, doctors in the case of such fractures advised patients compression bandages on the affected areas. But today they refused this method - the immobilization of sections of the chest led to the development of pneumonia, the spread of infections. The dressing is applied only for a few days to stabilize the position of the ribs, reduce pain and inflammation. But you should not compress the ribs for several weeks with a compression bandage - shortness of breath does not contribute to recovery. Do not attempt to apply the compression dressing yourself. This should be done only by a medical specialist - a doctor or a nurse.
To slightly relieve pain at the fracture site, you can apply cold compresses to it - with ice, a special gel, or even a bag of regular frozen vegetables. In the first two days after the injury, the procedure is repeated every hour. The compress is applied to the injury for 20 minutes. In the following days of treatment, it must be applied for 10-20 minutes three times a day.
Exposure to the cold will help to ease the pain, prevents the formation of edema. Such home treatment is effective for all types of rib fractures, as well as other musculoskeletal injuries.
If the ribs are broken, what to do at home? Refer to cold packs. Before applying to the skin, be sure to wrap a thin layer of natural fabric. This will reduce the negative effects of cold on the skin and muscles. If you have bruises at the site of injury (due to damage to blood vessels), swelling, then cold compresses will help to cope with this problem. In particular, they will reduce pain.
Medication
What to do if a rib is broken (or a crack in the rib)? Of course, an urgent appeal to a medical institution is necessary. If the injury is not serious, then you will be prescribed outpatient treatment. In most cases, the ribs fuse on their own - no need to make special compression dressings.
However, during the recovery process, many patients are overcome by pain. To cope with it, it is enough to take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs that effectively fight pain:
- "Aspirin".
- Ibuprofen
- Naproxen.
In this case, it cannot be said that these funds will contribute to the healing and restoration of tissues. But here their benefit is different - they help to combat unpleasant painful sensations. And this allows the victim to quickly return to their usual lives, do household chores or even return to work after a couple of weeks (if the internal organs are not affected, if the labor activity is not physical).
But you need to remember that these drugs have a number of side effects. In particular, they can negatively affect the work of internal organs - liver, kidneys, stomach. Therefore, the course of their intake should not exceed 2 weeks. In addition, you must carefully follow the instructions for use, observe the dosage.
For children under 18 years of age, "Aspirin" is contraindicated, as it can cause Reye's syndrome. An alternative to the above drugs is Paracetamol and its analogues. But these drugs do not relieve inflammation. And can negatively affect the liver.
Lifestyle recommendations
If the ribs are broken, what to do at home? First of all, you need to make adjustments to your usual lifestyle. Try not to make movements that can affect the peritoneum, chest. But with musculoskeletal injuries, doctors are advised to conduct light gymnastics, because such a movement enhances blood circulation, accelerates healing.
But still in the first two weeks after the fracture, cardiac loads should be abandoned. They accelerate breathing, speed up blood circulation. And this can lead to the opposite effect - to cause inflammation in the place of the damaged rib.
It is necessary to abandon rotations, twisting of the upper body, from inclinations towards the localization of the fracture, until the tissues are completely restored. If the ribs are broken, what should I do? Refuse physical labor (both at work and at home), try not to lift weights and do not play sports. At the same time, working at a computer, driving a car, walking are not contraindicated.
Doctors advise you to go back to your former lifestyle only when you can breathe deeply without pain, when unpleasant painful sensations cease to bother you.
If the left rib is broken, what should I do? The same as in the case of damage to the right. Check out these practical tips:
- If your work is in any way connected with physical labor, sudden movements, you must definitely take a sick leave lasting 1-2 weeks, depending on the severity of your condition.
- Avoid complicated housework - ask family members, relatives, or friends to help you while you recover from an injury.
- In case you want to cough or sneeze, be sure to have a pillow on hand. Press it to the damaged area while coughing or sneezing, this will help minimize pain.
- If you have a serious fracture, take time to breathing exercises. Every few hours, try to breathe deeply for 10-15 minutes. This simple exercise will prevent lung collapse and inflammation.
What is the best sleep?
You need to find a comfortable sleeping position. It’s a little difficult if you are used to sleeping on your side, stomach or tossing and turning in a dream often. When fractured ribs, it is best to sleep on the back (more precisely, on the spine). So the load on the ribs will be very minimal.
In the first nights after the injury, experts advise sleeping in an unfolded chair in a half-sitting position. In this case, you need to take care of the lower body. To remove tension from the legs in this position, an extra pillow is placed under the bent knees.
You can also put extra pillows under your back, sides, and head if you decide to sleep on the bed. This will prevent you from rolling over in a dream.
Attention to nutrition
In order for damaged bones to recover faster, you need to take care of your diet. It should be full, rich in minerals and vitamins necessary for health:
- Give preference to fresh food, whole grains and dairy products, lean meats, fruits and vegetables. Try to drink plenty of clean water.
- Eat mineral-rich foods: cheese, yogurt, beans, tofu, bacon, nuts, broccoli, sardines, salmon.
- Avoid alcohol, fast food, carbonated sugary drinks, and refined sugar products. They slow down the healing of tissues. Smoking has the same effect.
- Refer to taking additional mineral and vitamin complexes containing calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, vitamins D and K. Pay special attention to calcium: try to get at least 1200 mg of this element daily - both from supplements and from food.
When a rib fracture, a visit to the doctor is required. In especially difficult cases, an ambulance call is necessary. Home treatment is allowed only with the approval of your doctor. It consists no longer in taking medications, but in following a certain lifestyle, nutritional correction, bed rest.