A fracture or dislocation of the arm is a big nuisance. Not only will severe pain be felt not only at the time of injury, but throughout the time before the application of plaster and some time after, also the mobility of the limb will be lost for a rather long time.
What is gypsum made of?
Gypsum itself is a natural natural mineral. Since it cannot be used in its pure form, a fine powder is made from it, which is then calcined to completely dry out, since the remaining moisture can contribute to the reverse hardening.
How to apply a plaster cast?
Ready-made gypsum bandages made by an industrial method are most often applied to a damaged limb. But sometimes you have to do them immediately before using the method of rubbing gypsum powder into traditional medical gauze bandages. This is a very time-consuming process, so they try to avoid it whenever possible.
For applying a plaster cast, plaster bandages are used . First, such a bandage is placed in a container of warm water so that it is completely covered with water. When air bubbles disappear on the surface, this means that the bandage can be removed. At the same time, you need to hold it horizontally and at both ends, otherwise the gypsum will drain into the water.
The finished dressing is applied to the desired area and fixed. Soon, the solution hardens to a stone state and reliably immobilizes a damaged limb. The overlay can be done as a non-lining or lining method.
In the first case, cotton swabs protect only the places where the bones protrude, in the second - the cotton pad between the elastic (bottom) and the usual (top) bandage covers the entire gypsum area. This is a more preferable option, as it is easier to keep the skin dry and to avoid pressure sores.
In addition, longtons are often used - dressings from several layers of wet plaster bandage. The spacers can be fixed with an ordinary bandage, rolling it in a circular motion. In this case, it is necessary to constantly monitor how the gypsum is applied, so that the dressings completely follow the contours of the limb, and also so that wrinkles do not form. Otherwise, you will have to change the dressing very quickly to a new one due to irritations and severe pain.
How long is gypsum applied?
The question arises, how much do gypsum wear for a fracture of the arm? The duration of wearing gypsum depends on the severity of the injury, but the average period of fusion is from 3 to 10 weeks. Fingers are the fastest to leave with gypsum, and the forearm will have to be worn the longest. In the case of severe fractures of a fragmentation type, the doctor may leave the cast for up to 3-4 months.
Plaster removal may also be delayed if the patient has problems recovering damaged tissues and bones. Most often, this is due to the fact that it is most difficult to keep your hands at rest (for example, if gypsum is placed on the finger of your hand), whereas all fractures require this. Perhaps the body lacks the necessary substances for speedy healing, then additionally prescribe medications, vitamins and minerals that contribute to this.
Even in spite of the plaster cast, it is impossible to move a limb, but often it turns out involuntarily, because it is impossible to control reflex movements for a long time. After the plaster is removed, the patient will have a long rehabilitation period, on average taking about six months. How to remove plaster, as well as other information related to this issue, is contained below.
Complications while wearing plaster
For the speedy growth of damaged limbs, plaster bandages are used. After applying gypsum, unpleasant moments often arise that need to be carefully monitored and not run to prevent the development of more serious problems.
1. Swelling. In itself, edema during fractures is a common thing, and immediately, of course, it will not work, especially when you consider that gypsum still compresses the limb, fixing it. If the dressing is applied correctly, then within a few days, a maximum of two weeks, the swelling will subside, and the soreness will decrease.
Visit a doctor immediately if:
- a damaged hand in a cast becomes cold;
- fingers become cyanotic, pale or red;
- the arm hurts in a cast, while the pain becomes acute or intensifies;
- there is numbness of the limb, its sensitivity decreases;
Such symptoms are characteristic of transmitted vessels and nerves, which happens due to severe swelling of the tissues. Circulatory disorders lead to serious consequences, including necrosis and amputation. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the gypsum urgently. You can call an ambulance or visit the emergency room. An alarm is also a symptom if the hand goes numb under the cast.
Anti-swelling products
To edema subside faster, both medicines and traditional medicine are used:
- heparin ointment and Troxevasin gel;
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, most often based on ibuprofen. If the hand swells in a cast, such medicines as Nimesil, Nise, Mig, Ibuklin and ibuprofen itself give a good effect. You can use these funds even for pregnant and lactating women, of course, observing the necessary precautions;
- compresses based on wormwood, calendula, juniper, golden mustache, cornflower;
- baths with coniferous extract iodized with regular or sea salt;
- infusions of aloe, calendula, chamomile and other herbs that help reduce inflammation. They are taken orally. The main thing is not to take simultaneously with drugs;
- blue clay is well established as a means of effectively removing swelling;
- infusions of aloe, calendula, chamomile and other herbs that help reduce inflammation. They are taken orally. The main thing is not to take along with medications.
Massage, therapeutic exercises and physiotherapy also help to reduce swelling as soon as possible. This can be electrophoresis with painkillers, stimulation by electric current, ultraviolet light, various applications, including mud.
As the swelling decreases, the plaster dressings usually change to prevent excessive freedom of the limbs.
2. Pressure ulcers. These are also places with impaired blood circulation, most often occur where gypsum is too tight to the skin without laying, on the protrusions of the bones. Pressure ulcers can provoke gypsum crumbs, folds or lumps of bandage and cotton wool, used as a pad. After some time, the wound begins to fester, flowing onto the gypsum with brown spots, from which an unpleasant odor emanates. In this case, the place of suppuration is washed with an antiseptic, such as chlorhexidine, treated with wound healing ointments, such as levomekol, Vishnevsky ointment, and bandaged with a sterile dressing. Processing is carried out regularly until complete healing.
3. Scuffs, blisters, dermatitis and eczema are also possible when the arm is in a cast for a long time. They appear either as a result of allergic reactions, or as a result of displacement and friction of the dressing on the skin. The treatment is similar to that used to get rid of pressure sores, only additionally used anti-allergic drugs, both topically and internally. A doctor should prescribe them based on the picture of the complication. The range of such drugs is huge, so do not self-medicate. At best, it just won't help.
4. Very often, under a plaster cast, severe itching occurs . What to do if a hand is scratched under a cast? In such cases, many people try to stick a needle, pencil, wire and the like under a blindfold. Doctors warn that it is worth doing this only in very extreme cases, when it is no longer possible to endure.
Firstly, you can damage the skin, which already gets. Secondly, the lining placed under the plaster stray from such actions, lumps and folds appear on it, which lead to the problems described above.
Itching appears from the fact that the skin sweats under the gypsum, the cells die, peeling occurs. Based on this, it is recommended to preserve physical peace as much as possible, to avoid being in the sun and in hot rooms.
You can try to pour talcum powder or baby powder under a bandage. After the moisture has gone, itching will be easier. However, then it will be problematic to remove the powder, you will have to wait for the next change of plaster. A good result is given by a stream of cool air from a hair dryer, while cooling and draining itchy areas.
Antihistamines that use against insect bites help well. It is advisable to drink them at night, since many have a pronounced hypnotic effect, and at night, as you know, all unpleasant sensations intensify, that is, it becomes even harder to transfer them.
The disadvantages of conventional gypsum
Gypsum in case of a fracture of the arm contributes to the speedy fusion of the limb.
The most common natural gypsum fixes well and is easy to apply, but has its drawbacks:
- it is bulky and uncomfortable;
- severely limits mobility and mobility;
- it gets dirty quickly, as a result of which the hand in the cast looks very unaesthetic;
- it must be protected from moisture, because of this it is very inconvenient to wash, especially with a gypsum arm;
- it is quite difficult to pick up clothes, because the limb becomes much thicker thanks to the bandage applied;
- to take an x-ray to control healing, you will have to remove the bandage, and then apply a new one, since the rays do not pass through it.
Types of gypsum
He is now being replaced by all new varieties of materials:
- Scotchcast is a high-rigidity polymer immobilizing bandage. It is very light, but it perfectly captures the fracture, allows air to pass through, which means it allows the skin to breathe. Moreover, such material is water resistant and dries quickly. However, it is still undesirable to wet it, since a cotton-gauze pad, which dries poorly, can usually become a source of irritation and an unpleasant odor.
- Cellacast (softcast) is a fiberglass bandage impregnated with rapidly hardening polyurethane resin. It has the same pros and cons as Scotchcast, and it also allows you to take an X-ray without removing the bandage and not disturbing the place of injury once again. It refers to semi-rigid immobilizers, which avoids partial muscle atrophy. But such gypsum is not imposed on complex fractures precisely because of its partial mobility.
- NM caste is similar to a large-mesh stocking; when dried, it adheres well to the skin and repeats the shape of a limb. Easy to use and wear, often used to hold hands. A special lining is also used under it, but since the cells of such a latch are large and the lining is made of synthetic quick-drying materials, it becomes easier to take a shower.
- Turbocast - thermoplastic orthosis. The most optimal type of device for the treatment of damaged limbs.
Pros and cons of turbocast
If there is a choice, then doctors advise to impose plastic plaster. It appeared recently, but it turned out to be so convenient and easy to use that it began to be used very quickly all over the world. How plastic gypsum is applied to the hand, the price, as well as its properties, are described in detail below.
- Turbocast is an integral material from which small pieces will not break off, irritating the skin under the dressing. Under it, no gasket is required, therefore, the appearance of scuffs is excluded.
- Such gypsum is very light, which is important for maintaining an active lifestyle, especially for children.
- Since the plastic can easily withstand water and has no lining, washing is no longer a problem, which it always is when wearing ordinary plaster. In addition, the turbocast itself retains a neat and presentable look for a very long time.
- Breathability is a very important factor. The more air, the faster the growth process is, the skin under the dressing does not get wet, diaper rash and irritation do not appear.
- To impose such gypsum, it is enough to heat it to only 40 0 C, and it will become plastic, adapting to the patient's parameters. After reheating, it returns to its original form, so the turbocast is a reusable tool.
- Rehabilitation after removal is much faster, and the risk of complications and allergies is minimized.
However, there are some minor disadvantages:
- How much does it cost to put plastic plaster on my arm? The price for it starts at about 500 rubles, and this is only the material itself, moreover, one piece may not be enough. For the application procedure, you will have to pay an average of 7-9 thousand rubles.
- Since the procedure is still quite new, it has not yet been mastered in all clinics, even paid ones, so it may not be possible to find a specialist right away.
- It will not work to remove or cut such material at home, since it lends itself only to a special file, which the medical staff uses to cut plastic gypsum.
Rehabilitation
When and how to remove the cast, as well as what recommendations should be followed after this, read below. After removing the cast, it will take some time to recover. Many in this period have numbness of the arm, which was gypsum. Most often this is a temporary phenomenon that will take place within a week, if you engage in physiotherapy exercises, apply manual therapy and develop a limb.
It is necessary to eat properly, paying particular attention to the sufficient intake of B vitamins, in particular B12, in the body, another name is cyanocobalamin, or cobalamin. It contributes to the rapid regeneration of tissues, nerve fibers and organs, supporting them in a full state.
Vitamins in Products
The following foods are rich in this vitamin:
- beef, chicken and pork liver;
- beef kidneys;
- seafood;
- fatty species of sea and ocean fish;
- mutton;
- eggs
- turkey breast;
- dairy, dairy products and cheeses. They also contain calcium, which is necessary to strengthen bone tissue;
- soybeans;
- spinach;
- green onions;
- sea kale;
- wheat seedlings.
It should be noted that the content of B12 in plant products is extremely small, so you can take additives such as, for example, brewer's yeast.
If numbness does not go away, you should consult your doctor about damage to nerves or blood vessels. Timely prescribed treatment, as a rule, gives good results, but unpleasant sensations can remain forever, especially clearly manifested in stresses, diseases and a sharp change in weather.