Fractures: trauma assessment and first aid procedures

By Cristiano Antonino On May 23, 2023

Fractures are a medical condition that occurs due to severe force on bones (such as: falls, car accidents) or bone stress (such as: fractures that affect athletes)

There are several different ways in which a bone fracture can occur, for example

A closed fracture is defined as a bone fracture that does not cause skin laceration.
Compound (open) fracture is the fracture that results in skin laceration and is more serious.

Symptoms of fractures

The symptoms of a bone fracture vary greatly according to the affected area and its severity, and according to the affected bone, in addition to the patient’s age and general health, as well as the severity of the injury. However, symptoms are often:

Severe pain, swelling and bruising.
Discoloration of the skin around the affected area (in the form of a bruise).
A curvature may occur in the affected area as a result of the fracture.
Inability to move the affected area.
If the fracture is open, bleeding will occur as a result of skin laceration.
If the fracture occurs to large bones (such as: the femur or the pelvis), other symptoms will occur (such as: pale skin, feeling nauseous, and fainting).

First aid for fractures:

Stop the bleeding if the fracture has a laceration of the skin by applying pressure on the wound using a sterile bandage or a clean piece of cloth.
The affected area should not be moved; Because moving it can lead to severe complications, especially if the fracture is in the neck or spine.
The affected area should be cooled by placing ice cubes with a clean cloth and then placed on the affected area in order to reduce swelling and pain.
When the patient feels faint or is breathing short and rapid breaths, the injured person should be placed in a suitable position so that his head is slightly lower than the torso. If possible, his legs can be raised in order to overcome the symptoms of shock.
Call an ambulance to request help and transfer the injured person to the emergency department to take the necessary measures, such as examinations and treatment.

Splint care:

Fractures may be treated with splints to stabilize them, in order to facilitate correct bone healing, and reduce pain resulting from movement, so care must be taken with this splint to reduce complications and occurrence of infection, and to avoid this, the following must be followed:

The area affected by the fracture often has swelling, where the patient feels tight at first, and to reduce the swelling, the splint must be lifted by placing it on pillows and raising it above the level of the heart for a period of 24-48 hours.
Make ice packs on swelling places; By placing a bag of ice or a clean piece of cloth with ice inside it and applying compresses for 20 minutes every two hours, while avoiding placing ice directly on the skin.
Take pain relievers for at least 48 hours (such as: acetaminophen or ibuprofen) to relieve pain.
Keep the splint dry while showering and do not allow water to pass through it, by covering it with two plastic bags, wrapping each bag separately, and affixing it with adhesive tape to the skin outside the splint.
When the splint gets wet, it must be dried quickly with a hair dryer, and set on a cold setting, not hot, to avoid skin burns.
Keep the splint clean and avoid contamination with sand or dirt. to avoid infection.

Avoid placing any object inside the splint when feeling itchy (such as: a pen, etc.) so that it does not get stuck inside the splint and harm the skin and thus cause infection. But when feeling itchy inside the splint, a hair dryer can be used on the cold mode to reduce this feeling.

Avoid pulling out the lining parts of the splint.

Fractures, when to go to the doctor

When blisters appear or a foul odor emanates from the splint.
If the splint is too narrow or too wide.
When cracks or fractures of the splint occur.
When swelling occurs, it causes pain and prevents the patient from moving his fingers.
When feeling tingling or numbness in the arm, fingers or toes.
When the fingers feel cold or change their color to blue.
When feeling severe pain inside or near the splint.
When the splint gets wet in a way that is difficult to dry.

Fractures prevention

The elderly:

Conduct periodic medical follow-ups, evaluate the person’s condition and the risk factors that expose him to fall.

A bone examination to assess osteoporosis or low bone density, especially for postmenopausal women at the age of 60 years.

Maintain physical activity to strengthen foot muscles and improve body balance.

Conduct an annual eye examination to assess the power of vision and renew the sizes of vision and glasses.

Make the home environment safer to avoid the risk of falling, by creating empty spaces free of furniture in the house that lead to stumbling, while ensuring good lighting throughout the house to avoid stumbling.