Rib bandage
A fracture is a bone injury with a violation of its integrity. The human skeleton consists of a wide variety of bones: long, short, flat, tubular and many others. Their structure and location in the body is not accidental. Each bone is as strong and lightweight as possible, capable of withstanding incredible loads. But situations often arise when a certain force is exerted on the bone, which exceeds its strength. In this case, a fracture occurs.
There are three types of rib fracture: crack, subperiosteal fracture, and complete rib fracture. They are arranged in order of increasing severity. Most often, there is a fracture of 5 - 8 pairs of ribs. 1 - 4 pairs are well protected by the clavicle, as well as a powerful shoulder and pectoral muscular corset, and 9-12 pairs of ribs are less prone to injury due to the fact that they mostly consist of unique elastic cartilage.
Bandaging for rib fractures
A bandage is an aseptic material used to cover a wound or other injured area. For rib fractures, three types of dressings are used: antiseptic, occlusive and immobilizing. An antiseptic dressing is applied for open wounds. It will prevent further infection of the wound. Sometimes, with fractures of the ribs, a splinter of bone breaks through the tissue and an open wound is formed through which air enters the pleural cavity. To avoid this, a special occlusive dressing is applied.
Almost always, a special immobilizing bandage is applied to ensure immobility and rest. Let's take a closer look at how all these types of bandages are applied.
General rules for applying bandages for rib fractures
The person applying the bandage should, if possible, be positioned face to face with the victim in order to see his reaction (painful sensations or worsening of the condition). Place the victim in a comfortable position for him, try to immobilize the part of the body to which the bandage is applied as much as possible. The sterile bandage should be sized for the body part. A bandage with a width of 2 to 5 cm is suitable for a finger, and a bandage with a width of 14 to 16 cm is suitable for the body.
The bandage should always be applied from the intact area to the wound, and from left to right. The sterile bandage itself should be in the right hand. It rolls very gently over the surface of the wound. The bandage should overlap the previous layer by at least half. When applying, be sure to carefully apply the bandage. There should be no significant folds and constrictions that can disrupt blood and lymph circulation.
Antiseptic dressing
Antiseptic dressings are dry and wet. But when providing first aid, an antiseptic dry dressing is often used. First, you need to examine the wound and remove foreign bodies from its surface, if any. It is not necessary to remove debris, tissue remnants, fragments and others from the wound. The same piece of clothing deep in the wound can pinch a blood vessel. And if you pull it out, then severe bleeding can begin. These can be pieces of clothing, remnants of soil or metal (it all depends on the environment in which the injury occurred).
Next, several layers of sterile gauze soaked in an antiseptic solution should be applied to the wound. It can be a solution of suleima or iodoform. The dried gauze is sprinkled with streptocide. The gauze is covered with a wide layer of absorbent cotton wool and the structure is secured with a sterile bandage or an adhesive plaster of a suitable size.
Occlusive dressing
Open pneumothorax (accumulation of air in the pleural region) often accompanies rib fracture. The main thing is to prevent air from entering the pleural cavity. For this, a special occlusive dressing is applied. To do this, the skin around the wound is abundantly lubricated with petroleum jelly and an oilcloth, an ordinary plastic bag or other similar material is placed on top that does not allow air to pass through at all. Cover the wound with a bandage and 5-10 cm around it. After that, a thick layer of ordinary cotton wool is applied and bandaged tightly.
Immobilizing dressing
If the ribs are broken, a circular bandage is applied. To apply such a circular bandage, take the bandage in your right hand, with your left hand holding the beginning of the bandage. The beginning of the bandage is applied obliquely in order to carefully fix the first turns of the bandage. Then the first turn is carefully made around the victim's torso (initially, the tip of the bandage remains free). Next, the tip of the bandage is bent and the second turn is made.
After fixing the dressing, a sterile bandage is then applied to the required area. Do not forget that the bandage should always overlap the previous turn by at least half. For rib fractures, there are several features of bandaging. Before starting bandaging, the victim must exhale air. At the moment of inhalation, the application of the bandage always stops, and the free end of the bandage is slightly pulled.
If you suspect a person has a broken rib, call an ambulance first. And only then provide first aid to the victim.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
