Last week we looked at some common minor injuries children often get in the playground. While we hope this never happens to your child, it is important to know what to do if they were to break their arm or leg!
A fracture, or a broken bone, is when there is disruption to the continuity of a bone - in other words, when a section of it has cracked or broken entirely. It causes a tremendous amount of pain for the child, and you will see swelling, deformity, and a loss of function in the affected limb. There may also be a considerable amount of blood loss.
When referring to fractures, the two main areas are:
CLOSED and OPEN
Closed fractures leaves the skin intact, whereas open fractures have an open wound over the fracture site. There are also 'Green Stick' fractures, in which one side of the bone is fractured and the other side merely bent, and 'Complicated' fractures in which major blood vessels have been affected by a fracture.
In order to treat a fracture, you must:
Dress any open wounds, if necessary.
Immobilise the wound using a splint, bandaging, etc.
Make sure the child is calm and treat for any signs of shock (pale, clammy skin, loss of awareness etc.)
When immobilising the wound, you must "bind it as you find it", and avoid movement. Perhaps a sling may not be the best treatment if it means moving the child's arm, so you should KISS the fracture instead:
KEEP
IT
STILL and
SUPPORTED
All information is taken from our Resus Rangers School Resources Programme. If you would like to learn more and bring the Resus Rangers to your school, click the button below for more information!