Identifying Cuts And Scrapes That Need Medical Attention

Capillaries, the smallest form of arteries, are where the blood comes from most of the time when cuts and scrapes occur. A cut that is deep, gaping or has a jagged edge needs professional medical attention. Look at the cut to see if there is fat or muscle protruding. If so, the cut may require stitches.
If an artery has been cut the blood will be bright red, flow quickly and in spurts. It is essential to apply pressure to the wound and get medical help immediately when this happens. If a vein has been cut the blood will be dark red and the blood will flow more evenly. As with an artery you should try to stop the bleeding and seek professional medical advice. Scrapes tear or pull the skin off, sometimes removing several layers of skin at once. Most scrapes are minor and can be treated at home. The exception is when the bleeding cannot be stopped or there is damage to other tissues such as blood vessels, ligaments or bones.

Treating Minor Cuts And Scrapes At Home

Minor cuts and scrapes can be treated at home with items generally found in a first aid kit. The first step in treating cuts and scrapes at home is making sure the wound does not need professional medical attention. Once this has been determined, wash the wound with soap and warm water. Elevate the area that is bleeding and apply pressure for fifteen minutes. When the time is up, check the wound to see if the bleeding has slowed or stopped. If it has, then you will want to clean the wound with soap and water again, apply a triple antibiotic cream and dress the wound. If the bleeding has not stopped, reapply the pressure for another fifteen minutes as long as you are sure you are dealing with minor cuts and scrapes. If you are in doubt, seek professional medical care. Knowing what to do before cuts and scrapes happen will save time and help everyone remain calm in an emergency. It is also important to have the proper supplies on hand for treating cuts and scrapes. Being prepared in an emergency, even a minor emergency like treating cuts and scrapes, can be a real life saver.

Proper Care Helps Avoid Infection Of Cuts And Scrapes is a post from: First Aid Products

Surgery is often used as a method of treatment for hip fractures and is usually quite effective. Most people with otherwise good health make a full recovery, but the process does take time.

Some factors that may increase your chances of getting a hip fracture. Some of these are heredity, chronic medical conditions, age, poor nutrition, alcohol and tobacco use, sex (women are more susceptible than men are), medications and hazards around your environment.

There are different symptoms of hip fractures. One is severe pain in the groin or hip area. Being unable to put pressure or weight on the side of the leg or hip that’s injured is another. You may experience bruising, swelling and stiffness near or in the hip area. The leg on the injured side may stick out and/or the leg on the side of the sore hip is shorter. When younger individuals get hip fractures, it is usually from a car accident or sports injury, whereas older adults will usually get their hip fractures from weak bones, falling or some other traumatic event.

A doctor will usually be able to diagnose a hip fracture from an X-ray, your symptoms and the position of your leg and hip, which will usually be abnormal. Most hip fractures will happen in one of two locations in the femur, which is the long bone that runs from your pelvis to your knee. One location is the upper part of the femur right below its head. This is known as the femoral neck and is this part is the ball of the ball-and-socket joint in the hip. The other location is the intertrochanteric region, which is the part of the upper femur that sticks outward.

Treatment for hip fractures depends on the location of the fracture. For femoral neck fractures, surgery is usually recommended where a metal screw is put into the bone to hold it together until it can properly heal. Replacement of the femur parts with a metal prosthesis is another method. Total hip replacement is another method, which is used if function may be poor in the future due to a prior injury or arthritis. For intertrochanteric fractures, treatment is insertion of a metal screw into the plate of the femur.

Hip Fractures May Be More Serious Than You Think is a post from: First Aid Products

When you find that your pet is beset with a particular cat illness, you should take note of the symptoms that your pet is suffering from and the time when these symptoms started. If you have a sick person at home, you will usually take note of symptoms, additional problems with the illness and so on. You should also do the same for you pet since knowing what to tell your vet when you are asked about these things can help in the diagnosis of the cat illness that your pet is suffering from.

If we are to enumerate some of the most common illnesses that affect cats, the first one that will be on the list is urinary tract infections. While most people may think that this is not a cat illness and it only happens to humans, the truth is a lot of felines do suffer from this kind of an affliction. Also called UTI, this illness often cause a cat to have a difficult time peeing and sometimes it can even result in bloody urine. Symptoms for this cat illness may vary from one pet to another, and while a lot of the cats that have this illness do get cured rather easily, there are those that have rather severe cases of this illness and they need to be taken to a vet since this can easily cause a kidney infection which can be infinitely worse.

Another common cat illness that pet owners face is the illness that is equivalent to human cold. This kind of a cat ailment is very contagious, and if a pet owner has more than one cat, the possibility of all the felines in the house contracting this respiratory infection is pretty high. Of course, for one cat to get this, it has to come into contact with another cat that has it. If all your pet cats are in the house all the time and they do not meet with stray cats or other felines that may have this illness, chances are they will be safe from it.

Learn More about Cat Illness is a post from: First Aid Products

However, with wrist sprains it is more commonly advised than with other sprains that a splint be worn for quite a while after the injury. There are many different types of splints available. The most common splint is one that is made of cloth or fabric but then has a metal supportive bar that can be shaped to the curvature of the wrist. This metal bar is located in the splint on the underside and extends up the forearm. Because the splint is somewhat flexible while being supportive it can be worn during most activities. These activities could include cooking, typing, other computer work and even worn during some sports. There are also splints that offer a little less mobility if the injury is a little worse. These splints are typically made from hard plastic that does not bend and keeps the wrist in one place. The splint that you should wear will probably be suggested by your physician or physical therapist so that it is not quite so much of a guessing game. Because the wrist is such an important body part and used so often, it is important that the injury heals as best as possible so that the possibilities of a re-injury are reduced. Several injuries to the same joint can result in arthritis and arthritis in the wrists can be quite debilitating. Wrist sprains should be taken seriously so that mobility and daily activity are not reduced.

Wrist Sprains: Essential Information Below is a post from: First Aid Products

Hospital burn units are filled with patients that have suffered third degree burns. Sometimes people are so severely burned that pieces of flesh fall off in the caretaker’s hands. There is no pain where the flesh is so severely burned because the nerve endings have been burned away. There may though be severe pain in the surrounding tissues around the perimeter of third degree burns. At the time of the burn injury pain is of the least concern.

Many burn patients die each year, and it isn’t always the burn that kills them, but the heart and circulatory failure, and other system failures that take place secondary to the burn injury. When the skin is burned away the body fluids start to leave the body. The fluid that makes up the plasma of the blood starts to shift from the circulatory system and exit the body through the surrounding tissues and drain through the burn injury. Approximately 80 percent of the people that have suffered third degree burns have had some kind of heart involvement.

Not only is it the heart that is involved, but the heart is involved because all of the body systems are involved. The person that suffers burn injury may also suffer kidney damage, respiratory problems such as pneumonia. Many burn patients suffer from shock, which is caused by a massive fluid loss. The fluid loss then causes impaired blood flow and decreased oxygenation of the body tissues. The brain, the heart, the kidneys and the nervous system all take a hit when someone suffers third degree burns. Most people that die from third degree burns don’t die from the injury, they die from the complications.

Third degree burns often burn down to the fat layers and even farther into the muscle tissues and sometimes down into the bone. When such an injury occurs the capillaries are burned away, and thus most of the body’s fluids leave through this route. It is almost like opening a flood gate and letting water out. All the body’s systems take a huge hit due to third degree burns.

Sepsis is a major concern with burns. When the skin is burned away there is no barrier to protect us from the bacteria that lives in the air and on every surface. When the skin is burned away there is basically no immune system for a while to fight off infection. Burn patients are placed in isolation to protect them from contamination.

The treatment for burns is often the painful part. The first order of treatment of third degree burns is to remove the eschar (hardened dead skin and burned tissues) which is like a hard scab covering the burn. In order for the live tissue to heal, the dead tissue must be debridement of the dead tissue. Debridement is often done while the patient is soaking in a whirlpool bath or in the operating room. IV’s have to be administered. Usually an electrolyte solution of Ringers Lactate is administered. Antibiotics are administered intravenously. Often the burns are treated with ointments or a special cream such as silver nitrate.

Once the debridement has been done there is lots of pain; pain medications are often given via an intravenous pump that delivers a specific dose at specified times. The patient with burn injuries needs a special high protein diet with supplemental snacks in between; burn injuries require a much caloric energy to heal. There may be many treatments to follow, such as skin grafting and surgical reconstruction for functional and cosmetic reasons.

A Therapeutic Look at Third Degree Burns is a post from: First Aid Products

Horse lacerations come in many forms, from a cut from scratching one ankle with a hoof, to getting caught up in a barbed wire fence. You might not be able to see at first glance just how deep horse lacerations go, until you examine the wounded area and begin to clean and treat it. To be able to treat horse lacerations, you need a well stocked emergency first aid kit.

In your horse first aid kit you will need a thermometer, stethoscope, gauze square bandages, and wrapping bandages. You will need scissors, q-tips, zip-lock bags, vet wrap, hand towels, surgical tape, duct tape, and those chemical cold packs. If you don’t have the cold packs you can use a regular ice pack, or a frozen bag of peas works really well. You will also need sterile saline, large syringes for irrigating wounds, Betadine, flash light, wire cutters, and topical ointments to name a few. Plainly visible on the first aid kit you should have your equine veterinarian’s office and after hours numbers. You should never have to go hunting for the number, because time may be of the essence.

As with all injuries, horse lacerations can be quite serious; it is important to remain calm. If you panic you may not think of everything you need to do in an emergency. Depending on where injury is, there might be heavy bleeding. Stop the flow of blood as quickly as you can. Place a hand towel over the wound and apply pressure until the bleeding slows to a stop.

Once the bleeding has stopped you may then begin to clean the wound. Your veterinarian may have a specific way that you are to proceed in wound care. Normally you may be asked to flush the horse lacerations with sterile saline. When assessing horse lacerations you may need to determine just how deep a wound is. A good way to do that is to measure with a sterile q-tip, but if your horse is in a great deal of discomfort or anxiety over the situation, you may have to forgo that step. You may not be able to adequately take care of the horse by yourself. It is advised to keep the numbers of neighbors and friends on hand to call in an emergency.

When horse lacerations are severe enough to need veterinary care, the owner will need to trailer the horse and take it to be examined and treated. You might need some help guiding the horse in the trailer. Equine emergencies can leave the owner and the horse in a state of panic and anxiety. Having someone at your side to help you and the horse stay calm will get you on your way to the vet quickly and safely.

Caring for Horse Lacerations is a post from: First Aid Products

Why The Healing Time For Scrapes Varies

Healing time for scrapes can be shortened by keeping them clean, applying an antibiotic cream and keeping them covered. One of the reasons why healing time can vary so greatly is because the skin, which was removed when the scrape happened, has to grow back. When a scrape removes just the outer layers of skin and then begins to grow back the process starts from the bottom of the wound and works it way up. As the skin begins to heal the pink coloration will change to a yellow, which may look like pus to an untrained eye. A scrape that removes all the layers of skin will take longer to heal. The healing time for scrapes of this nature take longer because the new skin begins to form on the outer edges of the wound and grows inward to the center of the wound. When this type of scrap occurs it will generally look white at first and some fat cells may be visible.

The Importance Of Scabs To The Healing Time For Scrapes

Scrapes do not always form scabs. The formation of a scab does not necessarily mean the healing time for scrapes will be faster. Scabs can crack, especially if they are on a joint, which could allow dirt to get into the wound and create an infection. Scabs can also fall off prematurely which can cause the healing time to start over again. Many times when a wound is washed on a daily basis a scab will not form because the scab forming tissue is removed by the washing process. This is not bad as long as the wound is kept covered. The new skin will grow under the bandage. While this process does lengthen the healing time, sometimes it is the best option especially if the wound is on a joint or would be exposed to dirt or other debris if left uncovered.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the healing time for scrapes. Proper treatment on a daily basis is the best way to speed the healing time. A wound that becomes infected will make the healing time that much longer. Determine the severity of the wound, the amount of skin that is missing, as well as the sincerity devoted to keeping the wound clean. That information will go a long way towards estimating the healing time for scrapes.

Determining The Healing Time For Scrapes is a post from: First Aid Products

The bones are what make up the frame of the human body. Without bones to hold up together, there would be no frame. They form the skeleton, which supports the soft parts of the body. They actually hold together the entire body. They have a center part called the marrow. The bone marrow contains cells that help produce the red blood cells that transfer oxygen throughout the body. The bones also have many other minerals that keep the body strong.

As strong as the bones are, they do have some bend to them, which we need for protection from bangs and bumps. If we fall hard or are hit by something hard, the bones take a beating, but are protected by the outer tissue surrounding them. However, if the force is too hard, the bones will break, which is how we get fractures. When the body suffers fractures, they are followed by pain, which can be quite severe.

There are different types of fractures. Some of these include:

• Transverse fractures are when the bone is broken at a right angle to the axis of the bone.
• Greenstick fractures are most common in children and occur when the bone becomes bent. Greenstick fractures are considered incomplete fractures.
• Oblique fractures are when the break slopes.
• Impacted fractures, also called buckle fractures, happen when the ends of the bone are rammed into each other. We often see these in arm fractures in children.
• Comminuted fracture is when the bone breaks into many pieces.
• Pathologic fractures are usually caused by a disease that makes the bones weak.
• Stress fractures are referred to as a hairline crack on the bone.

When a person suffers a fracture, it is important they seek medical attention as soon as possible. Many times a person has fractures in one part of the body or another but don’t realize it because they can still use the body part. Continuing to use a limb that has a fracture can cause further damage and a prolonged healing period. X-rays and a medical examination by a doctor will reveal if you have a fracture.

The type of treatment used for fractures is determined by the severity of the break, whether it’s a closed or open break and which bone is involved. For instance, a broken arm would be treated differently than a broken spine. In most cases, the fractures are treated with a cast. In more severe breaks or fractures, surgery is required when a pin or rod is inserted to hold the bone together.

How to Recognize and Deal with Different Types of Fractures is a post from: First Aid Products

Medical care during the Civil War was provided by surgeons or doctors that really had, for the most part, no formal training. Often these men had worked for another surgeon and simply learned as they went along. Since there were some trained doctors, some units or regiments had professionally trained doctors, but these were relatively rare and were typically in very high demand. Nurses were often women that volunteers and they often performed many duties that would now be considered to be doctor’s roles. Most surgery was performed in the open air away from the battleground. The reason that the surgery was done outside of the tents was because there was more light available. Some soldiers had to wait days until the conditions were right before they could be operated on. In addition during this time the there was no understanding of the spread of germs and bacteria, so medical care during the Civil War often transferred bacteria from one soldier to the other through infected doctor’s knives and surgical tools. It is reported that more men actually died from infections than were killed by bullets in battle.

Surgeons providing medical care during the Civil War did the very best they could to save the injured men, despite the deplorable conditions they had to work under. Most of the surgeons worked tirelessly to treat the hundreds of wounded that they were responsible for. In cases where limbs could not be saved the surgeon would have to perform an amputation, and despite the potential for death these amputations were usually successful in saving the soldier’s life. Accounts of surgeons at work in the Civil War provide an important reminder of the severity of war of any type and the efforts of the medical community to save lives at all costs.

Medical Care During The Civil War is a post from: First Aid Products

Caregivers

Whether you are a licensed caregiver or a family member trying to help out another family member or friend, first aid courses can help you be prepared for any situation. By teaching you how to assess an injury and what to do about it, you will be able to be more confident about providing the best care possible for your loved one. While these courses might not be able to teach you how to cure them, knowing how to perform CPR or to treat a wound can help them during the first crucial moments of an accident or an illness. And this knowledge will help you until an emergency squad can arrive.

Students

If you are in school or you’re planning to go away to school, first aid courses can be a great way to prepare. Because you might be away from familiar settings, it is far more likely that you will be in a situation where you or someone you know might be injured. To help in these times, a first aid course will show you what you can do with minor injuries, while also helping you determine when your help will not be enough. Even just learning how to hold someone’s hand until help arrives can mean the difference between a patient in shock and a patient who stays calm.

Parents

Your child is your most precious gift in this world, and first aid courses will help you in protecting them from harm. By learning how to give the Heimlich maneuver, for example, you can save a child who is choking. As a parent, these skills will help you maintain a cool head in injury situations, helping to keep your child calm too. Children want to feel as though you will always be able to help and to protect them, after all.

Those Who Work with People

While this group of people seems ambiguous, this is far from the truth. Whenever you have a job or a duty that interacts with people, there is a chance that they or you might be injured. With first aid courses, you will be able to step in and help immediately. For example, personal trainers can help a client who has hurt themselves during an exercise, providing them with the best service possible as well as the best help.

Who Needs First Aid Courses is a post from: First Aid Products