Immobilization of fractures of the upper arms (1974) Pt. 1 of 3

when there is a fracture in the arm the injured arm must be immobilized against the chest with the forearm supported and the hand remaining visible near the shoulder of the opposite side pass a bandage tied in a loop around the wrist of the injured arm and suspend the forearm from the neck place a large pad of cotton wool under the armpit on the injured side immobilize the arm against the chest with a first wide bandage placed above the fracture and then with a second bandage below the fracture tie these bandages on the chest on the uninjured side the chest then acts as a splint the hand and fingers of the injured limb must be carefully washed if they become blue or swollen the bandages should be re-tied when there is a fracture of the elbow the injured limb must be immobilized in the position in which it was found only a fracture of the elbow in extension requires a particular type of immobilization lay three wide bandages on a stretcher lay the patient on these bandages with the injured arm along the body and the palm of the hand against the thigh pad well between the limb and the body particularly at the level of the elbow immobilize the injured limb against the body tying the first of the three bandages on the uninjured side at the level of the wrist then the second at the top of the chest and the third on the elbow any blueness or swelling of the hand indicates embarrassment of the blood circulation in that case the bandages must be loosened when the fractured elbow is in flexion pad the elbow joint and immobilize the arm in the position in which it was found using a triangular sling do not forget that any fracture may be accompanied by a state of shock which must be treated before any other treatment is undertaken when there is a fracture of one or both of the two bones of the forearm the elbow and wrist joints must be immobilized after seating the patient beside a table with the injured arm next to the table lay three wide bandages on the table place several folded newspapers or a magazine on the three bandages then some thick padding extending over the edges of the magazine carefully place the injured limb on the padding fold the magazine with the padding to form a cradle around the forearm taking care not to constrict the bend of the elbow then immobilize by tying the three bandages with the knots on the outside tie the third bandage around the thumb so as to immobilize the wrist in the cradle then immobilize the elbow with a triangular sling ensuring that the fingers are left visible continue to check the fingers to ensure that the blood circulation is normal when only one finger is fractured immobilization may be carried out with a splint on a table prepare a small flat splint a tongue depressor for example at least as long as the finger some cotton wool and some adhesive tape carefully wrap the fractured finger completely in cotton wool place the splint on the palmer side of the finger and fix it at three points with the adhesive tape the forearm must then be supported against the chest with an oblique sling when more than one finger or the bones of the hand are fractured the whole hand must be wrapped in thick padding place some cotton wool a triangular bandage and a safety pin on the table lay the bandage on the table with the point towards the extremity of the hand wrap the whole hand in cotton wool fold it back onto the fingers turn back the point of the bandage onto the hand it should extend past the wrist tie the other two points of the bandage crosswise around the wrist then fix the first point onto this knot with a safety pin support the injured hand near the shoulder of the uninjured side with an oblique sling and immobilize the arm with a wide bandage tied around the chest never forget that shock may supervene at any moment after a fracture it must be treated before any other treatment is undertaken you