First Aid for a Broken Leg

Emergencies happen every day, and everywhere. They happen without any warning. It is important for people to know how to respond to emergencies so that the victim has a better chance of survival. Some emergencies are not as life threatening as others. A broken arm is probably not going to be as severe as a third degree burn. Knowing how to respond to each scenario helps you to understand the problem at hand and ensure the safety of the victim as well as yourself.

Let's say, for example, you are at the park, watching your children play. All is going well. They are laughing and running around, just having a good time. All of a sudden, your child screams. It's not a scream of laughter, it's a scream of pain. A loud blood-curdling scream. You look up, and you see your child lying on the ground holding his leg. Of course, you run to his side, but what you do next can either help or further hurt your child. Not that any parent would intentionally hurt their child.

Let's just say that when you reach your child's side, you see that his pant leg is torn and there is blood. A lot of blood. Amiss the blood, you see what appears to be his leg bone sticking out of his skin. Gruesome, yes, but it does happen. You can tell by looking that he obviously has a severely broken leg. What should you do? At this point, you should call 911. Let the dispatcher know what has happened, and stay on the line until he or she tells you to hang up. The dispatcher will ask you several questions that are important to help your child, so answer as accurately as you can. These questions will probably include, the age of the child, the location you are at, how severe the injury appears to be, how many people are hurt, and what happened.

While you are waiting for help, you can try to stop the bleeding. To do this, first and foremost, put on gloves or something to protect yourself from his body fluids. I realize he is your child, but whenever possible, you should protect yourself. Second, apply direct pressure to the wound by covering it with a sterile cloth and applying pressure with your hands. It the blood soaks through, put more cloths on top of the first one and keep applying pressure. Do not remove the soaked cloth because you may actually make it bleed longer. Your blood clots to help stop a bleed, and if you remove the blood soaked cloth, you may pull off already clotted blood.

Applying pressure will normally stop the bleeding, but if it doesn't work, try elevating the body part above the heart while continuing to apply pressure. In the case of this child, you will have to be extremely careful with the affected leg as you move it so you don't unintentionally cause more damage. More importantly, do not elevate it if it causes him more pain.In that case, just continue applying pressure.

For very severe bleeding that does not stop using the above mentioned techniques, you need to apply pressure to the nearest pressure point. In this case it would be the pressure point located in the groin area. This point is actually a major artery and applying pressure will decrease blood flow to that body part, therefore; helping to stop the bleed.

Now, hopefully, the EMTs will arrive long before you have to worry about anything but applying pressure to his wound. But, if for some reason, you have to transport him yourself, you'll need to immobilize his leg. This can be done a few ways. If it doesn't cause him more pain, use a splint. You can use his other leg as a splint by tying them together. Only do this if the injured leg is not severely deformed. To use this type of a splint, you will need to support the inured leg above and below the point of the break. Tie the legs together securely. Snug but not tight. Make sure there is feeling, warmth, and normal color in the leg before and after you splint it.

If using this type of a splint is out of the question, try using something soft to splint it. You can tie a pillow, blanket, or even a shirt around the break to help keep it still. Be sure to secure the splint above and below the injury. Also be sure to check for feeling, warmth, and normal color after you apply the splint.

Now that you've stopped the bleeding the best you can, and applied a splint, you are ready to move him. If you used the first splint, he obviously will be unable to help you move him. If there is anyone around that can help you, ask for help. Two people will be able to move him more easily than one. For two people, you can either carry him in an upright position by having him put one arm around each persons neck, and each person supporting him, or you can carry him in your arms like a swing. Either way, be sure to lift properly so you don't get hurt too, and do your best not to move his leg.

When you put him in your vehicle, have him either sit or lie down in the back seat with his leg in the seat. This also helps keep it immobile and also help ease the pain a bit. When you reach the hospital, ask for help to get him out of the car. That's what the emergency people are there for. To help in an emergency.

Now that you know what to do in case of a broken leg, you will be able to stay calm in this kind of situation. If you can stay calm, the injured person will also stay calmer.

We all hope that you don't have to deal with this sort of an emergency, or any emergency for that matter, but being informed on what you do will help you handle it much better. Please, keep in mind that if you are dealing with anybody, other than your own child, you must get the person's permission, or their parent's permission, to help the, If they say,"no", just call 911. That' all you can do. However, if the person is not responding, assume they want help.