Your Actions
Your Aims:
Move the casualty to a place of safety without making the injury worse
Your actions:
As always, assess D R A B, respond as needed, and treat any more urgent injuries.Sit or lay the casualty down.
Rest, steady and support the injured area in acomfortable position. If the injury is to a limb (an arm or leg), elevate (lift) it so less blood flows to the injury, so there is less bruising.
If the injury has just happened, put an ice pack or a cold compress on the area so there is less swelling, bruising and pain. (Make sure the ice is wrapped in a towel or cloth, as ice against the skin may cause a burn).
Cover the ice pack in a layer of padding and then wrap in a bandage so there is gentle, even pressure on the injured part.
Keep the limb elevated and check every ten minutes that the bandage is not too tight. A tight bandage will make the pain and swelling worse, and could stop blood from flowing. You can tell that the bandage is too tight if the part of the body after the bandage changes colour, for example if the fingernails (if the bandage is on the arm) or the toenails (if the bandage is on a leg) look blue, or the casualty says it feels strange.
If the casualty does not respond to the treatment and the pain is just as bad after 15-20 minutes, or you are unsure about how bad the injury is, then try to get medical help.
Remember to keep checking the casualty’s vital signs and writing down (or remembering) what you found and what you did, so that you can report this to any health worker who takes over from you.
You can remember the treatment for soft tissue injury as:
– Rest;
– Ice (or anything that will cool the area);
– Compression;
– Elevation (lifting)
(RICE)
