The approaching New Year holidays is a hot time for trauma doctors. In winter, people get fractures and sprains two to three times more often than in summer. This is due to our inattention and inability to fall correctly. Pay for this comes with bruises, fractures, and sometimes craniocerebral trauma.
How men and women behave when they fall: the danger of head injuries
According to statistics, men are more likely to be injured in winter than women. And they fall less well. If the female half strives to land when falling on soft tissues, buttocks, then men more often hit their heads. The latter option is much more dangerous and threatens with a closed craniocerebral injury. The danger of the situation is that outwardly the trauma itself may not manifest itself in any way. The man fell while wearing a hat, got up, dusted himself off and hurried off on business. In the meantime, cerebral hemorrhage could have occurred, the hematoma will grow during the day. A fallen person can feel a severe headache only towards the end of the day.
From otitis media to allergies: what threatens those who like to walk without a hat
You may have heard the story of actress Natalia Richardson, she was the wife of Hollywood actor Liam Neeson. The woman received a closed head injury while downhill skiing. The actress was just starting to ride under the supervision of an instructor. She made two fatal mistakes: neglected the helmet and refused medical assistance after the fall. Richardson even signed the corresponding document, arguing that she feels good. However, towards evening, the woman felt an intolerable headache. Alas, the doctors could not help - cerebral edema began, the patient fell into a coma. After a while, the husband decided to disconnect his wife from life support devices.
Such a story is not uncommon. Therefore, doctors warn: if you fell, hitting your head, be sure to go to the emergency room, where you will be given an X-ray (or computed tomography) to rule out the presence of hematomas and internal hemorrhage. It could save your life!
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Winter injury rating
In the unofficial ranking of winter injuries, traumatic brain injuries, fortunately, are in last place. Most often, when falling, we get fractures of the radius, ankles and collarbone, bruises of the humerus, damage to the ligaments of the ankle and knee joints, fractures of the shin bones. Inattention, haste, uncomfortable shoes (heels, too smooth soles), uncleaned snow, ice, potholes on the roads become the cause of injuries. Also, people often fall when exiting transport. But winter sports are still in last place as a cause of injury. That is, most often we are injured in everyday life!
Only athletes are able to fall correctly. Good physical fitness allows you to group in time. Anyone can learn this, but it would be good to practice. The main mistake of the majority is to put the hand forward and transfer the weight of the body to it. In this case, a bruise or fracture of the radius is almost guaranteed. We put our hand out instinctively. In women, the bone tissue is less dense and therefore it is the fairer sex that often suffers from such an injury. Especially after the age of fifty. Concurrent injuries:
dislocation of bones located nearby; ruptured ligaments; damage to the ulna.
Falling Right: A Memo
The left arm suffers more often, the above-described type of forearm injury accounts for 15% of all injuries to the human skeleton. The fracture is usually fixed 3 cm from the wrist. How to fall correctly? You need to try to land on your side, bent over, bending your elbows, and your legs at the knees. This will cushion the impact and avoid serious injury. Also, always remember about your head, try to press it against your chin!
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In case of injury, you will go to the emergency room, where the doctor will examine and send you for an x-ray. Even if there is no fracture, a recovery period will be required. The wrist area is sensitive and the hand will not be able to function as usual for some time. Rehabilitation may include remedial gymnastics, the use of resistance bands, physiotherapy, massage, and restorative drugs.
First aid for fracture
But what if you witnessed a fracture in a passerby? You need to try to provide first aid:
fix the injured leg or arm. The simplest thing, when it comes to a broken leg, is to fix it with a belt (tying both limbs). If it is possible to apply a splint, you need to do it. The hand can be fixed with a scarf. Apply ice. Call an ambulance, of course.
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How to help yourself with frostbite
Do not forget about another popular injury during the winter, in particular the New Year holidays - this is frostbite. Do not think that frostbite can only be earned in severe frost. No, rather, it is about the amount of time spent outside in cold weather. The temperature can literally be as low as -3 degrees, but if you are lightly dressed, your ears, neck, hands are not protected from the gusty wind, and outside, in addition to everything, there is high humidity, there is every chance of hypothermia. Tight shoes, low mobility, weakened immunity, old age, alcohol intoxication are also important.
There are frequent cases of tissue frostbite during ski trips, long walks. The danger is that for the time being a person is not aware of the danger of the situation. And only when it is warm, it becomes clear that hypothermia has occurred. The symptom is a characteristic twitching pain and redness of the frostbitten area.
Recall that in such cases, you cannot rub the burn site (frostbite is a type of burn) with alcohol, apply hot compresses, and drink alcohol. Hot drinks create a deceiving warmth effect. Under the influence of alcohol, the blood vessels expand and the body's heat transfer increases. When it comes to the first degree of frostbite, the main thing is to get warm as soon as possible. Additionally, keep warm with a warm blanket, downy shawl. If the skin becomes blistered, the problem is more serious and you need to rush to the doctor. You should also be attentive to children: they can spend quite a long time on the street, rolling down hills, playing snowballs. Intensely red cheeks and nose should be a cause for concern.
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