First aid with bruises

There is not a single person who has never received a bruise once in his life.This damage to soft tissues without the formation of wounds is the most common type of injury.In most cases, contusions do not require special treatment, however, the damage to certain organs and areas of the body can be very dangerous.

Table of Contents: Causes Symptoms of Contusion Injury Diagnosis Treatment of Contusions Special Forms of Injuries

Reasons for

The cause of the injury is almost always a mechanical effect on the body of a solid or relatively solid object. Its severity depends on a number of factors:

• impact power;
• of the mass of the injured object;
• speed of contact;
• zone in which the blow hit;
• elasticity of tissues( contusion of the anterior surface of the shin - quite heavy, whereas traumatizing the thigh the person can walk freely in a short time);
• degree of blood supply to the affected area of ​​the body;
• of the victim's age, etc.

Symptoms of injury

The first sign of a bruise -

is the severe pain of arising at the time of the impact.Its intensity, at first the maximum, decreases quite rapidly, becoming quite tolerable.There may be an increase in pain after a short time after injury due to the growth of the hematoma and compression of the nerve trunks and the endings and stretching of the tissues.

edema is the second sign of a contusion.It develops within a few minutes after the impact and

comparatively quickly disappears( usually within 24 hours).Nevertheless, a certain swelling in the site of the injury can remain for a rather long time, especially in places where there is a lot of loose subcutaneous fat( face, rear of the hand).Feeling the place of edema is very painful.

Hematoma is the third sign of a bruise.It develops usually in places where there is a relatively large layer of soft tissues( muscles, fat).

Violation of the functions of the injured organ is most common in injuries to the limbs.This is a short-term sign that practically disappears after the abatement of pain.However, with bruises of joints, dysfunction may persist for a long time.

Sometimes, when striking a tangential trajectory, skin peeling from the underlying tissues is possible.In this case, a cavity is formed below it, filled with blood, lymph, wound detachable( exudate).

Injury diagnosis

The diagnosis of the injury is based on the history of the injury( the presence of a recent injury), objective signs.Be sure to exclude more serious damage - sprains and ligament ruptures, fractures, damage to blood vessels and nerve trunks.

Treatment of bruises

In the first minutes after the impact, a blister with ice or cold water is applied to the site of the injury.This causes a reflex narrowing of the vessels, as a result of which the size of the hematoma decreases.Every 2-3 hours during the first day, the bladder is removed for 30 minutes in order to prevent vasodilation, resulting from prolonged exposure to cold( cold paresis).A pressure bandage is applied to the site of the bruise, which can later be replaced with a gypsum longite.

Attention! Do not apply cold to bare skin.Be sure to wrap a bubble or a hot water bottle with ice with several layers of fabric.

On the second day the cold treatment is canceled and changed to:

• UHF to the site of the injury;
• thermal procedures( ozocerite, baths, compresses, rubbing), which are applied as the pain subsides;
• electro- or phonophoresis with various anti-inflammatory, antihistaminic, analgesic and resolving agents( novocaine, antibiotics, dimedrol, heparin);
• exercise therapy.

In some cases, surgical treatment is indicated for bruises.For example, with extensive hematomas or skin flaking, the cavity is punctured( pierced) with a thick needle in order to remove the contents, insert antibiotics dissolved in novocaine.

Special forms of bruises

The most severe of all injuries of the musculoskeletal system is the joint injury .Usually it is accompanied by a strong edema in the corresponding zone.In the joint cavity blood gets( hemarthrosis), which can provoke inflammation - arthritis.The treatment of such contusions is surgical: puncture of the joint cavity with blood suction.After the puncture, a plaster lingeta is applied for several weeks.

Contusion of the chest is dangerous not so much damage to the ribs as a possible trauma to internal organs - lungs, heart.If the damage to lung tissue is inevitably the development of a fairly severe leaking pneumonia.Contusion of the heart - a very serious pathology, according to the symptoms and consequences resembling myocardial infarction.The most dangerous injury is a bruise, accompanied by rupture of organs or their separation from the attachment site.In this case, the prognosis for the life of the victim is almost zero due to the massive internal bleeding from the ruptured vessels.

Head injury is dangerous because it is often accompanied by a concussion of the brain.The presence of such signs as loss of consciousness at the time of impact( even for a few seconds), nausea, double vision, an unresolved headache is an occasion for immediate treatment to a specialist.

The abdominal bruise itself is practically not dangerous.However, due to the softness of the anterior abdominal wall, the impact energy can penetrate quite deep into the abdominal cavity, causing ruptures of internal organs.This is an extremely dangerous situation, often requiring emergency surgical care.

Usually a soft tissue injury is a fairly easy pathology, to which the victim often does not pay much attention.However, it can mask more serious problems, so if the pain does not pass after a bruise for a long time, or even intensifies, if it is impossible to use the injured limb and several hours after the injury, if there are any signs of deterioration - always consult a doctor.Perhaps you do not have a bruise, but something more serious.

Bozbey Gennady Andreevich, ambulance doctor