First Aid Tips: Dislocations
Based on a module
by Fred Mednick from the Connexions website’s Health Education
Course
Introduction by Dr. Don Rose, Writer, Life Alert
--
Continuing our ongoing series on First Aid Tips, this article provides a quick overview
of what to do if someone dislocates a part of their body.
--Don Rose
--
Dislocation Information
The most common dislocations occur in the shoulder, elbow, finger, or thumb.
If you or someone with you notices that a part of the body does not feel or look
normal, LOOK FOR THESE POTENTIAL SIGNS:
- swelling
- deformed appearance
- pain and/or tenderness
- possible discoloration of the affected
area.
If a dislocation is suspected:
- Apply a splint to the joint to keep
it from moving.
- Try to keep the joint elevated to
slow blood flow to the area
- A doctor should be contacted to
have the bone set back into its socket.
Final Thoughts
If you dislocate a part of your body, are by yourself, and are experiencing extreme
pain or unusual bodily appearance in that body part, call 911. If you are not near
a phone, cannot get to a phone or cannot punch in the numbers, you can still get
immediate help if you are a member of Life Alert; simply press your pendant to get
in touch with live dispatchers within seconds, 24/7. They can send help to you,
which will arrive in a matter of minutes. Life Alert members who are not home can
also use a special one-button 911 cellphone (an optional Life Alert feature). If
you don’t currently have Life Alert, see below for links to information on
this invaluable service.
The article above
is covered by a Creative Commons
Attribution 2.0 License.
The information provided is, to the best of our knowledge, reliable and accurate.
However, while Life Alert always strives
to provide true, precise and consistent information, we cannot guarantee 100 percent
accuracy. Readers are encouraged to review the original article, and use any resource
links provided to gather more information before drawing conclusions and making
decisions.
Dr. Don Rose
writes books, papers and articles on computers, the Internet, AI, science and technology,
and issues related to seniors.
For more information
about Life Alert and its many services for
seniors and younger adults nationwide, please visit the following websites:
http://www.lifealert.com
http://www.seniorprotection.com
http://www.911seniors.com