While hiking in the woods with a friend or family member, everyone is prone to slipping and falling hard enough to break a leg or other bone. Because you are out in the woods, you will need to take steps to care for them until you can get them to some place where they can be seen by a medical professional. When this happens, keep calm and use the following tips to provide emergency care for someone who has broken their leg.
1. Treat Any Bleeding if They Have an Open Fracture
When you first approach the person, examine the leg carefully to see if the bone has broken through the skin and whether or not there is any bleeding. If you do find an open fracture, you will need to take steps to stop the bleeding and cover the wound.
If the wound is bleeding profusely, make a tourniquet to cut off some of the circulation and stop the blood flow. You can use whatever you have on you that can be tied tightly around the leg above the break. A belt is ideal for this. However, if you or your friend do not have one, you can use the strap on a backpack or even your shirt.
If the blood is only oozing, however, do not create a tourniquet as you do not want to cut off the circulation unless absolutely necessary. Instead, apply light pressure above the break to help slow the bleeding. Do not push down directly on the broken bone as you could make the fracture worse.
Once you have slowed the bleeding, use a shirt to cover the open wound. This will help keep dirt and debris in the opening where it could lead to a serious infection.
2. Create a Makeshift Splint
Once you have treated any open, bleeding wounds, the next thing you need to do is to immobilize their leg by making a makeshift splint. Keeping their leg from moving can help keep the fracture from becoming worse as you try to move them to an area where they can be taken to receive medical attention.
As with the tourniquet, you will have to try to make do with anything you have around you. Look for thick, straight sticks that you can position on either side of the broken leg to act as the splints.
Then, tear a shirt into strips to secure the splints to their leg. When you tie the strips, make sure you leave them loose enough so they do not cut off circulation around the break.
3. Keep an Eye Out for Signs of Shock
Whether or not the person you are helping has any blood loss, you need to keep an eye out for signs of shock as you work to help them. Even the sudden impact from the trauma of breaking their leg could shock their system.
If they are sweating, cold, or have fainted, loosen their clothing to free them from any restrictions. Then, cover them with a jacket, shirt, or blanket, if you have one, to keep them warm.
If they have gone into shock, go into an area where you can get cell service so you can call the park ranger or other emergency services. You will need help to get them to a medical center as it could be dangerous to move them if you are uncertain about what to do.
The tips above can help you care for the person while trying to get them to a location where they can get immediate medical attention. As soon as possible, either arrange for transport or take them yourself to the nearest center that offers injury treatment services.
Share