Hemorrhaging & soft tissue injuries Flashcards
blood functions
- transport waste, gas, nutrients
- protect against disease
- maintain body temperature
- blood loss can be internal or external
Arterial bleed
- bright red blood
- spurt w each heart beat, high pressure
- rapid + profuse = large, severe blood loss
venous bleeding
- dark red
- steady flow, less pressure
- can be severe if enough vessels are damaged
capillary bleeding
- red colour
- ooze, low pressure
- coagulate quick
blood loss amounts before critical
- adult normal = 6.6L
lethal = 2.2L - adolescents normal = 3.3L
lethal = 1.3L - child normal = 1.5-2L
lethal = 0.5-0.7L - infant normal = 300mL
lethal = 30-50mL
phases of wound healing
executive (1): bring in fibrin, collagen and clog the wound
resorptive (2): scavenger cells remove dead cells and germs
proliferative (3): new cells formed and fill wound
repair (4): cell form around edge of wound, wound closes
Recovery time for areas w/ good and poor blood supply
good (face) = 5-6 days
poor (knee) = ~17 days
granulation
- occur due to gap in wound edges
- new tissue grow from inside out
- scar tissue
- slow healing
healing
primary intention: edges close together, not need new cells
secondary intention: bigger gap, need new tissues to fill cells and more scarring happens , not as strong
infection
- minor: wash for 5 min under running water
- major: RTD, bleed control (more important than clean)
- use sterile, non adherent, do not touch, wear gloves
s/s of local infection
- swelling, redness to the area
- warm to touch
- throbbing pain
- pus discharge
s/s of systemic infection
life threat!
- flu like (fever, nausea, malaise)
- red streaks running from wound to heart
- swollen lymph nodes
tetanus
MOI: bacterial spores from Clostridium tetani (soil, dust, animal feces)
- spores develop into bacteria that like low O2 (puncture wounds are at greatest risk)
- affect CNS
- irreversible once in nervous system
S/S of tetanus
- difficulty swallowing
- irritable
- headache
- fever
- muscle spasms near affected area
gangrene and it’s S/S
bacterial infection thrive in low O2 or loss of blood supply
S/S
- sudden pain and swell
- local tissue discoloration
- brownish, smelly watery discharge
- low grade fever
- shock
- can lead to necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)
pressure bandage
- for minor-moderate amounts of bleeding
place dressing to apply direct pressure (add more when saturated through) to wound, which compresses the blood vessels, restricts the blood flow and allows clotting
rules for dressing and bandages
- patient seated or recumbent position
- place direct pressure w/ gloved hand
- apply sterile dressing place your gloved hand over the dressing and apply firm pressure
- apply bandage over dressing to maintain direct pressure and hold in place
- if blood soak through add more (DO NOT remove)
- if bleed continues apply tourniquet if you can
- avoid covering fingers/toes
- distal to proximal
- avoid digging into tissue and restrict circulation
Stitches
close a wound that might not heal cleanly
- speed healing process
- prevent infection
- reduce scarring
- first few hours of injury
wounds that need stitches
- hemorrhaging
- jagged edges
- > 2.5 cm (1”) long
- on face or head
- gape wide or show bone/muscle
- on joint, hands, feet
- large/deep puncture or embedded object
- human or animal bite
tourniquet
- blocks blood completely from extremity
- used w bandage/dressing, as last resort
- use in mass casualty
- 2-4in prox to injury site
- tighten until bleeding stop, secure
- document time applied
- RTD