Winter is a great time of the year for outdoor activities. How nice it is to go skiing, ice skating, snowboarding or tubing on a winter day. However, these activities can cause not only a great mood, but also various injuries. What dangers can children face while relaxing outdoors or in the yard in winter, and what should parents do if a child is injured? Says the orthopedic traumatologist at the EMC Children's Clinic, Candidate of Medical Sciences Irina But-Gusaim.
All children are very fond of sledding, tubing, ice skating and other objects that are not always intended for this purpose, as well as skating in the park or on the river or pond, which may not be prepared for this, which may cause injury to the child.
Dear parents, for the sake of the health and safety of your children, carefully inspect the place where the child will ride. If it is a slide, it should be flat, preferably flat, without pits and, especially, without sudden fluctuations. There should be enough space for several children to brake at the bottom. Sudden drops or "steps" can cause injury to the spine, especially the coccyx. A small pile when riding downhill can lead to severe bruises and even fractures from collisions with other participants. If there are trees or other obstacles nearby, the child may not be able to slow down and crash into them.
When skating, the ice should be firm and smooth, and there should be no foreign objects or cracks on it. Do not allow children to ride on the ice of the reservoir in unintended places. In addition to falls and injuries on uneven ice, there is a danger that the ice may not withstand the weight of the skaters and break through.
Pay attention to how the child is dressed. He should not be wearing sharp or hard items of clothing (pins, large belt buckles, metal jewelry). Even in non-frosty weather, it is better to ride in mittens or gloves, they will help protect the skin of your hands from damage on ice or hard, rough snow. A thick jacket, insulated trousers and a hat are also additional protection.
Bruise
Most often, children get bruised when they fall or are hit by a blunt object, such as a puck or stick, while playing hockey. A bruise is an injury in which there is no damage to the integrity of the skin or mucous membranes. At the site of the injury, the child feels pain, swelling may occur, soreness when pressed, and movement disorders of the injured limb, which are short-term in nature, as they are caused by pain. Later, a bruise may appear at the site of the injury – a change in skin color from red at the beginning, then blue or blue-black and, after a few days, green and yellow.
Despite the rather moderate external manifestations of the injury, severe damage to internal organs, such as the liver, spleen, kidneys or brain, may be hidden under it. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to provide first aid, closely monitor the child's condition in the first hours after the injury and, if the first suspicious signs appear, contact a children's clinic for emergency hospitalization.
As a separate type of injury, I would like to take out bruises of the back and, in particular, the coccyx. When falling on your back, you should pay attention to the circumstances of the injury – falling flat back onto your back, falling vertically onto your buttocks, and whether there was an episode of respiratory retention during the fall. All this can be important for a traumatologist, who should be contacted as soon as possible after such injuries, regardless of the child's well-being.
First aid for bruises
First of all, the child and the affected area of his body must be provided with peace. Dear parents, do not be silent, talk to your child in a calm, affectionate voice. This will help reduce tension, calm the affected child and improve his well-being, and will allow you to pay attention in time to phenomena that do not fit into the concept of the norm.
To reduce pain after a bruise, reduce swelling and the intensity of hemorrhage in the tissue, apply a pressure bandage and apply cold directly to the injury site (a bottle of cold water, an ice pack, and a lump of snow in winter), but not on bare skin, this is important. Make sure that the cold container does not put too much pressure on the damaged area – this causes the child unnecessary pain and additional suffering. Exposure to cold should last no longer than 25-30 minutes, after which you need to take a 10-minute break and use the cold again. In the first two days, it is advisable to apply cold for 15 minutes every 1-2 hours. If an arm or leg is injured, it is useful to give it an elevated position.
With minor limb injuries and no signs of a fracture, you can dispense with professional medical care by simply observing the child's behavior and condition for several hours. When providing first aid for bruises, do not rub, massage or warm the injured area.
If the child is just hurt, but he has severe pain or you have at least the slightest doubt that it is not just a bruise, it is always better to consult a doctor. Only a doctor can determine the extent of the damage in a child and provide the necessary medical care.
If a bone fracture, brain injury, or internal organ injury is suspected (which we will discuss in the third part of the article) It is urgently necessary to seek qualified medical help. In this regard, any injuries to the head, neck, pelvis, abdomen and spine are especially dangerous.
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