Making an emergency splint requires a cool head and a little ingenuity. If you need to make an emergency splint, it's important to stay calm, and remember a splint's purpose---to immobilize an injured part of the body to prevent worsening of the injury and decrease pain. This will help you in deciding what materials may be suitable to use for an emergency splint.
Instructions
1. Provide care for any wounds in the area that needs the splint. Cleanse and bandage the wounds, according to your emergency situation.
2. Immobilize the injured part of the body. This is especially important for back and neck injuries. Don't try to put broken bones back together. Splint the injured body part in the position in which you found it---moving it or trying to reset bones causes pain and may cause further injury.
3. Pad the injured body part with soft materials. You can use anything soft, such as clothing, pillows, blankets or towels.
4. Find a rigid object to use as an emergency splint. Rigidity provides immobility. Use boards, branches or sticks. Use the hard plastic lid of a cooler. Use cardboard, or roll up some newspaper or blankets, as long as they won't bend. Use an umbrella or a broomstick. If you need to, "buddy tape" the injured body part to an uninjured body part---for example, secure a broken finger to its neighbor finger to provide stability and immobility.
Ensure, if you can, that the emergency splint runs longer than the length of the injured area, generally from joint to joint. For example, splint the forearm from the elbow to the wrist. Pad the pressure points.
5. Secure the emergency splint to the injured part of the body. You can use items such as belts, neckties, clothing, long purse straps or tape. Secure the splint both above and below the injury.
6. Seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Tags: emergency splint, body part, injured body, injured body part, injured part, injured part body