VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: lek. Patryk Jasielski

One of the greatest hazards in winter is slipping on an icy pavement and falling uncontrolled. What to do when you witness such a fall? Learn what to do in the event of a fall on an icy pavement - both as a victim and a witness.

Don't get up right away and watch his body

In a situation where you fall on an icy pavement, you should not get up immediately. It could have broken a bone or damaged a joint and the sudden movement will only intensify the damage.

In the initial phase of a fall, you may not feel any pain due to your adrenaline rush. Take a deep breath and calm down. Then you should carefully inspect your body, especially your arms and legs, for any limb deformation or skin damage. If nothing disturbing is observed, then move your arms and legs to check the condition of your joints.

It's best to start by moving your wrists, then elbows, shoulders, and then legs. If there is no pain and no disturbing changes to the body are observed, then you can stand up carefully.

Then check if you can keep standing stably. If so, and no symptoms are observed, then you can go on. However, in a situation where walking is accompanied by severe pain in the joints or bones, as well as when bleeding has occurred, you should call for help and wait for the ambulance to arrive. Continued movement may aggravate the damage and increase the risk of another fall.

If you cannot straighten your limbs without pain, do not try to break the resistance. In any doubtful situation, it is worth consulting with medical care. The fall could cause internal injuries, which do not have to cause severe symptoms immediately.

Also some time after the injury, it is worth taking a closer look at your body. Some complications may develop over time. Cold compresses can be applied to places sore from a fall. At home, frozen food wrapped in a towel can be used.

What to do in the event of a wrist dislocation or a broken arm

Both in sprain and broken armtypical symptoms are severe pain (starts immediately after a fall), swelling and swelling (these symptoms increase over time). The injured limb should be relieved, cold compresses should be applied and immobilized. For this purpose, stiffening elastic bands and triangular scarves are used. It can also be a material that is available at hand, such as a scarf. Additional stabilization can be provided by attaching, for example, a stick.

If a fracture is suspected, the adjacent joints should also be stiffened if possible. It is worth taking off all jewelry when you observe that your hand begins to swell. With time, when your hand is already swollen, removing the bracelet or ring will be a challenge.

Both a wrist sprain and a broken arm require medical attention. Take an X-ray and assess whether there has been any damage to the nerves or vessels. Depending on the diagnosis, the doctor will either fix the sprain or put a cast on the broken arm.

Treatment of leg fracture

In case of a broken leg, the symptoms will be similar to that of a broken arm. Call for help and find a comfortable and stable position. If it is not necessary, you should not try to get up. It is not advisable to bend or straighten the limb by force.

If possible, stabilize and stiffen the broken leg with the help of available tourniquets and e.g. a board or a stick. Here too, the adjacent joints should be immobilized. A fracture of a leg is usually more severe than a fracture of an arm and is associated with greater blood loss. Usually requires surgery and hospital stay.

Procedure as a fall witness

When witnessing someone else's fall, stay calm. At the beginning, it is necessary to take care of your own safety, so that you do not fall over yourself or expose yourself to other danger.

Then you can approach the victim and ask how he is doing. You can help him assess the effects of the injury, for example, by observing the damage to the limbs. If nothing is noticed, help to get up and, if possible, protect the injured person with the first steps so that he does not fall down again.

If this person is okay then they don't need any further help. In the event of discovering disturbing symptoms at any stage, one should call an ambulance service and stay with the injured person until the arrival of paramedics.

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