Disaster Management in Fisheries

 B: Using Splints

Splints are used only when necessary expertise is there.

• A splint is a rigid piece of wood or plastic material or metal applied to a fractured limb to prevent movement of the broken bone.
• Reasonably wide splints are better than narrow ones.
• Splints should be long enough so that the joints above and below the fractured bones can be made immobile.
• The splints should be well padded with cotton or cloth so as to fit snugly and softly on the injured limb.
• Splints are best applied over the clothing.
• In an emergency, splints can be improvised using a walking stick, an umbrella, a piece of wood, a book or even a firmly folded newspaper.
• Use of splints becomes obligatory only when both legs or both thigh bones are broken.

Fractures involving the back (vertebral column) require special care. In such cases, the victim should not be allowed to get up. Further, movement must be avoided as much as possible and emergency medical help must be sought