pa4ortho
02-20-08, 11:19
Here is what I carry in my remote field hospital set for splinting care.
-4" elastic wrap, as I can make any size splint with this size wrap
-4" coban or vet wrap, get it at the feed store, great outer wrap after the major swelling comes and goes makes it more water resistant and durable, dont wrap too tight, dont use to wrap plaster that is setting up.
-4" plaster rolls, long shelf life but not for the novice as it molds so well that any dents from fingers can make a sore easily
-4" kerlex, invaluble for bleeding but also folded 4 layers think and wraped in a spiral pattern as a bulky jones dressing, roll in the palm for hand injuries.
-4" synthetic webroll, place next to skin and over plaster to keep it from adhearing to the kerlex and elastic wrap so it can be removed easily
-18ga 1 1/2" needle, for drawing from bottles and aspirating
-25ga 1 1/2" needle, for local anestetic or hematoma blocks, use 22ga if you aspirate as part of your technique.
-betadine swabs
-scrub brush, irrigation, complex wound care not in this section of the kit.
-sam splints and ace wraps are in the tactical trauma bag along with kerlex
-fiberglass has the advantage of durability, light weight, more forgiving of poor molding technique, water resistant, can make functional ankle and wrist splints, etc... down side is cost, poor shelf life, even a pin prick in the wrapping and it gets hard, I only carry a small amount of orthoglass pre cut 4X 30 and a few rolls of (you guesed it 4") fiberglass casting tape. Avoid 3m precut splints as it molds terrible. orthoglass or royce medical make good stuff. 3m casting tape is good.
Many fractures can be treated with good splinting alone without a full cast.
A roll of 2" or 3 " athletic tape can be torn into 1" and 1 1/2" size as you spool it off the roll. Coban works as under wrap great, tincture of benzoin can help prevent the tape from shifting. tape comes in a variety of quality look for a high thread count. athletic tape is worthless for dressings.
silk style cloth tape sticks to dressings better and can be used to prevent elastic wraps from shifting again 3" is the universal size as it can be torn down into smaller sizes. It also works great as a note pad if you stick it on your thighs in trauma care and then stick your "note" to the patient when you transport.
------------------ Gotta go to work ----------------- More later
-4" elastic wrap, as I can make any size splint with this size wrap
-4" coban or vet wrap, get it at the feed store, great outer wrap after the major swelling comes and goes makes it more water resistant and durable, dont wrap too tight, dont use to wrap plaster that is setting up.
-4" plaster rolls, long shelf life but not for the novice as it molds so well that any dents from fingers can make a sore easily
-4" kerlex, invaluble for bleeding but also folded 4 layers think and wraped in a spiral pattern as a bulky jones dressing, roll in the palm for hand injuries.
-4" synthetic webroll, place next to skin and over plaster to keep it from adhearing to the kerlex and elastic wrap so it can be removed easily
-18ga 1 1/2" needle, for drawing from bottles and aspirating
-25ga 1 1/2" needle, for local anestetic or hematoma blocks, use 22ga if you aspirate as part of your technique.
-betadine swabs
-scrub brush, irrigation, complex wound care not in this section of the kit.
-sam splints and ace wraps are in the tactical trauma bag along with kerlex
-fiberglass has the advantage of durability, light weight, more forgiving of poor molding technique, water resistant, can make functional ankle and wrist splints, etc... down side is cost, poor shelf life, even a pin prick in the wrapping and it gets hard, I only carry a small amount of orthoglass pre cut 4X 30 and a few rolls of (you guesed it 4") fiberglass casting tape. Avoid 3m precut splints as it molds terrible. orthoglass or royce medical make good stuff. 3m casting tape is good.
Many fractures can be treated with good splinting alone without a full cast.
A roll of 2" or 3 " athletic tape can be torn into 1" and 1 1/2" size as you spool it off the roll. Coban works as under wrap great, tincture of benzoin can help prevent the tape from shifting. tape comes in a variety of quality look for a high thread count. athletic tape is worthless for dressings.
silk style cloth tape sticks to dressings better and can be used to prevent elastic wraps from shifting again 3" is the universal size as it can be torn down into smaller sizes. It also works great as a note pad if you stick it on your thighs in trauma care and then stick your "note" to the patient when you transport.
------------------ Gotta go to work ----------------- More later