When body parts fall off

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Shadows
@Shadows
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and what to do....

Fingers and toes:
The first thing you do when a body part becomes detached is control the bleeding. Put direct pressure on the wound and elevate it higher than the heart. Then rinse off the severed finger or toe (or part thereof). You are trying to decrease the bacteria, but don't scrub it. If you scrub, you're causing blunt force damage.

Now get a clean cloth or piece of sterile gauze, dampen it with cold water and wrap the finger or toe in it. Then put the wrapped appendage into a plastic bag and put the bag in cold (preferably iced) water.

Finally, keep the body part with you. For example, don't give it to a spouse, who might end up getting separated from you on the way to the hospital.



Teeth:
If a tooth falls out, it's important to keep the ligament trailing off the end of the tooth moist. Rinsing the tooth with milk (or water) is a good idea, but not because of its calcium content, as many believe, but because it has a neutral pH.

If you lose a tooth, say, at a ball game, and neither milk nor water is immediately available, suck off the dirt.

After rinsing, immediately put the tooth back in its socket. To make sure you've put it in correctly, bite down, and it should feel normal. If for some reason, you can't keep the tooth in its place, the second best option is to keep the tooth in between the gum and the cheek.



Eyeballs:
If your eyeball becomes dislodged, don't try to put it back. You could push the wrong part of the eye and cause more problems. Often, the eyeball won't fall out because it's held in place by the optic nerve. Get to an emergency room as soon as possible. The doctor will push the eye back in and give you antibiotic ointment.



There. I may just have saved a life. Or at the very least a finger.



Profile picture of Shadows
Shadows
@Shadows
15 Years1,000+ Posts

Comments: 0 · Posts: 1176 · Topics: 8
Posted by seavixen2
actually..if you have a severed body part..1. control bleeding with pressure 2. put thesevered part on ice and get to the ER stat...that's really all you need to do😄



Nut uh! Thats not true, Seavixen! Direct contact with ice could give the vessels freezer burn and make reattachment difficult.

That was actually the point of the article...some guy cut off his finger and his wife put it in ice which almost cost the guy his finger!