| Conventional Treatment |
Give oxygen as soon as possible. If breathing is inadiquate, and particularly if cyanosis (blueness) is present, assist the patient's breathing with oxygen and assisted ventilations. (See Artificial Respiration copy to search box. or page 6-10.) Transport the patient immediately in the position of greatest comfort and continue to monitor vital signs. Unless thre is substantial bleeding, do not apply bulky padding or dressings tothe flail segment, so long as the patient is splinting the chest wall with the chest muscles. Use of dressings on a Flail Chest Taped-on pads jsed to be the method for reducing pain and damaged of the flail section. Howerver, these reuce the space for potential expansion of the lung inside the chest wall. Consider a taped-on pad to reduce paradoxical motion of the flail segment -thus decreasing the pain -- only if there is likely to be a prolonged time before evacuation and access to medical care of if the patient has fatigued their chest muscles. To apply dressings: Press the segment inward with your cloved hand to stabilize it. Splint the inward position with a pillow, large bulky dressing, or folded blanket or parka. Secure this ghoroughly in place with tape. Be prepared to help breathing by providing assist ventilation or artificial respiration. Don not hold in place with bandages encircling the chest, This would further impair the patient's breathing effort. Alternatively, have the patient lie with the segment against a hard surface, such as the bse of the toboggan, depending on the position of maximum comfort, and other injuries that may be present.
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