First aid brushup: Wound management - Amputation

Some accidents may be severe enough to sever or partially sever all or part of a limb.

Identification

An injury of this severity will be hard to miss.

Image from here

Management

Send for an ambulance.  In the meantime, firm pressure with a clean pad should be applied to the wound.  The pad should be secured in place with a tape or bandage




The severed body part should placed in a sealed, airtight plastic bag or container or wrapped in clingwrap.  This 'package' should then be placed in another layer of plastic, and then the whole placed in a container of water.  If possible, add crushed ice to the water to chill the body part.  Mark the container with the casualty's name, date and time and ensure it is handed to the attending paramedics.




Critically, do not let the body part come into direct contact with the ice or water, do not wash it, and do not place it in a fridge or freezer.

Acknowledgement

As with other posts in this series, the information supplied is from Kym Eden's Fun with First Aid (2013).