Being Prepared For A Sucking Chest Wound

By Thomas Smith


If you have never heard of this type of injury, it might come as a shock at first to hear what it is. When a person receives puncture wounds to this region of their body, it can create a new path for air, rather than just the mouth and nose. That is why a sucking chest wound is so dangerous.

Generally, this is something that happens when someone is shot or stabbed in the chest. It is much rarer to create a sucking wound any other way, but it can still happen. If the injury is deep enough, it is a possibility.

What most people are worried about when they suffer this type of injury is a collapsed lung. It is not difficult for this to happen after being injured in this way. That's why you should always seek medical attention as soon as possible in order to avoid the risk of going into shock, at which point the chances of survival drop significantly. It is much easier to correct the issue before it has gotten this bad.

There are a few difficult things about treating this kind of an injury in the interim before the read medical professionals can come and do their work. One of the things is that you have to find a way to let air come out without letting it go back into the injury. As you can imagine, this is much easier said than done, but there are a few techniques that have been known to work.

There are a lot of people who seem to think that if the injury is not making any noise, there is nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, this is just not always the case. Plenty of times, you won't even be able to hear anything, so if the person has been wounded anywhere near this region and it looks pretty serious, you'll want to just go ahead and assume the worst.

Calling 911 should always be your first priority. This is how you get in touch with the people who really know the best thing to do. The sooner you call them, the sooner they can get there and help you. The operator will probably have some instructions to give you that will help keep everything under control and minimize the damage before the EMTs can actually get there.

When sealing off this kind of an injury, plastic is a good thing to use. It works well because it can make a fairly airtight seal with the right kind of tape in a dire situation. It is always best if the material used is as clean as possible since you want to avoid causing an infection.

There are so many times when people tend to panic in the face of danger. It is so much harder to think clearly when your mind is working that way, so taking a few deep breaths and trying to relax is always helpful. That way, you will be able to make one decision at a time and figure out what to do.




About the Author: