Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-1-
Chapter Objectives –
Wounds
Soft tissues are____________________________________________________________________
Wounds are ______________________________________________________________________
Closed Wounds
 Closed wounds occur when the body is hit and the force of the blow damages the soft tissue
layers beneath the skin causing internal bleeding.
 These can be as simple as ____________________ or as severe as _______________________.
Signals of Internal Bleeding
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________________________________
6. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. ______________________________________________________________________________
Call 9-1-1 if 





A person complains of severe pain or cannot move a body part without pain.
You think the force that caused the injury was great enough to cause serious damage.
An injured extremity is blue or extremely pale.
The person’s abdomen is tender or distended.
The person is vomiting blood or coughing up blood.
The person shows signs of shock.
Care for Closed Wounds
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-2-
Open Wounds - ______________________________________________________________________
Abrasions - __________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Laceration - _________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Avulsion - ___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
 If a body part is severed off –
1 Call 9-1-1
2 Wrap body part in sterile gauze and put it in a plastic bag
3 Place the bag on ice but DO NOT freeze it
4 Make sure the body part stays with the victim
Puncture - ___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Infection
Signs & Symptoms
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Care
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-3-
Determining if the Person Needs Stitches
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. ______________________________________________________________________________
8. ______________________________________________________________________________
Materials used when caring for an open wound include  Disposable gloves – create a barrier between you and the victim
 Dressings – pads placed directly on the wound to absorb blood and other fluids to prevent
infection
 Occlusive dressings - prevents wounds from being exposed to the air
 Bandages – material used to wrap or cover any part of the body, used to hold dressings in place
General Guidelines Applying a Roller Bandage
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
Applying an Elastic Bandage




Check for circulation of the limb beyond where you will be placing the bandage
Place the end of the bandage against the skin and use overlapping turns
Gently stretch the bandage as you wrap
Check the snugness, a finger should easily pass under the bandage
Care for Minor Open Wounds
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
Emergency Care
-4-
Care for a Major Open Wound
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
a.
______________________________________________________________________
b.
______________________________________________________________________
c.
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. ______________________________________________________________________________
Using a Tourniquet When Help is Delayed
 A tourniquet is a tight band placed around an arm or leg to constrict blood vessels in order to
stop blood flow around the wound
 Use only as a last resort
 If used, a tourniquet should not be removed until the victim gets to the hospital
Hemostatic Agents
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
Burns
 Burns are a special kind of soft tissue injury
 Burns can be classified in two ways –
– The source of the burn
–
1
_________________________________________________________________
2
_________________________________________________________________
3
_________________________________________________________________
4
_________________________________________________________________
The depth of the burn
1
_________________________________________________________________
2
_________________________________________________________________
3
_________________________________________________________________
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-5-
Depth Classifications
 First Degree - Superficial
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
 Second Degree - Partial Thickness
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
 Third Degree - Full Thickness
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o
_______________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
Critical Burns
 Critical burns require immediate medical attention because they are potentially life threatening,
disfiguring, and/or disabling.
 You should always call 9-1-1 if the burned person –
– Has trouble breathing or suspected burned airway
– Has burns covering more than one body part
– Has burns to the head, neck, hands, feet or genitals
– Has a burn and is younger than 5 or older than 60
– Has burns resulting from chemicals, explosions, or electricity
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-6-
Caring for a Thermal Burn
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________________________________
6.
_____________________________________________________________________________
7.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Care for a Thermal Burn
 DO NOT –
–
–
–
–
–
–
Apply ice or ice water
Touch a burn with anything except a clean bandage
Remove pieces of clothing that stick to the burn
Try to clean a severe burn
Break blisters
Use ointment on a severe burn
Care for a Chemical Burn
1. Important – ____________________________________________________________________
2. If the burn was caused by dry chemicals, ____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Flush the burn with large amount of running water. ____________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. If possible have the person remove contaminated clothes.
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website
Emergency Care
Chapter Seven – Soft Tissue Injuries
-7-
Care for Electrical Burns
1. Important – ___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Call 9-1-1
3.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Be prepared to give CPR or use an AED
5. Care for shock and thermal burns
Preventing Burns
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
Crush Injuries
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
Care for an Embedded Object
 Do not remove the object.
 Place several dressings around it to keep it from moving.
 Bandage around the object to keep it from moving.
Sucking Chest Wound
 This injury occurs when a puncture wound penetrates the chest cavity and air passes in and out
of the wound.
Care for a Sucking Chest Wound
 Cover the wound with a large occlusive dressing (closes the wound) and tape the dressing except
for one side.
 The dressing will keep air from entering the wound when the person inhales and allow the air to
escape when the person exhales.
Chapter notes can be found on Mrs. Kathleen Kelley’s Emergency Care Website