What to do in case of an Accident

The following instructions describe what to do during the first 24 to 48 hours after receiving an injury.  They are meant as a general quideline.  It is always best to call your doctor if you receive and injury.  (Individuals suffering from Raynaud's phenomenon, peripheral vascular disease, or susceptibility to frostbite should be caution when utilizing ice therapy.)

A helpful aid in remembering what to do in case of an injury is the acronym PRICES.

• P = protect
• R = rest
• I = ice
• C = compress
• E = elevate
• S = stabilize

Immediately after sustaining an injury PROTECT it, REST it and ICE it. Ice will cause the capillaries to shrink back to normal and naturally decrease pain. (NEVER put an ice pack directly on your skin.  Place a cloth towel or t-shirt between the injry and the ice pack.  Frozen peas work great as an impromptu ice pack, or get a towel wet and put it in a ziploc bag and freeze it!)

Combining ICE and COMPRESSION aid in the resorption of excess intracellular fluids produced as a result of the injury.  Studies have demonstrated that ice combined with compression is more effective than ice therapy alone.  (Try securing the ice pack withan ace bandage).

ELEVATE the injury.  This helps drain excess fluids away from the affected area.

STABILIZE the injury as soon as possible.

These methods will control thenegative aspects of inflammation and create the optimum environment for your body to heal itself.

The amount of time and frequency that ice should be applied to an injury varies with the degree of injury and place of injury.  A good rule of thumb is to remember the acronym CBAN.  CBAN is what you feel when you apply ice to the injury.  First it feels COOL; then it BURNS; then it feels ACHY; finally it feels NUMB.

CBAN

• C = COOL
• B = BURNS
• A = ACHY
• N = NUMB

When the area feels numb, due to decreased nerve conduction, it is time to remove the ice.  This usually varies from a few minutes to 20 minutes.  The ice can be reapplied when the area warms up to normal temperature (after about 60 minutes).

Ice packs are a natural, drug free way to reduce inflammation and swelling with noe of the adverse side effects that may be experienced withthe use of costly medication.