Injuries

31. Trauma can be described as “a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow”. Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death.

32. Severe injuries to the head rank among the most serious injuries that can occur. If the skull is fractured or a victim suffers: a concussion from a heavy blow, the brain can be irreparably damaged. No sedatives, alcohol, or pain medications should be given. Food and fluids should be kept at a minimum.

Neck and back injuries are equally serious. A broken back can result in paralysis if the spinal cord is damaged. A victim with such an injury should thus be moved as little as possible, although urgent first aid to restore breathing or stop bleeding should nonetheless be undertaken.

33. A fairly common emergency, though not usually a serious one, is a broken bone. A bone may be broken, or fractured, in a variety of ways. In a simple or closed fracture, the bone fragments do not pierce the skin. If the bone ends come through the skin, the break is known as a compound or open fracture. Comminuted fracture is an injury in which the bone has broken into a number of pieces.

34. If a fracture is suspected, it is best not to test it by pressing or moving, but to put a temporary splint until medical attention is available. Anything which will keep the area stiff, such as a wooden stick or rolled newspapers can be used for a splint. Pain management and immobilization of the damaged area or the whole victim are also recommended. A doctor will ultimately realign the bones and put the limb in a plaster cast until it heals, but a splint will protect in until then.

A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon in which the muscle fibres tear as a result of overstretching.

A sprain is a more serious injury of a joint caused by a forcible twisting, with damage to the surrounding blood vessels, nerves and mainly ligaments.

35. There are such kinds of soft tissue injuries are bruises and wound such as abrasions and lacerations.

A bruise is usually the result of contusion that causes blood vessels to break with the resulting bleeding into tissues beneath the skin which remains unbroken.

An abrasion is the scraping of the skin surface. Most abrasions heal on their own without treatment.

Lacerations are cuts or tears in tissue in which the skin is opened. Deep lacerations can damage nerves and large blood vessels.

Administration of drugs

36.

• Oral administration. The route of administration is by mouth.

• Sublingual administration. In this route of administration, drugs are not swallowed but are placed under the tongue and allowed to dissolve in the saliva.

• Rectal administration. Suppositories and water solutions are inserted into the rectum.

• Parenteral administration. This type of administration is accomplished by injection through a ryringe under the skin, into a muscle, into a vein, or into a body cavity.

• Inhalation. In this method of administration, vapours, or gases, are taken into the nose or mouth and are absorbed into the blood stream through the thin walls of the air sacs in the lungs.

• Topical application. This is the local external application of drugs on the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth or other surface.

37. There are several types of parenteral injections:

• Subcutaneous injection. This injection is sometimes called a hypodermic injection, and is given just under the several layers of the skin.

• Intradermal injection. This shallow injection is made into the upper layers of the skin.

• Intramuscular injection. This injection is given into the muscle, usually into the buttocks.

• Intravenous injection. This injection is given directly into the veins.

• Intrathecal injection. This injection is made into the sheath of membranes which surround the spinal cord and brain.

• Intracavitary injection. This injection is made into a body cavity, as, for example, into the peritoneal or pleural cavity.

38. Chemists shop is an institution of health service which supplies the population with medicines and medical things. It is a place where a wide variety of articles is sold, where prescription can be made; drugs are composed, dispensed, stored and sold.

At the chemists department one can buy drugs ready to use, different things for medical care (hot water bottles, medicine droppers, mustard plasters, cupping glasses, thermometers and soon) and medical herbs.

39. The pharmacist should instruct the patient about the dangers of overdosage; the problems resulting from an inadequate dosage; the expected side effects of the drug; the proper storage of the drug.

The pharmacist should also advise the patient about the dangers of taking drugs for longer periods unless he is under care of a physician.

40. A complete prescription is made up of six essential parts: the patient’s name, the superscription, the inscription, the subscription, the signature and the prescriber’s name. The inscription is the body of the prescription. The inscription may consist of three parts: medication, adjuvant and vehicle. The signature consists of the directions to be given to the patient. This information is intended to be placed on the label of the container in which the medication is dispensed. The prescribes name is the part of the prescription that guarantees its authenticity.