How to bandage a toe: bandaging the big toe

Desmurgy is one of the aspects of medicine that studies the rules for applying various bandages and splints. This subject is included in the medical training program and is required to be studied.

Proper application of a bandage can save the victim's life. If the technique of this manipulation is incorrect, harm is also likely to occur: excessive pressure causes swelling of the limb or even necrosis (death) of tissue.

Therefore, the main aspects of desmurgy are very important in the life of every person. This is especially necessary in cases where small children with a fragile immune system are injured.

Why do you need to bandage your finger?

Any housewife has injured a finger on her hand at least once in her life: burns and cuts are frequent guests in the kitchen.
Proper first aid will help avoid complications and speed up tissue regeneration. With shallow cuts, small vessels are damaged and capillary bleeding begins, which normally goes away on its own. For deeper injuries, it is necessary to properly bandage the affected area in order to:

stop the bleeding;
prevent infection of exposed tissues;
isolate the wound surface from aggressive environmental influences (temperature, chemical and mechanical effects).

Types of bandages and bandages

A bandage is a dressing material that is attached to the body in a certain way. Includes:

the bandage itself, or a special material that is applied to the damaged area;
a fixing part that helps secure the sling to the body.

Dressing.

Bandages for ligating a finger vary in type of material and other characteristics:

Soft - glue, scarf, bandage, etc.
Rigid - plaster, splint, starch, etc.

Also, dressings differ in purpose of use. They are:

Immobilizing bandage.

protective – protect damage from infection, etc.;
medicinal – keep the medication on the skin;
pressing - help stop the flow of blood;
occlusive – cover the operated surface from air entry;
immobilizing – help immobilize a limb;
corrective – correct the incorrect position of a certain part of the body;
with pulling – help ensure long-term pulling of bone fragments.

Let us dwell in more detail on how to secure the dressing material with a soft bandage. It can be either bandaged or bandage-free.

Applying a bandage fixation bandage has some advantages: it helps to securely fix the dressing material; does not lead to allergies; makes it possible, if necessary, to increase the pressure (applying a pressure bandage).

Bandage-free bandages for the phalanx include the following types:

adhesive - most often they use cleol, collodion, BF-6 glue. When a sterile napkin is applied to the damaged area, cleol is applied to the skin along its edges (the width of the strip is 3-5 cm). After half a minute, a stretched piece of gauze is applied and smoothed through the fabric (towel or sheet);

Bandage with adhesive fixation.
kerchief - a piece of cloth folded in the shape of a kerchief is used for bandaging. This bandage is used to keep a finger suspended in case of a fracture or dislocation. In some cases, such a bandage is used to bandage diseased wound surfaces after amputation of a limb;
adhesive plaster – fixation of dressing material with adhesive plaster;
tubular elastic bandage - used to secure bandages on the finger. Sold in different sizes, depending on what needs to be bandaged.

Assessing the severity of damage

If the bleeding stops on its own within 5-10 minutes, the damage is superficial and harmless. The use of breathable adhesive plasters, produced individually, is allowed.

For deeper lesions, it is necessary to apply a medicated bandage and secure it with a roll of adhesive tape. A gap should be left at the end of the phalanx so that the wound does not sweat and fester.

If the finger is swollen, deformed, sharply painful when touched and does not allow you to lean on it, then this is a fracture. You should not touch it and immediately go to the emergency room. Doctors will apply a fixation splint to two adjacent fingers. Otherwise, displacement of bone fragments is possible. The crushed tissues will begin to become inflamed and necrotic.

If you ignore the fracture and bandage the finger, the bone will heal anatomically incorrectly, which can subsequently cause discomfort when walking or when choosing shoes.

Blackening of the tissue indicates necrosis. The frolicking gangrene will go higher up the leg, increasing its volume. There is a danger of developing pathologies of vital systems and organs (kidneys, liver, heart and lungs). With timely medical care, these tissues can be restored. Otherwise, amputation will be required: a finger, foot or leg.

Bandaging

You can use different methods of ligating the damaged phalanx.
Most websites recommend wrapping your finger in a bandage in a circular motion if you get a cut. This method is ineffective, since the bandage slips very quickly, irritating the wound surface, or comes off. It has to be changed up to ten times a day. Trauma specialists know best how to bandage a toe. Therefore, let's consider a more convenient and reliable dressing method used by medical workers.

How to bandage a toe?

Feet are susceptible to injury, especially in the summer when people wear open-toed shoes. Before you begin applying a bandage, determine the type of injury.

To apply a bandage you will need iodine or brilliant green, scissors, and a bandage.

To perform a dressing, you need to arm yourself with:

Bandage;
Cotton wool;
Scissors;
Sterile wipes;
Iodine or brilliant green, Levomekol.

Thumb

When the foot is injured, problems with the big toe in the form of a bruise or fracture are often noted. Let's look at step by step how to bandage the phalanx on the leg:

If there is a suspicion of such an injury, the big toe is bandaged, involving the neighboring one in the process. Also in this case, the help of a specialist and, possibly, an x-ray examination are required.
During the bandaging process, it should be taken into account that the bandage should not be applied too tightly so as not to disrupt blood circulation in the phalanx.

The bandage should not be applied too tightly so as not to disrupt blood circulation in the phalanx.
Bandages should be replaced at least twice a day, and also if the bandage becomes dirty or soaked with discharge from the wound.
If even a slight purulent secretion appears in the wound during dressing, the applied gauze pad should be treated with Levomekol.
If, during the next bandaging, swollen skin at the wound site, hyperemia, a local increase in temperature, or the release of purulent contents in large quantities is detected, you should seek the help of a doctor.

Bandaging a finger should always be done in one direction, periodically turning the bandage 360 degrees so that the bandage fits more tightly. Before you start applying a bandage to the phalanx of an arm or leg, the skin must be prepared in a certain way: washed with an antiseptic, dried and treated around the wound with iodine or brilliant green.

Instructions

Medicinal bandage.

Rinse the wound with water (preferably distilled). Remove any foreign objects that may have gotten into the area of tissue dissection.
Treat the wound surface with an antiseptic to disinfect. Soak a cotton ball in 3% hydrogen peroxide, take it with tweezers (for greater sterility) and move in a circular motion from the center of the wound several times.
Apply a solution of iodine or brilliant green along its edge.

Do not get substances into the affected area! Aggressive agents can cause suppuration and necrosis.

Apply Levosin or Levomekol ointment to a sterile gauze pad (a combination of both is necessary for better healing). This is a medicinal bandage. Apply it to the wound.

Do not apply cotton wool or adhesive tape to the damaged surface. This will lead to inflammation.

Why apply an elastic bandage if your thumb is injured?

1. Fixing the thumb with an elastic bandage reduces the load on the ligaments and muscles responsible for the movement of the finger. An elastic bandage supports the finger, preventing re-dislocation and aggravation of the injury. 2. When a ligament is dislocated or sprained, lymphatic and blood vessels are inevitably damaged. Lymph and blood enter the soft tissues. The elastic bandage stimulates the circulatory and lymphatic systems, reducing hematomas and swelling . 3. Elastic bandage supplies muscles and ligaments with oxygen and nutrients, accelerating recovery after injury.

Bandaging the big toe

Bandage begins from the lower part of the shin (at the ankle). The first 2-3 rounds (revolutions) are strengthening. They are moderately tight. The subsequent ones will be a little weaker.
Next, we pass the bandage through the dorsum of the foot (“upper part”) to the terminal phalanx of the big toe. We wrap it in several rounds.
We also return along the back of the foot to the ankle, where we complete the dressing with fixing circular rounds.
Cut the ends of the bandage and tie them.
The bandage should be changed 1-2 times a day. The entire algorithm is repeated again, except for washing with water.

How to bandage a finger on your hand?

When bandaging a finger, you need to ensure that some requirements are met:

The bandage must be securely fastened.
Blood must flow into the injured phalanx in full.
The brush should move normally.

For this purpose, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules for bandaging a finger at home. First, the bandage is wrapped several times around the wrist joint to secure it. Next, along the back of the hand, the bandage should be brought diagonally to the damaged finger and carefully wrapped around it.

First, the bandage is wrapped several times around the wrist joint to secure it.

You should start wrapping the bandage around the phalanx from the tip, and move little by little, with indentations of 3-4 mm from the previous wrap, towards the palm. To secure the bandage more firmly, you can return to the opposite side of the wrist joint and carefully secure it, tying it in the form of a bow. Currently, for fixation, you can simply glue the edges of the bandage. If this is not required, the bandage can be attached directly to the finger.

Thumb

The bandage on the thumb is applied a little differently:

You should also start bandaging from the wrist joint, but along the back of the wrist you should bring it to the top, wrap the bandage around your finger and point it back. We direct the dressing material to the back of the palm.
The turns should be applied before the final bandaging of the finger to the base. Externally, the bandage will look similar to a spikelet.
Fixation is carried out as described previously.

Seeking medical help

If there are signs of a fracture (pain, swelling, bruising, curvature of the shape of the finger and difficulty in moving it), you should IMMEDIATELY go to the emergency room.
The appearance of blood under the nail is an alarming sign. The resulting microhematoma will put pressure on the nail and surrounding tissues, causing pain. Subsequently, pus will form there, and the inflammation will begin to spread further.
If the affected area is sharply painful, deformed, pale and cold, then it is likely a displaced fracture.
You should be wary of tetanus, an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system. The bacteria that cause it are anaerobes, that is, they become active in an oxygen-free environment. Deep wound pockets are an ideal place for them to multiply.

The first symptoms: headache, nervousness, muscle twitching in the wound area. When they first appear, consult a doctor IMMEDIATELY!

An increase in body temperature to 38°C or higher, fever, chills, numbness of the damaged area or sudden severe pain indicate activation of the inflammatory process, which can spread to the entire body (sepsis will occur).

Sepsis is a serious clinical condition when infectious agents enter the bloodstream. This is a systemic reaction to a local infectious process. Inflammation is not limited to one organ, but spreads throughout the body.