Of course, no one wants an amputation or a tooth knocked out at work. But, it pays to have the right information on what to do, just in case. But some of the conventional wisdom on what to do turns out to be wrong.
If a finger gets cut off, you should put it on ice, right?
No, say doctors. Here are the steps to take:
- Rinse off the severed finger or other body part. Don’t scrub it.
- Dampen a clean cloth or piece of sterile gauze and wrap the finger in it.
- Put the wrapped appendage into a plastic bag and put the bag in iced water.
- The injured person should keep the severed body part with him or herself. If someone else keeps the finger, that person may become separated from the injured person at the hospital.
If a tooth gets knocked out, you should keep the tooth in a glass of milk, right?
Wrong again, say doctors. Here are the proper steps to take:
- Rinse the tooth with milk or water. If milk or water aren’t available, and the tooth becomes dirty, suck off the dirt.
- Then, quickly try to put the tooth back in its socket.
- If the tooth won’t go back, keep the tooth between the gum and cheek. The ligament trailing off the end of the tooth should be kept moist.
- Get to an emergency room or dentist quickly. The crucial period is an hour.
If an eyeball pops in front of its eye lid, try to push it back in, right?
Absolutely not, say doctors. The injured person could push on the wrong part of the eye and damage it.
Instead, get to an emergency room as soon as possible. Call ahead, if possible, to make sure an ophthalmologist can be waiting for you. Vision will be blurry for a while afterward, but if all goes well, regular vision will return in a couple of weeks.
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