Bandage Wrist or Lower Arm

Bandaging Limbs

Bandages should be long enough to encircle the limb, and at least an inch wider than the wound. Keep them loose enough to avoid impairing circulation, and bandage a limb in the position in which it will remain during the transport or while the wound heals.

• Begin by placing the end of the bandage on the limb.
• Make a firm turn around the limb to hold the bandage's end in place. Secure the bandage with first-aid tape, a safety pin, or by cutting the end of the bandage in two, putting one end on each side of the limb, and then tying the ends into a knot.

Immobilization: Applying Splints and Slings

A splint can be fashioned from rolled-up newspapers, rolled blankets, pillows, boards, and so forth. Ideally, a splint should be long enough to extend past either end of a suspected fracture and past the nearest joints. It is important to splint an injury in the position you found it. Do not attempt to move or straighten an injured limb.

To hold a splint in place, use bandannas, neckties, or strips of cloth as a sling. Tie the splint above and below the injury. Secure the joints above and below the injury. The splint should provide firm support for the injury while allowing for good circulation. Indications that circulation is impeded include blue or pale fingers or toes on the splinted limb. Have all the knots on the same side, and do not allow them to press into the injury.

Here's how to apply splints and/or slings on specific areas:

In emergency situations, splints and slings can be improvised.
In this case, rolled sturdy paper or cardboard makes an adequate splint,
and a long-sleeved shirt has been tied as a sling

Wrist or lower arm: Put the injured arm across the patient's torso with the elbow at a right angle. The palm should be in, the thumb up. Splint each side of the arm from the elbow to beyond the wrist, leaving the fingers visible. Check the fingers frequently to see if circulation is impeded by tight bandages.