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Skater's Edge
by Bonnie Blouin
Injuries
Injuries, although many times minor, are
never fun. They can put you out of commis-
sion for a day, a year or even longer. It's
helpful to know what to do if you or one of
your friends has an accident. You can save
yourself a lot of time, hassle and agony with
a basic understanding of First Aid.
Much of the info in this article was obtained
from my handy American Red Cross First Aid
book. It's an indispensable item that every
home should have. At one time or another
you will be faced with an injured person
needing help. Get a book, or better yet, take
a class. The only thing you've got to lose is
a few bucks, and that's better than losing
your peace of mind, knowing you could have
helped if you'd only known how.
I spoke with a paramedic and the Director
of Emergency at a local hospital. The basic
blurb statement I got from them was, "Wear
your pads and brain buckets at all times,
skate only in designated skating areas (not
in the streets) and drugs/alchohol and skating
don't mix." Numbers one and three I can deal
with, but the day I stop street skating may
well be the day they peel my carcass off the
pavement. Which is unfortunately what they
are talking about. Cars kill skaters.
When skating in the street, post a watch-
man at the intersection in the middle of that
hill. Skate parking decks at night or on
Sunday and wear a white t-shirt at night. It's
one thing to sketch out and cruise across the
crete on your face, but getting plastered on
the grill of a car is quite another. Watch, look
and listen.
As for the designated skating area, were
there one, I would gladly skate it. You should
keep this in mind, however, if you ever lobby
for your own city or county ramp. Doctors,
nurses, paramedics and policemen are all
good candidates for added support. They
know cars kill skaters from hands-on exper-
ience. So don't scoff at that statement, use
it to your advantage.
Dr. Ramsey, the Director of Emergency at
Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, VA,
emphatically explained that the hospitals will
treat you whether or not you have insurance.
Still, remember that your costs will be
minimal in comparison if you have insurance.
If you are under 18 then you must have
your parents' consent in order for a hospital
to be able to treat you. In big hospitals the
superintendent can give a complied consent
(to O.K. treatment) if he has to. Dr. Ramsey
suggests that you go to your local stationary
store and grab a pack of medical attention
forms. Get your parents to sign 'em, stick a
couple in whatever you normally carry with
you when you're traveling/skating. This will
save you of time and, subsequently, pain
because you won't have to hang around
waiting for them to
contact your parents.
Cuts and Scrapes
Though occasional
road rash is a fact of life
for every skater, you
should always wash
the injured area well
with soap and water and cover it with a light
bandage. This will help you avoid an infec-
tion that could turn that little scrape into an
oozing, dangerous mess.
Fractures, Sprains & Dislocated Joints.
I'd say most everyone has witnessed a
heavy beef and watched the injured skater
rise limping and wondering whether or not
they've broken their ankle or leg. Everyone
who says, "You will know" or "If you can
move it, you're okay!" is wrong. Many times
you will be able to move it and the only way
to be sure is to have an x-ray taken. Dr.
Ramsey gave me a basic description of what
goes down: With a break you'll have
immediate, continuous pain, and any applied
pressure will hurt. With a sprain it will hurt
for ten to fifteen minutes, then you'll seem
okay and maybe even keep skating. Don't.
Many times a sprain can be worse than a
break because ligaments, muscles and
nerves can be damaged. This type of injury
can be long term and painful, and if you
ignore it and continue to skate and walk
around without getting it checked, you might
do damage that will last a lifetime. Stay off
of it, elevate it and apply cold packs or
crushed ice in a thin towel to help stop the
swelling. Do not pack a joint in ice without
the towel and don't dunk your injured limb
in water that contains ice. The idea is to stop
the swelling, not freeze your foot off. In any
case, get an x-ray taken. Don't be macho and
blow it off. Take care of your body before it
takes care of you.
If you think you've broken one of those
long, big bones in your arm or leg, if you have
a compound fracture (the bone pokes
through the skin) or if your limb is obviously
deformed and gnarly looking, call the rescue
squad. Move as little as possible. In fact, just
lie there until the paramedics come. Broken
bones can easily damage or puncture nerves
and blood vessels inside your body, and you
don't want to turn a basic fracture into
something much more serious. Maintain the
injured limb in the most comfortable position
you can until the meat wagon gets there.
If you dislocate a joint, never try to pop it
back in place. Call the ambulance and main-
tain it in the position it's in with padding or
gentle support.
Head Injuries
Banging your noggin can be a scary,
potentially tragic situation. Unfortunately,
helmet or no, one can still crack his or her
skull or get knocked out. The basic symp-
toms of a serious head injury are: loss of con-
sciousness, confusion, seizures and/or blood
or clear fluids oozing from the ears or nose.
If someone becomes unconscious after
banging his head or appears okay and then
loses consciousness, call an ambulance
(even if he awakens). The latter is considered
to be a serious condition because either the
brain is swelling or there's hemorrhaging
within the skull. Sounds yucky, huh? It is.
Brain swelling can kill you.
If this happens, keep your friend lying still
to prevent spinal injury. When someone
injures his head you must automatically
assume that his spine has been injured.
Remember that anytime there's enough
force on the head to cause unconsciousness
that same force has the potential to fracture
the spine and neck. Moving a person who
has an injured spine can kill them. Call 911
and let the paramedics take over. That's
about all you can do, but make sure you pay
attention to his reactions and to how long he's
been out 'cause it's important for the
paramedics to know. Wear your helmet!
Heat Exhaustion
I know it doesn't sound like much, but if
you've ever experienced heat exhaustion
you'd think differently. Heat exhaustion hap-
pens when your water intake is inadequate.
to compensate for the water you lose when
you sweat. Your body temperature is normal,
but your skin gets pale, clammy and sweaty.
You feel tired, weak, nauseous and dizzy,
and you might throw up or faint. If you ever
feel this way, seek air conditioning or a fan,
drink a half glass of water every fifteen.
minutes, lie down and raise your feet eight
inches or so. If you do throw up, don't drink
anything but go to the hospital. You can
easily prevent this by drinking lots of water
(not soda) throughout the day.
Shock
It is important that you be aware of what
shock is because it can indeed be a life
threatening situation even if the injury
acquired is not. Shock is "an injury related
condition resulting from a depressed state.
of
many vital functions." Shock is caused by
injuries of all types, loss of body fluids (as
in heat exhaustion), infection, alcohol/drug
poisoning and/or lack of oxygen. The inten-
sity of shock can be increased by abnormal
changes in body temperature and emotional
trauma. The condition can worsen from pain,
rough handling and delayed treatment.
Shock is something everyone can assist in
and it's very important. The three rules of
thumb are to make sure the injured has a nor-
mal body temperature (not too hot or too
cold). If they're cold, cover themm with a
blanket or jacket. Have the person lie flat on
his back and elevate the legs if they,re not
injured to improve blood circulation. The rest
is common sense. Keep them as calm and
comfortable as possible. Just be a concerned
friend and let him know you're there to help.
If you have had a skate injury experience
and feel that you could help others by relating
your experience, drop us a note. Remember,
we aren't playing doctor here. This is basic
first aid in preparation for the emergency
room. Accidents happen, and if you and your
friends know what to do when they happen,
there will be less pain and faster recovery.
Skate safe.
References cited: 1. Amarican Fred Cross Standard Fast Aid and
Personal Safety Second Edition(Garden City, NY: Doubleday and
Co. Inc.) 2. Smith, Anthony The Body (New York: Walke
Publishing Co, Inc., 1908)