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I've been asked at to write some articles on problems which referees may encounter. The first article is on wounds and how best to treat them. Obviously there are different kinds of wounds but generally the treatment remains the same. The most important thing is to have your desired end result in mind, this will steer you into what avenue your treatment will take, for most wounds the end result will be along the lines of:
1. Preventing the injury getting worse
2. Controlling blood loss
3. Promoting recovery.
The main kinds of wounds that you may come across, whether refereeing or outside are lacerations (a jagged wound caused by things such as a rough piece of metal), incised wounds (i.e. sliced open), grazes and contusions (bruises). The treatment of these are basically the same and it doesn't matter if you recognise the type of wound or not. One thing to remember is that all cuts to the face/head bleed profusely and the quantity of blood does not always signify the extent of injury so don't be too alarmed at these.
Treatment:
1. Find out first what happened. This is important as there may be wound
contamination by bits of glass from a broken bottle or dirt from a playing field.
2. Look at the injury for its' size, depth and the blood loss.
3. Clean the injury if possible. Obviously if you can remove mud or grit etc from a
wound you lessen the chance of the wound becoming infected hence promoting
the recovery, if you cannot clean it due to your location and resources, cover the
wound with a clean dressing large enough to cover the injured area to prevent
further contamination, do not make the dressing so tight that any dirt is then firmly
embedded.
4. Elevate the injury to help prevent blood loss. Only do this if you are sure there is
no possibility of a fractured bone.
5. Seek medical advice. If the wound is deep, covers a large surface area or if badly
contaminated then medical advice must be sought.
6. If there is a need to control bleeding this can be achieved by elavating the wound
or by placing pressure over the wound, if you can, try to have barrier between you
and the wound to prevent any cross infection.
Do not under any cicumstances apply tourniquets to wounds as these cause more problems for the victim. If the ambulance crew or hospital staff do this it is because they will have taken all the precautions and planned for the ensuing problems.
That is the run down on cuts. If there is any topic you want me to write about, please let me know and I will do my best.
Obviously the articles are geared towards what you will see whilst refereeing but the advice is general and not confined to that area.
Joe Kane
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