How To Treat A Sucking Chest Wound

By Thomas Smith


If you have never heard of this type of injury, it might come as a shock at first to hear what it is. When a person receives puncture wounds to this region of their body, it can create a new path for air, rather than just the mouth and nose. That is why a sucking chest wound is so dangerous.

Generally, this is the type of thing that can result from being shot with a gun. It can also be from stabbing or essentially any other types of puncture wounds if it is large and deep enough in the chest area. By and large, these are the cases in which you really have to be on guard for a sucking wound.

What most people are worried about when they suffer this type of injury is a collapsed lung. It is not difficult for this to happen after being injured in this way. That's why you should always seek medical attention as soon as possible in order to avoid the risk of going into shock, at which point the chances of survival drop significantly. It is much easier to correct the issue before it has gotten this bad.

It might be hard to understand how this issue can be corrected considering how serious it is. The main thing that has to be accomplished is allowing some of the air to keep going in, while preventing air from escaping out of the puncture. This is definitely not an easy task, so it is something for the professionals to handle.

When you are injured in this way, you might expect to be able to hear a sound when the air passes through. This is only natural because people are familiar with the breathing sounds that our noses and mouths make. Sometimes, however, these types of wounds can be silent or unable to be heard by the unaided human ear, so you should always just assume that it is a very serious injury.

The first thing you should always do in this type of situation is call the emergency services. No matter how many helpful online articles you read, these dispatchers and the EMTs who come will know what to do better than any of these sources. If the operator has given you instructions, they should be followed rather than anything else you might hear or read.

When sealing off this kind of an injury, plastic is a good thing to use. It works well because it can make a fairly airtight seal with the right kind of tape in a dire situation. It is always best if the material used is as clean as possible since you want to avoid causing an infection.

So many people tend to freeze up when these stressful or scary situations occur. If this is the way that you are, it would be a good idea to take a few deep breaths. That way, you will be able to handle the decisions you have to make and think with a clear head.




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