Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier
for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
Imagine this situation. You are walking down a city street. A person on a bicycle rides
past you. On his two wheels, he is travelling very fast. But suddenly you hear a terrible
noise - an accident! A car has hit the bicycle. Someone is crying with pain. You walk quickly
to the accident. The bicycle rider is lying on the ground. His leg is badly injured. It
is broken! What would you do?
Treating a hurt person quickly is called first aid. First aid does not require expert medical
help – anyone can learn first aid. Today’s Spotlight is the fifth program in a series
on first aid. We will be talking about broken bones. How would you help someone with a broken
bone?
Broken bones are also called fractures. There are many different kinds of fractures. But
all of them need medical help. You cannot just treat a broken bone yourself. However,
first aid is still very important. Treating the victim carefully at the beginning can
mean a better recovery later.
First, look at the break. What treatment does it need? A fracture is sometimes very clear.
For example with a broken wrist, you may be able to see that bones do not line up normally.
Sometimes, the bone even breaks through the skin. Even when a break is not clear like
this, it can be very serious. All fractures should be treated the same way.
After you have looked, stop any bleeding. If there is a bleeding wound, cover it with
a clean cloth or bandage. Then press on it lightly. Do this carefully, so that you do
not damage any bones. You can also learn more in our program about bleeding injuries.
When the bleeding has stopped, support the injury. Your main goal is to prevent the broken
arm or leg from moving more. Moving can cause the bone to break more. The sharp pieces of
bone can also cut and damage soft muscles and nerves. This makes it much more difficult
for the injury to heal.
To support the injury, use a splint. A splint can be anything hard and long. For example,
you could use a piece of cardboard from a box, or any smooth piece of wood. You can
even use rolled newspapers or magazines. Add something soft to the splint to make it more
comfortable - something like blankets or clothes. Tie the arm or leg to the splint. Use any
soft material or bandage for these ties. Do not use anything sharp, like wire. Tie two
bandages above the break, and two below.
For an arm or wrist fracture, you can also use a sling. A sling is a piece of cloth.
It is shaped like a triangle. You can lie the arm down across the triangle, so that
the wrist is at one of the points. Then tie the other two points behind the victim’s
neck. The arm will lie across the victim’s chest. The cloth will hold it in place. The
wrist should be held higher than the elbow.
Use ice, so that the injured area does not swell and get larger. Do not put ice directly
onto the skin. Instead, place it in a clean cloth, and put the cloth on the skin. This
will also ease the victim’s pain.
Now you will be ready to bring the victim to a medical center. There, doctors or nurses
can set the bone - they can get the bones back to their correct position. Do not try
to straighten the break yourself. Pulling on the broken bone can cause more damage.
If the break is very bad, the victim may even need an operation.
Finally there are a few things you should never do. Do not encourage the victim to move
the injured area, to find out if it is broken. This can cause more damage. Do not rub the
area around the break. This could cause more damage to the bones. Do not move the person
without the support of a splint. And do not give the victim anything to eat. If he does
need an operation, this can cause problems.
Broken bones can happen in many different situations. Kimberly Stubbs is 17 years old.
She studies sports science, and she learned first aid at a young age. She also leads a
sports group, teaching other young people. It was in this group that she used her first
aid training. One day, one of her students had a very bad fall. Her student broke her
arm. The bone damaged an artery - one of the main tubes that carry blood through the body.
The student was bleeding a lot. It was a dangerous situation. Kimberly told her local newspaper
about the accident.
“It was a bad fall. Blood was pouring out of her arm. It made me afraid. But my first
thought was to put pressure on the wound, to stop the bleeding. I knew she could lose
too much blood too quickly. Luckily this did stop the bleeding. I had to keep the pressure
on until the emergency workers arrived. They took her to the hospital where she had an
operation. Luckily she has recovered well. She comes back to the group, so I still teach
her every week.”
Without Kimberly’s help, the student would have died. Kimberly stopped the bleeding.
But she also did not do anything to make the injury worse. She did not move the student.
And she did not try to treat the break herself. Kimberly’s first aid training made all the
difference. She said,
“It makes me proud that I have used my first aid experience to help save a life.”
There are many different kinds of accidents. Each of them needs different first aid help.
The right, quick action can save a person’s life.
In another program we will look at first aid for some other injuries and accidents. If
you are interested in first aid, you can learn more. Ask your local doctor or hospital where
you can train in first aid. You never know - you could save a life.
The writer of this program was Christy VanArragon. The producer was Dianna Anderson. The voices
you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced
by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net.
This program is called, ‘First Aid: Broken Bones’.
You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at radio@radioenglish.net.
You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us
again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.