Welcome to this edition of The First Aid Show.
In previous two videos, we looked at ankle arthroscopy and we looked at subtalar fusion,
and on those we talked about the Aircast boot.
So, in this edition, what we are going to do is have a look at the Aircast boot, look
at its features and benefits and how to use it.
This is the Aircast boot.
Now, this is the sort of boot that we put on after someone has come out of plaster,
or maybe they have got an injury which they do not actually need to have full plaster,
whereas this will immobilise their ankle.
Now the Aircast boots, personally I have tried other boots, but this by far is the best one,
the most comfortable one, and gives the most support.
The boot itself is very straightforward.
There are three key sizes to it: Small, medium, large.
This one is a medium, based on size nine, men's, but you can look and see which sizes
you need.
The boot itself is solid in its construction, and the reason it is better than a lot of
the others is there are three independent air chambers on this one that support and
hold your foot, and it keeps it immobile.
So just to oversee what the boot is about, there are two parts to it.
There is the front section, and on the front here, which you put your foot in to start
with, then you put this on.
Three Velcro straps, so that the straps at the front here hold the piece just above your
foot.
Then you can work on the next one, holds it mid and the top.
The key thing with these boots is the way that you can put air into them.
The other makes we have looked at have the ones on the front, and I have tried them,
and they were really uncomfortable.
With this, the air is in three independent pockets.
So, what you need to do is you got to pump it here and you got a dial here.
So, if you start it off on one.
So once the foot is fully strapped and in place, set it on one, pump the button until
you feel it, so it is firm.
Do not overdo it.
Just fill it so it is firm.
Then switch the knob around to the two section and pump, and then three, and pump, and then
finally you must block it off, so you put it onto the fourth section which got a little
picture of a padlock on.
Now basically, number one is for the right-hand side, number two is the left-hand side, and
number three is the back.
So, as you are putting this on, you will feel it tightening up.
Now, you could do this for somebody else, but you need to be talking to them the whole
time to make sure that they feel it is comfortable.
These are designed to be weight bearing.
Some people will be able to weight bear, others won't, but it would depend on the injury,
really.
So, the Aircast boot, it is not really something that you would keep in a first aid kit.
It would be something that has been put on or prescribed through by a doctor.
However, there may be certain situations in a remote site where you do need to splint
an ankle or need to keep a foot injury protected.
Something like this could be very, very useful.
Finally, once the boot needs to be removed, you can just undo the Velcro and take it off,
but you also need to take the air out of it.
So, to do this, what you need to do is turn it through to the three sections and push
this little button here, and that will release the air, and you will hear the air coming
out.
Then move it to two, push the button, and one, push the button.
Now all the air chambers are empty.
If you forget to let the air out, you can actually just squeeze the air chambers with
your finger pushed on the button, and then all the air would come out.
Insides, just to keep it clean, you can wipe the outside over.
The insides, you can clean these off the best you can with a cloth.
And one other thing to make it more comfortable inside, you can just use a normal sock, but
it does come with a long sock, which is quite good, because it keeps your foot warm, it
keeps it protected, and also it stops the boot actually rubbing on your skin.