(3) Check skin temperature. Place your hand on the area beneath the
injury. Then place your hand on the corresponding area on the uninjured arm or leg. If
the skin of the injured limb is cooler than the skin on the uninjured limb, the casualty
probably has poor circulation in the injured limb.
(4) Check sensation. Ask a conscious casualty if he can feel your touch.
Then lightly touch an area below the fracture. (If his arm is fractured, for example,
touch the tip of the index and little fingers on the injured arm.) Ask the casualty if the
injured limb feels numb or has a tingling sensation. If the area feels numb or tingling to
the casualty, the area probably has poor circulation.
(5) Check skin color. In a light-skinned person, a pale, white, or bluish-gray
skin color indicates poor circulation. To check the circulation in a dark-skinned
individual, press on a nail on the injured limb and the corresponding nail on the
uninjured arm or leg. Release both nails at the same time. If the color returns to the
nail bed of the uninjured limb faster than it returns to the nail bed of the injured limb, the
casualty probably has poor circulation in the injured limb.
(6) Check motor function. Ask a conscious casualty to try opening and
closing the hand of an injured arm or moving the foot of an injured leg. If the attempt
produces pain, have the casualty stop his efforts.
(7) Question casualty. Ask the casualty if the limb feels numb, cold, or
unusual (tightness). These are symptoms of poor circulation.
f. Dress Wounds. Dress any open wounds on the injured limb before applying
the splint. If a bone is sticking out, do not attempt to push the bone back under the skin.
Apply the dressing over the bone and the wound. Do not attempt to straighten or
realign the injured limb.
g. Obtaining Splinting Material. Gather the materials you will need to make
the splint. You will need something to use as rigid objects, padding, and securing
(1) Rigid objects. Tree branches, poles, boards, sticks, unloaded rifles, or
other rigid objects can be used. Normally, two rigid objects (one for each side of the
limb) are used. The rigid objects should be fairly straight and be long enough to extend
beyond the joint above the fracture site and beyond the joint below the fracture site.
Even the casualty's own body can be used when other materials are not available. His
chest can be used to immobilize a fractured arm and an uninjured leg can be used to
immobilize a fractured leg.