Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Sling - instructions
First Aid
Care for all
HOW TO MAKE A SLING
- You'll need a piece of cloth that is about 5 feet wide at the base and at least 3 feet long on the sides. (If the sling is for a child, you can use a smaller size.)
- Cut a triangle out of a piece of this cloth.
- If you don't have scissors handy, fold a large square piece of cloth diagonally into a triangle.
- Place the person's elbow at the top point of the triangle, and the wrist midway along the triangle's bottom edge. Bring the two free points up around the front and back of the same (or opposite) shoulder, and pin or tie securely together. Adjust the height of the knot so that the elbow is bent at a right angle.
- If you do not have material or scissors to make a triangle sling, you can make one using a coat or a shirt. Apply the sling in much the same manner as shown in the pictures "Creating a Sling" associated with this article.
- You can also make a sling using a belt, rope, vine, or sheet.
- If the injured arm should be kept still, tie the sling to the body with another piece of cloth wrapped around the chest and tied on the uninjured side.
- Occasionally check for tightness, and adjust the sling as necessary.
Do Not
Do NOT try to realign an injured body part unless the skin looks pale or blue or there is no pulse.
Call immediately for emergency medical assistance if
Seek medical help if the person has a dislocation, broken bone, or severe bleeding. Also seek professional medical help if you cannot completely immobilize the injury at the scene by yourself.
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Review Date: 01/13/2010
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason
Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve,
MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
