Sierra Samaritans - National Ski Patrol

outdoor emergency care
❚ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 65
makes a very sturdy bandage, which is an
advantage if the patient has to ski out or
be evacuated from the backcountry.
Moreover, a cravat can be improvised
from any spare piece of cloth. A simple
pressure bandage for the arm, leg, forehead,
or ear requires no special technique—just
wrap it around a few times
and tie it, maintaining the tension by
passing the tails from hand to hand as you
wrap. A bandage for the elbow or knee,
however, needs to be anchored proximally
and distally to ensure the bandage will
stay on (fig. 5).
❚ Apply the bandage while the arm or
leg is straight so that flexing the joint
will tighten (not loosen) the bandage.
❚ Capture the dressing on the elbow or
knee with the center of the cravat.
❚ Wrap one tail proximally and the
other distally to the joint so that there
is a complete wrap on either side.
❚ As you continue wrapping the tails
around the limb, cross them to lock
the bandage.
❚ Tie the tails together with a square
knot on the outside of the limb.
figure 5
figure 6
Elbow Cravat Bandage
Hand Cravat Bandage
ILLUSTRATIONS BY EVELYN SINCLAIR
You can also use a cravat to do a figureeight
bandage of the hand, similar to the
gauze roller bandage. Just lay the center of
the cravat over the wrist, wrap both tails
diagonally over the hand to secure the
dressing, then bring them diagonally back
to the wrist to tie them off.
For severe bleeding of the palm, you
can apply more pressure with a variation.
Lay a dressing on the palm, then have the
patient make a fist around a spare roller
bandage or other padding (fig. 6).
❚ With the injured hand extended
palm up, lay the center of the cravat
over the wrist.
❚ Wrap one tail diagonally across the
back of the hand, and diagonally
back to the wrist.
❚ Maintaining the tension, wrap the
other tail diagonally across the hand
and diagonally back to the wrist,
making an X.
❚
❚
Notice that each tail of the cravat is
pulling two of the fingers tight into
a clenched fist.
Wrap the tails around the wrist and
tie them off.
To secure a dressing over a scalp wound,
you can use a triangular bandage in a
configuration that resembles a turban
(fig. 7, page 68):
❚ After placing a dressing on the scalp
wound, lay the bandage over the
head with the point hanging down
the back of the neck and the straight
edge around the forehead just above
CONTINUED ON PAGE 68
66 Ski Patrol Magazine | Winter 2005