Know What To Do If You Break A Limb While Tubing Behind A Boat
Tubing behind a boat on a lake can be a lot of fun, but it can also be somewhat dangerous, too. When your body is thrown from the raft, your bones could hit something under the water or simply hit the water incorrectly and break. Use the following guide to learn what to do if you break a bone while you are tubing.
Stay Calm and Float
When you break a limb, it is quite painful and can cause you to panic. You need to stay calm, float on your back, and raise an arm over your head. You want to be sure that other boats can see you in the water and raising your arm betters the chances of them being able to easily see you as they pass by. The driver of the boat that was pulling you will come back to pick you up, but you do not want to get hit by other boats while you are waiting.
Secure the Broken Limb
When you get onto the boat, have someone remove the straps from one of the lifejackets that are on the boat and secure your broken limb to a pool noodle, paddle, or any other straight item that can be secured to the limb to keep it as steady as possible.
Have Someone Transport You
When you arrive at your vehicle, have someone drive you to the hospital. There are some people who think that it is a sign of weakness if they do not drive themselves to the hospital when they are injured, but that is not the case at all. When you break a bone, there are times when you could feel intense pain that could render you unconscious. If you have one of these bouts of pain while driving, you could get into an accident and hurt yourself or someone else.
Be Patient and Follow Directions
When you break a bone, it is important to realize that you will have to be patient so that the doctors in an emergency room (such as Alaska Urgent Care LLC) can determine where the break took place and how bad it is. There are times when your bone may feel broken but is only fractured. Either way, the doctor will more than likely put a cast on your broken limb to keep it from becoming worse and to promote healing as soon as possible. The doctor will provide you with specific directions to follow. Be sure to follow them closely to ensure that your broken limb heals properly.
Once the bone has been set and cast, you will be able to go back to living your life. You may not be able to get in the water for quite some time depending on the cast you get though. There are some cases that are waterproof that you can get, but they are often far more expensive than traditional casts, so it is important to determine if it is worth the investment before getting a waterproof cast.