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INTERNAL INJURIES

In certain situations, a trauma in the thorax or abdomen may damage one of the organs they contain, without showing any external wound or haemorrhage.

The lesions may be accompanied by severe blood loss, which we should suspect although it does not show. Therefore, we should monitor the appearance of any sign of shock: restlessness, pallor, dizziness, fainting, sweating…and especially a rise in the pulse and breathing rates, with the associated blood pressure fall. If there is suspicion of internal lesion or internal haemorrhage, we should check the pulse and systolic blood pressure in constant and very frequent intervals, such as every five to ten minutes.

If the blood pressure is falling, while the pulse becomes faster and weaker, the patient is probably bleeding and will require urgent medical assistance. Ask for MEDICAL ADVICE VIA RADIO .

Keep the patient resting and under careful surveillance. In the meantime, apply antishock measures, (refer to Chapter 2.1, SHOCK). If the patient is very unsettled due to severe pain, give him morphine chloride (DRAWER 3, first aid kits A and B), either an intramuscular or subcutaneous ampoule, except in head or chest injuries or if he suffers from respiratory difficulty.