What is a Sugar Tong Splint?
Accidents happen. Kids get hurt! On the playground, during sporting events, as well as at home; kids being kids. Adults fall while out hiking, mountain biking, or even just cleaning out the gutters. These accidents can lead to minor or major injuries, and how you react can help to determine how their recovery goes. How can you be prepared to handle an accidental fall where you, a friend, or a family member has a potential broken bone? If you have an emergency kit with first aid supplies and a sugar tong splint, you’ll be ready to help them get to the nearest medical facility, even if you are in a remote area hours from help. Let’s take a look at how sugar tong splints can help stabilize potential breaks, sprains, or other injuries.
Sugar Tong Splints: What Are They?
Sugar tong splints are used to stabilize an injury, most often when the injury happens in the lower arm. Usually it is used for the forearm or wrist in order to prevent rotation and wrist motion. Unlike a cast, splints are slightly flexible and do not fully encase the arm. This allows for the arm to swell or expand in the immediate aftermath of an injury.
The SAM Sugar Tong® Splint has the same C-Curve™ Principle as the original SAM® Splint, building strength from curves. This splint is flexible enough to bend into any simple arc, becoming stronger and more supportive, immobilizing sprains, strains and minimally displaced fractures.
This type of splint, from SAM Medical, is designed to help stabilize injuries to prevent further damage to the bone, muscle, or nerve. You can add it to your first aid kit that you carry on a daily basis or in your outdoor recreation bag, so you will have it when you need it. Be ready for any accident or emergency with a sugar tong splint, with sizes for adults and for children.
Why is it Called a Sugar Tong Splint?
The name may sound a little funny for a medical device, but there’s a reason for it. When the splint is folded into its U-shape to immobilize the arm, wrist, or ankle. This shape helps the splint do its job to reduce any unwanted motion to the injured bone and to other muscles, vessels, or nerves and any other further complications. The U-shape is perfect for wrist, forearm, or ankle injuries, because it can curve right around the arm or leg for protection.
How a Sugar Tong Splint is Used
Splints are used for all sorts of injuries that people experience every day. A splint is often used before a more permanent cast; however, splints can also be used alone. A sugar tong splint is folded around the injured area to make it immobile. Non-medical professionals can use basic splints to help an injured person before they are able to get to medical aid, which can help to reduce some of the potential damage and maybe even some of the pain when the injured area is immobilized. Some of the most common uses of splints include:
- Broken bones
- Sprains
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Dislocated bones
- Strains
- Tendon ruptures
When these types of injuries happen, that is where a sugar tong splint comes in. A sugar tong splint is most often used for the arm when injuries occur to the wrist, forearm, or elbow. But this type of splint can also be used for leg injuries that occur below the knee. Whether to the arm or the leg, a splint is needed to stabilize the injury that has occurred until appropriate treatment can be given to the injured person. The SAM Sugar Tong Splint is perfect for these situations.
When You Might Need a Sugar Tong Splint
Breaks, sprains, and strains happen to people of all ages. From young kids to the elderly, everyone might experience a painful injury while working, playing, or on a new adventure. They are so common, in fact, that 15 percent of emergency room visits are for wrist fractures! Here are three common scenarios you may need to use SAM Sugar Tong Splint:
The playground injury: Five year old Sammy was doing her favorite after school activity – the monkey bars. She’s usually a little pro, speeding back and forth across the monkey bars at record speed. Today, though, she slips on the third to last bar and falls to the ground, potentially injuring her wrist. As a prepared parent, you have a 23-inch pediatric SAM Sugar Tong Splint in your trunk. You’re able to stabilize little Sammy’s wrist, give her a snack to calm the tears, and get her to the urgent care down the road for an X-ray to check for injury.
The mountain biking mishap: A group of men have been mountain biking together every weekend for years. The group meets at sunrise and bikes for a couple of hours, before going their separate ways for another week. This week, the group meets for a new 14 mile route someone read about online. It’s supposed to be a slightly more advanced route than the group usually does, but still doable for everyone’s skill level. Unfortunately, in order to avoid a collision with another group coming around a curve toward them, the first couple of guys skid off the trail and one took a tumble. His wrist doesn’t look good. One of the men always carries a first aid kit for just this reason, and has a SAM Sugar Tong Splint at the ready so the biker can stabilize the injury.
The workplace accident: No matter how many safety precautions a workplace has, accidents are possible. Sometimes, things just happen. One day, Matthew was working in the back warehouse of his office, moving boxes around to prepare for the next round of document boxes that will need storage soon. As Matthew is lifting one of the stacks of boxes, he hears something behind him and loses his grip. Trying to avoid dropping everything on his foot, he injures his wrist. He’s not sure, but he thinks he might have sprained it and he wants to go to a doctor. His colleague, Jack, is an outdoorsy guy and keeps a first aid kit with him at all times. He has a SAM Sugar Tong Splint that Matthew can use before he’s able to get a doctor to look at his injured wrist.
Types of Splints for Emergency Situations
Splints are a great tool in the event of a possible bone fracture or muscle sprain. If you suspect you or someone you are with has experienced an injury, it’s best if you provide emergency first aid before taking that person to a medical professional for proper diagnosis and treatment. Only provide first aid that you feel comfortable providing, and if something feels too complex, it might be best to do nothing until you have a qualified medical professional to help.
Here are some of the most common types of splints that are used by medical professionals in emergency situations:
For hands and fingers: Ulnar and radial gutter splints and thumb spicas can help with hand or finger injuries that need a splint.
For wrists, forearms, and elbows: Sugar tong splints are used for wrist, forearm, and elbow injuries. Sugar tong splints can be single or double sugar tong splints, depending on the need of the injury.
For feet and ankles: Posterior ankle splints or sugar tong splints can help, with a walking boot if necessary.
For legs below the knee: Posterior ankle splints or sugar tong splints are often used for lower leg injuries. Emergency splints are great so you can help to prevent further injury or pain when providing care to an injured friend or loved one.
Be Ready for Emergencies
SAM Sugar Tong Splints are perfect for parents, outdoor enthusiasts, EMTs, and others who want to be prepared for any situation. Whether you are an emergency medical personnel or a civilian, SAM Medical wants to make products that are useful and usable in some of the most common emergency scenarios. SAM Medical provides products and technology for first aid, field treatment, and emergency medical supplies. To learn more and see all of our products, visit https://www.sammedical.com/.
