What should you do if some foreign matter has impaled itself into a passenger's forearm?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
B. Seal the edges of the wound with a dressing and do not remove the foreign matter from the wound.
Explanation
In the photo, a forearm with a twig stuck in it and a bleeding wound. When a foreign object gets stuck in the forearm, you seal the edges of the wound with a dressing and do not pull out the foreign object - answer B.
An embedded object often partly stops the bleeding by itself, because it plugs the damaged blood vessels. Pulling it out (answer A) can cause heavy bleeding and tear the tissues further, especially when the object has side branches and splinters, as in the photo. That is why you stabilise the foreign object: you pack rolled bandages or gauze around it so that it does not move, and you secure everything with a dressing without pressing on the object itself. Spirit (answer C) is not used for disinfecting wounds - it damages the tissues, burns and does not stop bleeding. The Road Traffic Act requires you to give accident victims the necessary help, and only a doctor removes the foreign object. You immobilise the arm, call an ambulance and work in gloves from the first aid kit.
Legal basis: Art. 44 para. 2 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)