What Is A Sucking Chest Wound And How Is It Treated?

When people see blood leaking out from somewhere, they become queasy. Imagine how horrified they’d be once they witnessed someone with a gaping chest wound. But despite how horrific the sight is, this is a life-or-death situation. Those in the area need to act fast because every second counts for this type of injury.

Once you’ve touched on the topic of chest wounds, you’re bound to stumble upon a condition called a sucking chest wound. As the name implies, a sucking chest wound consists of a gaping hole in the patient’s chest. There’s a long list of causes for them to receive a puncture wound, but they’re typically due to stabbing or gunshots.

Meanwhile, although it might seem impossible, the patient can still survive despite being in a critical condition. As long as they can still breathe, that’s enough proof that they have a chance. But because they have an open wound, this creates a new path for air to travel through.

Because of this, the patient will experience multiple signs of sucking chest wounds, such as:

• Heavy bleeding from the wound
• Foaming, discolored blood around the wound
• Coughing out blood
• Hissing or sucking noises when the patient breathes

Treating A Sucking Chest Wound

As you can see, if sucking chest wounds won’t kill the patient, the rest of its symptoms will. Therefore, you have to act carefully yet efficiently.

Here are some ways to treat a sucking chest wound:

1. Sterilize Yourself

Before you can go ahead and use medical devices such as SAM Thorasite, always remember to keep your hands clean. Otherwise, what’s supposed to be an extremely helpful device might become ineffective after ruining its quality with your unsanitary hands.

While sanitizers are sufficient, washing your hands off using soap and water would be more effective. But if you want absolute sterilization, wear clean gloves instead.

2. Remove Any Hindrances

Set aside the patient’s clothing to get to the wound properly. Don’t move them as much as possible. Otherwise, their injuries might worsen even further. However, if you’re finding it too difficult to get rid of their clothes, it’s best to cut them off instead. This way, you can practice efficient removal while directly helping yourself to the chest wound.

In addition, be careful when a piece of cloth manages to get stuck to the wound. Instead of unceremoniously yanking them off, ensure that you handle them gently. Otherwise, you might tug on the injury repeatedly.

3. Always Block The Wound

The longer the patient’s chest cavity is exposed, the more likely their affected lungs will collapse. This is because unrestrained air is allowed inside through the open chest wound. So, whatever you do, ensure that their wound is sealed.

The best-case scenario is having an assistant while preparing materials for an immediate occlusive dressing. But if that’s not possible, instruct the victim to remain conscious and press on the wound with their hand.

Dressing a sucking chest wound is different from injuries such as lacerations or cuts. Considering you’re racing against time; you have to seal off the chest wound by using something that guarantees it’s airtight.

Ideally, there’s a chest seal designed for emergencies like that. But since not everyone is a first responder, a small zip lock bag or ID card can be taped over the wound. As long as there’s an allowance of over two inches outside the affected area, your makeshift seal won’t get sucked into it.

4. Ask The Patient To Exhale

In this emergency, shortness of breath is one of the victim’s worst enemies. While it’s essential they breathe, inhaling too much might build up more air inside the chest cavity. Once that happens, tension pneumothorax will occur, which can build pressure and cause a sheer drop in blood pressure. So, always remind the patient to exhale to get any excess air out.

5. Stay Calm

Considering there’s a person bleeding out and hanging by a thread right in front of you, asking you to stay calm might be impossible. But you’re not allowed to be anything else. Since you’re the patient’s only lifeline, they consider you their last hope.

Once they notice you’re panicking, it’ll only worsen their condition and even cause their breathing to pick up. If that happens, you’re putting them at more risk by the second. For their sake, conceal your emotions as much as possible and remain calm the entire time until professional help arrives.

Final Thoughts

For some people, what constitutes a ‘bad’ memory is seeing someone they know bleed out before them after receiving a gunshot to the chest. Although it’s a grave thought, that doesn’t mean you should lie down and take it.

Learn everything there is to know that can help other people. You might just save someone’s life that way. One of the best ways to do that is by reading up about first aid, particularly about handling chest wounds since they’re typically found in life-or-death situations.