Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)
  • Broken ribs – when to seek medical attention?
  • SurroundedByZulus
    Free Member

    What’s the script with seeking medical attention for broken or cracked ribs? I appreciate there is very little can be done.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Go to A&E, get an xray, get a proper doctor to tell you there’s nothing else to be done? (It is, after all, what you’re paying your taxes for…)

    allthepies
    Free Member

    Don’t tell them you were pwn3d by a three year old though.

    organdonor
    Free Member

    As Mogrim says, get an xray to discount a pneumothorax then MTFU

    iDave
    Free Member

    does it hurt when you laugh?

    get it checked then accept that they won’t do anything

    scu98rkr
    Free Member

    even bruised ribs are seriously painful

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    The hospital where I did my A&E would not even xray just send you away and tell you to MTFU

    When to get medical attention. If you are sort of breath, if you are coughing blood, if there is a bit of your chest that moves about in odd ways

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    Personally unless I thought I was developing a chest infection due to shallow breathing/not coughing then I’d just keep taking the ibruprofen and mtfu.

    uselesshippy
    Free Member

    When I did mine, the dr looked at me and said, “what do you expect me to do about it?” 😀

    organdonor
    Free Member

    does it hurt when you laugh?

    Good idea, tell him a joke:

    What’s two feet long and slippery?
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    A pair of slippers 😛

    SurroundedByZulus
    Free Member

    Yes it does hurt when I laugh.

    gusamc
    Free Member

    A+E were excellent with me

    ? have I broken a rib,
    – [squeeze/poke] looks like it
    – what happens now
    – don’t laugh or cough, goodbye

    *edit (to be fair this was a while ago)

    davidjones15
    Free Member

    Anti-inflammatories and pain killers for those deep breathing exercises.
    Why do you want to go the docs, you big Jessie? They won’t be able to do anything, unless you think you’ve punctured a lung of course.

    Keva
    Free Member

    depends how much pain I guess. I’ve done mine a couple of times but have always been able walk about ok. Getting up out of bed and sometimes off the sofa can be bit tricky but hey ho. Picking up the kettle gave me a bit of a shock once as did pushing open a swing door, stuff like that. But I’d say if you’re generally alright only a few weeks rest can sort it. Last time for me it was eight weeks before I could ride up the kerb without pain and also walk up a fairly steep hill which involved getting a bit of extra air in.

    Kev

    hughjardon
    Free Member

    I wouldn’t go to A&E unless the rib had punctured the skin and was sticking out causing problems with tight fitting clothes 😆

    roper
    Free Member

    If I moved in a certain way my rib would pop. I stopped moving that way for a while and it seems to have resolved itself, though I wasn’t sure if I heard it the other day but I’m ignoring that.

    slowoldgit
    Free Member

    So long as there isn’t an end sticking inwards…

    I found it easier to sleep in an armchair. Also ribs get worse before they get better IME.

    voodoo_chile
    Full Member

    Blood … go the hospital …bad pain and hard to breathe …be a man of steel ……clears in a few days

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I’ve gone to my GP for stronger painkillers when they’ve been at their worst… Just to let me get at least a little sleep as much as anything else. Docs can’t fix it but they can make it feel a little better.

    flow
    Free Member

    MTFU!

    sweepy
    Free Member

    Try a joint, if the pain goes away its cracked, if smoke comes out of your jumper youve punctured a lung 🙂

    Sorry flow, just ‘ribbing’ you

    crikey
    Free Member

    Yes it does hurt when I laugh.

    I understood Scots men only laughed when they were paid to do so, just don’t watch any Supergran episodes… 😉

    jimification
    Free Member

    Busted mine last year. As above, don’t bother going to A&E unless there are complications. They will just feel it, tell you it’s broken and refuse to XRay it.

    Brace your chest when you sneeze or cough. It will be better in 6 weeks.

    yunki
    Free Member

    the best thing that you can do is get really really drunk to ease the pain.. go for a night on the town.. get beaten up and fall down the stairs when you get home..

    it’s character building

    bwaarp
    Free Member

    As long as the bone has punctured tissue then what TJ said

    Stoatsbrother
    Free Member

    Go and see a sports physio ?

    I mean that’s what you usually say when you are trashing GPs and other Drs… 😉

    What the others say. If you haven’t got a pneumothorax, a flail segment, surgical emphysema or signs of a mediastinal injury, not much point in an X-ray. You are usually pretty quick to offer definite diagnoses, so excluding those shouldn’t take you long 😈

    SurroundedByZulus
    Free Member

    Stoatsbrother – I never ever say go and see a sports physio. 😀

    ti_pin_man
    Free Member

    Broke 2 last year. doc said rest them. Took 24 hours off then rode. Admittedly painful when breathing hard so got some stronger painkillers.
    Back in the UK they felt worse.
    A&E x-rayed and confirmed 2 broken.
    More painkillers and told to take it easy, so just commuted and didn’t mountain bike.

    So I guess it’s up to you dependant on how much pain and worry?

    Like others have said, aside from painkillers and checking complications they’ll send you home!

    Russell96
    Full Member

    Use a bean bag as a pillow it stops you rolling over in the night and screaming yourself awake.

    bighendo
    Free Member

    ?, beanbags are well noisy!!

    spacemonkey
    Full Member

    Can you brush your teeth and put your socks on without grunting? And have fun sleeping for the next 6 weeks 🙂

    samuri
    Free Member

    Yep, if no blood is coming out, MTFU.

    Edit: BTW, that rule applies to pretty much anything that can go wrong with you. If your fluids are generally staying inside you, you can’t be that bad.

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