Since February 1, Hubei Province has suffered from extreme snowstorms and freezing rain, which has lasted for five days. The rain and snow caused the road surface to be icy and slippery, and according to local ** reports, since the freezing rain, the number of fall patients admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Wuhan City (Wuhan Orthopaedic Hospital) in Hubei Province has increased significantly.
On February 3, the streets of Wuhan were covered with ice and snow. Photo by Jimu News reporter Xiao Hao.
In the past, there was rain and snow in winter, but this year such extreme conditions are rare. Now the road surface in Wuhan is very easy to freeze, even cars are difficult to drive, it is very difficult to go uphill and downhill and turn, and people are even more prone to slipping and falling when walking. On February 6, Hu Rui, deputy chief physician of the Hand, Microscopy and Reconstructive Surgery Center of Wuhan Fourth Hospital, told the People's ** Health Client reporter that since the beginning of the freezing rain, the number of patients who came to the department due to fall injuries has increased significantly: "At most, more than a dozen wrist fracture or shoulder fracture surgeries will be performed a day." ”
Hong Guoping, a senior engineer at the Climate Assessment Office of the Wuhan Regional Climate Center, said in an interview with Upstream News that freezing rain is when the water in the atmosphere condenses into water droplets, falls from the sky, and when it enters the air layer near the ground, due to the temperature below zero, a layer of ice is formed on the surface, and there is still water inside. After falling to the ground, it condenses into ice cubes, which is not easy to melt, which brings great inconvenience to people's travel and life.
Many people subconsciously use their hands to support the ground when they slip, so the distal radius fracture of the wrist and the proximal humerus fracture of the shoulder are more common in rainy and snowy weather. In addition, the buttocks hit the ground first when falling, and hip fractures and lumbar vertebrae fractures are also more common. Hu Rui said that the typical manifestations of fractures are unbearable pain, inability to move, rapid onset of swelling, deformity, and bone sassafras (the sound of bones rubbing against each other) at the fracture site. ”
Hu Rui reminded that travel should be reduced as much as possible in extreme weather, especially for the elderly: "The elderly have poor balance, are prone to falls, and have loose bones, which are more likely to cause fractures. Hip fractures caused by falls are especially dangerous for older people. According to Hu Rui, because the hip fracture needs to be bed for a long time, pressure ulcers, acute pneumonia, constipation, blood pressure and other complications are more likely to occur, and the elderly are more harmful, so the hip fracture is often called the "last fracture in life" of the elderly.
In freezing and rainy weather, anti-skid measures are required for travel. Hu Rui suggested that you should wear non-slip shoes with rough soles and stripes, and you can also tie some canvas strips on your shoes to increase friction; When walking, walk in small steps, lower the center of gravity of the body, do not put your hands in your pockets, and try to swing on both sides to maintain balance; If you have a premonition that you are going to fall, you should try to avoid landing on the ground first, and roll down when you fall, which can effectively disperse the impact and reduce the degree of injury.