You are a nurse practitioner and your neighbor calls you over to their house. Your neighbor reports they fell from a latter and now their left leg is swollen, red, and in constant pain.

How would you respond in detailed steps of getting them help and determining if the injury is serious and needs prompt medical attention

 

First, determine the age of the neighbor and ask when and how the incident happened. There might be a possible contributing factor on why the neighbor fell on the ladder. Then, properly assess the injury. The neighbor's leg is already swollen, red and in constant pain, this may indicate that the leg is broken. If there is also tenderness, bruising, obvious deformity or shortening of the affected leg and inability to walk, the neighbor already needs a prompt medical attention. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can result in problems or complications later, including poor or delayed healing, nerve or blood vessel damage, bone infection and unequal leg length.