Frayre 1

Sarai Frayre
Mrs. Cruz
English 3-4
29 Apr 2016
Medical Challenge on a Stranded Island
Stranded on an island, doctors are nowhere to be seen. You climb a tree to have a higher
viewpoint, but slip and fall. You hear a snap and feel an immense pain from your arm. When you
look down you realize that your bone is visible and there is blood everywhere. You cry for help
but no one comes to your aid. All you can do is wait for the pain to become bearable in order to
get up. This, a broken bone, is one of the challenges the boys from The Lord of the Flies by
William Golding will encounter on a stranded island. Two different types of fractures are called a
simple fracture which is when the broken bone remains in the body and does not penetrate the
skin and a compound fracture, or open fracture,which is when the broken bone penetrates
through the skin and exposes the bone and deep tissues to the exterior environment1. A broken
bone might occur when excessive force from the outside envoirnment is applied to your bone,
causing it to break or shatter2. Having a broken bone on the island will be a huge challenge for
the boys because they need to be physically healthy to get food, to move around the island, and
to avoid pain.
There are many effects a broken bone can have on ones body. One effect a broken bone can
have is that the body part will begin to swell and bruise over a bone, leading to agony. Which
then causes the skin to turn purple and red. Furthermore, the break would cause a malformation
1 "Types of Bone Fractures | Interactive Anatomy Guide - InnerBody." 28 Apr. 2016
<http://www.innerbody.com/image/skel06.html>

2 "Broken Bone (Bone Fractures): Get Facts to Speed Healing." 2014. 1 Apr. 2016
<http://www.medicinenet.com/broken_bone_types_of_bone_fractures/article.htm>

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or crookedness of the limb if not treated. In addition, the person would not be able to move the
body part that is broken and will be in extreme pain. The symptoms of a broken bone are very
obvious since it would hurt a lot and it would not allow the person to use that body part3.
There are not many suggestions for treatment without the help of a professional. The medical
care for a broken bone is to use some sort of cast to keep the broken bone in place to give it time
to heal4. This treatment is the most common way to cure a broken bone with the help of a
professional. The frequently used casts are made out of plaster5. Plaster is easy to make, since its
just mixing a certain powder with water. However, the stranded boys did not have that luxury
and did not have the knowledge to create a cast. A treatment for a broken bone in the wilderness
is to use two strong sticks, a little bit bigger than the broken bone, and put the body part with the
broken bone in between the two sticks and tighten them together with rope or a piece of cloth
long enough to go around the broken body part6. This would work, but it would leave the person
immobilized and in pain.
There is a wide range of time it takes for a fracture to heal. Broken bones heal depending on the
age of the person and how severe the break was. The younger the child is, the faster it is for the
childs bone to heal. The average healing time for a broken bone is seven weeks. A simple
fracture in young children can be cured as fast as three weeks. The broken bone heals fast
because they are still in the process of growing and the bone is in the process of hardening and
3 "Understanding Fracture Symptoms - WebMD." 2009. 8 Apr. 2016 <http://www.webmd.com/a-to-zguides/understanding-fractures-symptoms>

4 "Fractures (Broken Bones)-OrthoInfo - AAOS." 2008. 4 Apr. 2016 <http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?

topic=a00139>

5 "Frequently Asked Questions About Casts - KidsHealth." 2016. 7 Apr. 2016

<http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cast-faq.html>

6 "Wilderness Survival: Basic Survival Medicine - Bone and ..." 2002. 29 Apr. 2016
<http://www.wilderness-survival.net/medicine-4.php>

Frayre 3
maturing. In adolescence, a simple fracture can be cured in six to ten weeks. It takes longer for a
broken bone to heal in teens because they already have all their bones developed7.
In looking at effects, suggestions for treatment, and the timeline for a broken bone, being careful
is essential for the boys chance of survival on the island. For instance, when the boys on the
island are climbing the mountains, a simple mistake will decrease their survival rate. Therefore,
regardless of the strength in one's body, people around the world must wear safety gear if doing
an activity regarding physical strength and consume calcium to increase bone strength to prevent
a broken bone.

7 "How Long Will It Take to Heal a Broken Bone? - KidsHealth." 2016. 8 Apr. 2016
<http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/broken-arm.html>

Frayre 4

Works Cited
"Broken Bone (Bone Fractures): Get Facts to Speed Healing." 2014. 1 Apr. 2016
<http://www.medicinenet.com/broken_bone_types_of_bone_fractures/article.htm>
"Fractures (Broken Bones)-OrthoInfo - AAOS." 2008. 4 Apr. 2016
<http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00139>
"How Long Will It Take to Heal a Broken Bone? - KidsHealth." 2016. 8 Apr. 2016
<http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/broken-arm.html>
"Types of Bone Fractures | Interactive Anatomy Guide - InnerBody." 28 Apr. 2016
<http://www.innerbody.com/image/skel06.html>
"Understanding Fracture Symptoms - WebMD." 2009. 8 Apr. 2016
<http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-fractures-symptoms>
"Wilderness Survival: Basic Survival Medicine - Bone and ..." 2002. 29 Apr. 2016
<http://www.wilderness-survival.net/medicine-4.php>