Broken ribs are no laughing matter….or are they? While I personally have never experienced the agony of such, I know many people who have. Many people have had to endure this agonizing crisis.
According to www.ehow.com, the most common cause of fractured ribs is a direct blow to the chest from either the front or the side of the body. Any time a fractured rib is suspected, it is imperative that you seek immediate medical attention. A doctor can examine you to make sure that the fracture has not caused damage to any internal organs, most specifically to the heart and the lungs. Once your fractured ribs have been properly diagnosed, the healing process takes place.
To ensure that this process is done properly and quickly, there are many action items you can pursue. Bear in mind that the average length of time it takes to heal a fractured rib is six weeks. There will be pain, but these tips can help minimize the discomfort:
**Take aspirin for the pain. Because your ribs may be sore and tender, movement can be painful, possibly causing unhealthy postures and breathing habits.
**Take deep breaths for several minutes at least once per hour to ensure you are fully expanding your lungs. Continue breathing normally at all other times to avoid infection.
**Ice the afflicted area. You can do this for up to 20 minutes at a time. This will not only diminish the pain, but it will reduce the swelling.
**Get sufficient rest. Your body needs the energy to heal itself.
**Adjust your sleeping habits by actually sleeping on the injured side. This can help with the pain and will force you to breathe more briefly while sleeping.
**Get an x-ray about a month after the injury was sustained to determine that the broken rib is healing properly.
**Be patient. This does take time to heal, and you do not want to engage in any physical activity that can result in further harm.
**Be sure to never treat a rib injury at home. It is important to seek medical attention and a thorough examination from a physician to ensure you are on the right track to healing properly.
Let me add to this commentary that I think there is more than one way to break a rib. I often wonder if you can break a rib from laughing too hard. Sharp blows to the rib cage are one thing. I wonder what uncontrollable laughter can do to the ribs? Read on and then tell me what you think.
If you ever want to laugh until your stomach hurts and the tears are streaming down your face and you wish at some point you had on a clean pair of Depends, then merely sit in the presence of my 105-year-old Grandma Kora, and discover a new and exciting way to alleviate stress and maybe even burn a few calories to boot! In fact, you may laugh until you break a rib! (Imagine explaining that one to the doctor!)
I have never known Grandma not to say something during the course of a conversation that produced an all-out guffaw from those around her. In fact, she even gets so tickled with herself that she usually expels a bit of saliva when she realizes that what she has said is quite funny. She has her own unique manner in which to deliver her laugh. She somehow purses her lips together and then opens them as she expels out the air, and the subsequent laughter, along with a few droplets of saliva. Gross, I know, but it heartily earned her the nickname of “Phutt-Ahh” when my cousins and I were younger. (Don’t bother with an attempt to pronounce that. Just imagine what it might sound like…and feel it, too. You might get sprayed!)
Grandma has been known to speak her mind eloquently and without regard to the consequences. Usually, what she says may initially shock and awe, but within seconds you find yourself laughing at it and sometimes scolding yourself for laughing at something so sinister. (Mind you, not all of her comments are mean or ill-intentioned. It is just like I said: She speaks her mind where most of us would not!)
For example, someone Grandma knew over the years killed himself awhile back. While the story was heartbreaking and mourners flocked, Grandma was overheard commenting, “Yeah, well he should have done it years ago!” (Shock and awe!)
When asked awhile back why she thought she was still here on this earth, she retorted, “Well, I suspect it is because there isn’t any more room in Heaven. They need to kick some of the dumb ones out and let me in.”
Upon getting off a plane in Los Angeles in 1987 to visit me for a week, instead of immediately hugging me, she playfully walked up to this young punk couple engaged in an all-out lip lock and declared, “Ain’t love grand?” She walked off while the two kids just stared at her in disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders and followed her.
In 1990, on a family cruise to celebrate her birthday, I caught her on the topless deck with my new husband. Dumbfounded, I asked her, “Why on earth were you up there?” To which she simply replied, “I just wanted to see how things have changed in the last century!” I was too afraid to ask her if she, uh, took her top off. That is not an image that needs to be in my head.
There are hundreds and hundreds of “Kora-isms” that will equally invoke laughter and tears. Just make sure you position yourself comfortably when around her to avoid causing any physical harm to yourself while laughing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!