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Rice has its uses in cricket

By Brad Smith
August 18, 2009 at 9:18 am

Three men playing cricket

I played cricket last Sunday for my local village team. And guess what? My first aid skills were put to the test.

One of my teammates, making his debut, opened up our innings. As he was turning for the third run his knee went from under him. He was in agony.

I rushed to my car to grab my first aid kit, then I realised I didn’t have any ice packs. This meant a bit of improvisation was in order.

Our captain’s wife had made a lovely tea, and kept it cold using some re-usable ice packs. I needed to apply some rice. No, not the leftovers of the tea, but a useful acronym: rest, ice, comfortable support and elevation. I quickly raised the patient’s affected knee, applied some ice using the ice packs from tea, supported it with a tea towel and kept it elevated on a couple of spare chairs.

A little while later our injured débutante (what a way to celebrate your first game for a new club) felt well enough to get back on the pitch. He helped us salvage a draw, though I think he regretted it at the end of play!

Watch a video of how to treat sprains and strains:

Image © Mark Fletcher

Comments (15) »

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 9:18 am and is filed under First aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Claire Sale

    oh, you remind me of another rice first-aid tip for our readers:

    If you don’t have a heating pad and need one, you can always throw some rice into a sock and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds or a minute depending on the size. It will heat up and stay warm for a half hour or so.

    Be warned though, it can be quite hot! You may want to wrap it in a towel before applying it to the affected area.

  • Claire Sale

    oh, you remind me of another rice first-aid tip for our readers:

    If you don’t have a heating pad and need one, you can always throw some rice into a sock and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds or a minute depending on the size. It will heat up and stay warm for a half hour or so.

    Be warned though, it can be quite hot! You may want to wrap it in a towel before applying it to the affected area.

  • http://redcross.org.uk/ Katrina Crew

    Is that a picture of the poor guy getting beaned on the head with the cricket ball?

  • http://redcross.org.uk Katrina Crew

    Is that a picture of the poor guy getting beaned on the head with the cricket ball?

  • http://www.redcross.org.uk/ Brad Smith

    No, it’s not a picture of that guy. Looks like the recipient of this particular ball had to take some pretty hasty evasive action…

  • http://www.redcross.org.uk Brad Smith

    No, it’s not a picture of that guy. Looks like the recipient of this particular ball had to take some pretty hasty evasive action…

  • Mónica Rivadeneyra

    Really smart to apply RICE. Congrats! Well Done!

  • Mónica Rivadeneyra

    Really smart to apply RICE. Congrats! Well Done!

  • http://chefism.wordpress.com/ Omar Swarrez

    well done! really smart thinking

  • http://chefism.wordpress.com/ Omar Swarrez

    well done! really smart thinking

  • Caroline P

    well done I too had the opportunity to use my first aid skills at various cricket matches I have attended along with my husband, having not really had much of a chance to use them before, it really comes in helpful, unfortunately sometimes the lads are a bit embarassed to have been injured in the first place but quick action gets them back up on their feet in no time. I was also able to advise one club that their first aid kit was in need of replenishment which they weren’t aware of.

  • Caroline P

    well done I too had the opportunity to use my first aid skills at various cricket matches I have attended along with my husband, having not really had much of a chance to use them before, it really comes in helpful, unfortunately sometimes the lads are a bit embarassed to have been injured in the first place but quick action gets them back up on their feet in no time. I was also able to advise one club that their first aid kit was in need of replenishment which they weren’t aware of.

  • http://www.redcross.org.uk/ Brad Smith

    Hi Caroline,

    I bet the players were very grateful for your help in the end. And well spotted on the first aid kit!

    Cheers
    Brad

  • http://www.redcross.org.uk Brad Smith

    Hi Caroline,

    I bet the players were very grateful for your help in the end. And well spotted on the first aid kit!

    Cheers
    Brad

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Brad Smith

Brad Smith

Brad is a Red Cross first aider. He covers first aid duties and crews ambulances for our event first aid service. He also provides Red Cross first aid training.

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