Topic Overview

What is a fractured rib?

A rib fracture is a crack or break in one of the bones of the rib cage. A break in the thick tissue (cartilage) that connects the ribs to the breastbone may also be called a fractured rib, even if the bone itself is not broken.

The most common cause of a fractured rib is a direct blow to the chest, often from a car accident or a fall. Coughing hard can also fracture a rib. This is more likely to happen if you have a disease that has made your bones weak, such as osteoporosis or cancer.

It is important to see a doctor after a rib injury. A blow that is hard enough to fracture a rib could also injure your lungs, spleen, blood vessels, or other parts of your body.

What happens when you break a rib?

Your ribs have two main jobs:

* They protect the organs in your chest.
* They help you breathe by keeping space open inside your chest while the muscles you use to breathe squeeze in, or contract. This leaves plenty of space for your lungs to fill up with air.

The muscles used for breathing pull on the ribs, so breathing may be very painful when you have a fractured rib.

Flail chest is a serious problem that happens when three or more ribs are broken in more than one place. If you have flail chest, the broken area can't hold its shape when you take a breath. This leaves less space in your chest for your lungs to open and air to flow in. It also makes it harder for the muscles to work well, so it's harder to take a breath.

What are the symptoms?

A fractured rib may cause:

* Mild to severe pain in the injured area.
* Pain when you breathe.
* Pain around the fracture when someone pushes on your breastbone.

If you can't breathe normally because of pain or flail chest, you may:

* Feel short of breath.
* Feel anxious, restless, or scared.
* Have a headache.
* Feel dizzy, tired, or sleepy.

How is a fractured rib diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask questions about your injury and do a physical exam. The doctor may:

* Push on your chest to find out where you are hurt.
* Watch you breathe and listen to your lungs to make sure air is moving in and out normally.
* Listen to your heart.
* Check your head, neck, spine, and belly to make sure there are no other injuries.

You may need to have an X-ray or other imaging test if your doctor isn't sure about your symptoms. But rib fractures don't always show up on X-rays. So you may be treated as though you have a fractured rib even if an X-ray doesn't show any broken bones.

My sign today.

You may have such a clear sense of what you want to do now that others are taken aback by your direct assertions. Nevertheless, it's a smart idea to downplay your ambition, for it can stir the insecurities of a coworker or partner. If there's no need for you to share all your plans yet, keep some of them to yourself a while longer.

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The Canon sd1000 is amazing.

1979

"Those Born 1930-1979″
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and
NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because .
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms……
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL.

Sailing

Sailing is great fun.

WIne

CECCHI Chianti Classico 2005

TORBRECK Shiraz Barossa Valley Woodcutter's 2006

CHASSEUR Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Twin Hill Ranch 2005

Good Times.