Caring for Broken Clavicle at home?

PreferNotToSay, the "come to the clinic" advice completely sucks! Haven't they heard of Covid??? Never mind keeping a sore 96 year old lady sitting in a hot/cold/draughty/noisy waiting room on a hard chair for 2 hours.

I expect you already know about:

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/hospital-emergency-departments

This page also has numbers to call for advice. I think probably the things to concentrate on are a) pain relief that won't upset her and b) the best way to immobilise the arm/shoulder, and whether it's practical for you to do that yourself. Do you have district nurses or the equivalent, to show you how to do it?

Looking at your profile, that's quite a list of "complex co-morbidities"! I can't believe her GP goes swanning off on holiday without leaving proper cover for his patients. Or I wish I couldn't believe it, anyway. What sort of Australia are you in, a rural bit or an urban bit?

Thanks for the update. What we call tylenol. Sorry she had a reaction to it. I think the doc is trying to limit the pain without giving opiates that could cause further falls. With pain I worry she won't breathe deep. As I said a read danger for her now. I wouldn't try self application of bandaging without being shown how to do it. This can be very painful. Honestly not a move she fan make but that it won't tweak that area. So sorry this happened. Keep in touch with her Docs one way or another. Don't delay if a cough or fever develops.

Thank you for all your helpful tips. I really needed the info. I bookmarked this page.

Sorry about the dates: my mind is so scrambled. Yes, it is in dd/mm format.

Panamax is paracetamol. https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder/panamax-tablets

The other doctor refuses to take phone calls or emails or anything except 'you come to the clinic' but that is too hard and there is a wait of between 1 hour to 2 hours which is too much. No specialist can see us without referral from doctor. I asked a geriatric nurse (acquaintance) to phone but he has not yet. Probably too busy with corona.

Where do I get reliable info on 'figure of eight' bandage for broken clavicle ?

She has 8/12, 9/12 and 12/12. So CM says 4 days so does this mean 8 days out of 12, 9 days out of 12, and 12 days out of 12? In the US have never seen written like this before. I thought it was dates.

I think she needs an xray. When my sister had a broken collarbone (and it been 67 years ago when she was born) they did a figure 8 on her back with bandaging to keep the bone immobile.

I don't think Mom had a seizure I just think she passed out. If Mom had a good #2, the blood pressure can lower. Happened to my Mom and she had to sit in her chair for a while before it came back up. This is not unusual.

96? Trust me, no matter what you do, accidents will happen. As to what to expect, that is something you should discuss with medical. I am not familiar with Panamax. What does this drug do. Have you used your search engine to research it? Off hand and with just a cursory exploration, the only thing I get in the USA with this search is a silly surge protector!
In general clavicles heal themselves, but only an xray interpretation can guess at what this will take in terms of time, and with the complication of aging. It will be PAINFUL as there is almost no move she can make that won't hurt. If the Panamax is a pain medication she cannot take it may need replacing.
You are right to keep the weight of arm on that side off the injury.
The worst danger you have right now in my opinion as a retired RN is PNEUMONIA. Because of pain your Mom is going to be taking teeny tiny short little breathes in, and not inflating her lungs. This can give her pneumonia. Also the tendency not to move at all is a danger.
Keep in contact with your own medical personnel and remember that they are the ones to guide you. They will understand if she cannot tolerate a medication and may try one similar.
Remember, Accidents DO happen. It is an age old adage in our country.

I'm so sorry this happened :(

Broken collarbones are very miserable. You are doing the right thing immobilising the arm as far as possible; but the reality is that your mother will need to move her arm (or have it moved) sometimes, and when she does it will hurt, and the rest of the time it will ache, and it is rotten for her.

There are soft fabric slings and braces available: you could have a look online - Googling "slings and braces for broken collarbone" gets plenty of results.

You and she will also need patience. It will gradually improve.

Pain relief: call the doctor, because even a doctor who won't come to the house can still advise you about alternatives to the Panamax. It could be that some kind of topical anti-inflammatory gel might be helpful for her but DO NOT try this without her doctor's agreement.

You also need medical advice because the next thing is to think about what caused her to fall. It was NOT your neglect! I expect the doctor who visited considered a number of possibilities, but I also expect that he did not think it right to subject a lady of 96, in pain after a nasty shock from her fall, to a load of stressful questions and tests. The other doctor, a few days later when she's settled down a bit, might agree that it's worth a review.

How is your mother overall? Bear in mind that it's only four days since this happened and she will have had a shock to her system. Keep encouraging her to eat and drink but don't force it - she won't drop dead from missing square meals for a day or two. Offer her small amounts of whatever you know she likes best.

Don't prevent her from getting up and moving around as much as she is able to. Mobility is really, really important, so unless the doctor - again - advises against it, you should encourage her to stand and walk a little and often, with her arm well supported.

I've just been looking up YouTube videos to show you how to help your mother stand and walk, but it would really be better if a trained aide, nurse or therapist could *show* you. Do you have any of those professionals in your area?