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First Aid

This Website’s intension is to give you solid first aid principals and introduction to emergency response. The most important first step in first aid is to do no harm further.

Necessary Steps in Emergency Response

  • Call 911 or shout for help until you know someone has heard and called 911, or go for help (either you or someone else needs to call 911). *Note, 911 is only for united states, you need to have phone number which works in your region.
  • Assess the situation, make sure it’s safe before you proceed, and stay calm.
  • Check ABCs (Airway, Breathing, and Circulation), and don’t move a person unless there is a life-or-death reason to do so. Ask the injured person what happened.
  • If a person is chocking or can’t breathe and you are trained in CPR, do the Heimlich maneuver and being rescue breathing. If the person doesn’t have a pulse, start CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
  • For any bleeding, apply direct, even pressure.
  • Manage for shock if the person is chilled, short of breath, nauseous, clammy, and pale.
  • Look for a Medic Alert bracelet, necklace, or identification tag (or ID card or driver’s license) for any medical history or special needs.
  • After you have stabilized the injured person, go get professional medical help.
  • Don’t give the ill or injured person anything to eat or drink, including medications.
  • Wait for the ambulance to arrive while comforting the ill or injured person.

Cuts

Cuts of all kinds can happen every day, from scraped knees on a patio to deep cuts on fingers and hands in the kitchen and workshops. Cuts are skin wounds that involve separation of the skin and and are usually caused by sharp object like a knife or a piece of glass.

Take the following steps to care for simple cuts:

  • Wash your hands with soap and water and then wash the wound under running water. For wounds that are bleeding, apply direct pressure with a sterile cloth or bandage and elevate the wound.
  • Apply antibiotic cream, but avoid using iodine or hydrogen-peroxide solutions, as they can cause further damage to injured tissues and may cause allergic reactions in people reactive to iodine and shelfish.
  • Dress the wound with a sterile gauge, preferably non-stick, bandage to protect the wound from infection and water loss until a scab forms.
  • Keep the area around the wound clean and change any dirty dressings promptly.

Change most dressings daily and replace dressings with any fluids soak through, to decrease any chance that the wound will dry and stick to the dressing. Cleaning open wounds can sometimes cause bleeding, which can be easily stopped with direct pressure using a sterile gauze pad.

Abrasions or Scraps

When treating abrasions, go through following steps :

  • Remove any debris such dirt, fiber, and rocks from an abrasion before cleaning it.
  • Use tweezers to remove small objects, and a nonalcoholic wipe to gently clean off the wound. wiping in one direction.
  • Wash the wound with soap and water, apply an antibiotic cream, and cover with a clean dressing.

Burns

One of the most common and most painful injuries is a burn injury. Burns are caused by extreme heat (both wet and dry), Chemicals, electricity, radiation, and even extreme cold. They can affect the skin, eyes, lungs, and other internal organs. The severity of a burn is generally classified in one of the three categories, based on the depth of the burn and damage.

  • First-degree burns (usually referred to as superficial burns) involve only the outermost layer of the skin, called the epidermis. If treated quickly and blisters do not form, first-degree burns usually heal very well. sun burns are common form of first-degree burns.
  • Second-degree burns (usually referred to as partial thickness burns) are more serious because a deeper layer of skin is affected and because they are easily infected. Second-degree burns are the most painful because more tissue is damage, but the never endings are still preserved. These burns heal well and don’t require medical attention unless they are larger than two to three inches in diameter or they occur on the hands, face, buttocks, penis, or vaginal area.
  • Third-degree burns (usually referred to as full-thickness burns) are the most serious burns, involving all of the layers of the skin. In third-degree burns, the skin may appear white, black, and leathery-looking and they may be very little pain, although the areas surrounding the burn might be extremely painful. All third-degree burns require medical treatment. Call 911 for emergency rescue and transport or take the person to the nearest emergency room.
Note: 911 is for people who are in USA, please keep your emergency Phone Number Handy based on the country you reside in.

Never apply adhesive dressing or any lotions, ointments, or creams to a first or second degree burns that you are treating at home unless the skin is broken. for any broken blisters, wash carefully with antibacterial soap and tepid water, apply antibiotic ointment, and re-bandage.

First Aid for Severe Burns

Any burned person who is experiencing dizziness, confusion, weakness, fever, chills, or shivering needs immediate medical attention. For serious burns, always call 911 first, and then perform the following steps, remembering to stay safe, assess the situation, and use universal precautions if you are able to:

  • Extinguish the cause of the burn with water or by wrapping the injured person in a heavy towel, coat, or blanket and roll them on the ground. Make sure none of the smoldering materials are in contact with the injured person, but don’t remove any burnet clothing.
  • Cool the burned area with running water, being careful not to overcool the injured person.
  • Wait for help to arrive, or if transporting the person yourself, cover the burned area with a dry, sterile bandage or a clean non fibrous cloth such as a sheet, not a blanket or towel, as fiber may stick to injured tissues. Don’t apply ointments, creams, or lotions, and don’t break any blisters

Second-degree burns that are two inches or larger in diameter and all third-degree burns require emergency medical assistance.

Choking

Choking occurs when an object gets stuck in the throat and partly or completely blocks the airways. Signs of choking include :

  • Pointing to throat, hands crossed on throat (universal sign of choking)
  • Gasping or coughing
  • Signs of panic
  • Difficulty speaking
  • Red face that steadily turns blue
  • Loss of consciousness

When you suspect someone is choking, ask her/him, “Are you choking?” If the person is able to answer you, don’t do anything because it’s likely that she/he will free the food or object on her/his own. In the case of actual choking, the person will not be able to talk and you need to help them. Call 911 if the person can’t talk, make noise, or breathe well or is unconscious, then perform the Heimlich maneuver as continued below.

Heimlich maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver (pronounced as Hi-mlick) is a technique whereby you administer abdominal thrusts to yourself or to a person is choking. The Heimlich maneuver is recommended for use in clearing a blocked airway in conscious adults and children over the age of one. It is not meant to be used for choking infants under age one. The act of abdominal thrust lifts the diaphragm and forces air from the lungs, similar to a coughing action, so that the foreign body in an airway may be moved and expelled.

The steps to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a chocking person are:

  • Stand behind the person, wrap your arms around the waist, and tip the person slightly forward.
  • Make a fist with one hand and place it slightly above the navel.
  • Grasp your fist with your other hand and press forcefully into the abdomen with the quick, upward thrusts, using forces as if you were attempting to lift the person up.
  • Continue the thrusts until the foreign body is dislodged.

The steps to perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself if you are chocking are:

  • Place your fist just slightly above your naval.
  • Grasp your fist with your other hand, bend over a hard surface like a chair or countertop, and thrust your fist inward and upward.

Fact

Unintentional injuries from events such as motor-vehicle crashes, chocking and suffocations, near drownings, bicycle-related crashes, falls, and poisonings are the leading causes of death for children ages fourteen and under. By learning CPR and first aid you could save a child’s life!

Insect Bites

Insect Stings only produce a mild reaction in most people. Multiple stings, stings in the mouth and throat, and stings to persons with adverse allergic reactions to the venom. However, can produce anaphylactic shock and must be treated immediately.

First aid for stings includes:

  • Wash the stings site with soap and water.
  • Use a cold pack if needed to reduce swelling.
  • Keep the site of the sting below the person’s heart if possible.

Additionally, using calamine lotion and Benadryl can relieve itching and swelling. Also a paste of baking soda and water, or uncoated aspirin, will help reduce the stinging pain and reduce inflammation.

If the person has received a bee sting:

  • Quickly and carefully scrape the stinger away with a knife, credit card, or fingernail without touching the sack that’s attached; this sack will still be pumping venom into the wound.
  • Don’t use tweezers or squeeze the sack, as this may inject even more venom into the person.
  • Wash the site with soap and water and apply a cold pack, keeping the sting site below the level of the person’s heart if possible.

Watch for signs of an allergic reaction that can develop up to twenty-four hours after a bee sting. If the site becomes infected, seek medical attention.

In case of allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock, or sustained multiple stings, call 911 or go to an emergency department for treatment and observation. Multiple stings can produce life-threatening reactions in otherwise healthy people.

Sore Throat

Sore throats are usually caused by viruses that cause colds or other upper respiratory illness, or bacteria, as in strep throat. Sore throats may also be caused by chemicals in such things as cigarette smoke, a scrape from something going down your throat the wrong way, allergies, postnasal drip, and sometimes cancer. Symptoms of sore throat are usually also felt throughout the body because they are present with either a viral or bacterial infection, and include fever, headache, nausea, and malaise. Signs of sore throat include pus on the surface of the tonsils, redness of the throat, tender neck glands(inflamed lymph nodes), drooling and spitting due to painful swallowing, difficulty breathing, and little red blisters in the oral cavity.

First Aid for Sore Throat

The top priority for treating a sore throat is to relieve pain. This can be done in the following ways:

  • Gargle with warm salt water.
  • Take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin (only in persons over age sixteen), and naproxen. Please check with your doctor before you take any medication.
  • Stay hydrated by drinking enough fluids, fevers often increase fluid requirements, while painful swallowing may decrease fluid intake.

Taking pain relievers may help you increase fluid intake. Stay away from caffeine because it’s very dehydrating. During cold and flu season, avoiding close contact with ill people can help keep you from getting a sore throat and other viral infections.

If you have signs of a bacterial infection, such as a severe sore throat with little coughing: a fever over 101 degree Fahrenheit along with headache, abdominal pain, or vomiting; signs of dehydration including dry mouth, sunken eyes, severe weakness, or decreased urine output; or if a family member has recently had strep throat, see a doctor immediately. If you are in such pain that you can’t get to sleep with OTC medication, you should see the doctor. Go to the emergency department if swallowing causes such pain that drooling occurs, you are having extreme difficulty breathing, or you have signs of significant dehydration.

Essential

That overall feeling of illness or malaise is your body’s call for you to rest. Get as much rest and sleep as you can, drink plenty of fluids, take pain relievers as needed, and eat a good diet in order to promote more rapid recovery, particularly during a viral illness. Please consult with your doctor before taking any medication.

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