First Aid: Basics · 2020. 3. 19. · Basic first aid • Basic first aid is something that anyone can do! • Seemingly small acts such as these can greatly decrease potential suffering

First Aid: Basics TheCHEERingTeam

Basic first aid • Basicfirstaidissomethingthatanyonecando!•  Seeminglysmallactssuchasthesecangreatlydecreasepotentialsufferingandmortality

•  Youprobablyalreadyknowsomebasicfirstaid!•  Puttingacoldclothonsomeonewithafever•  Pattingsomeoneonthebackwhentheyarechoking

One important thing to remember: •  AlwaysmakesurethatYOUaresafewhengivingfirstaid• Washyourhandsbeforeandafterhelpingsomeone• Wearglovesifpossible•  Removeanyhazardousobjects(e.g.,brokenglass)beforeapproaching

•  Bleeding•  Recognisingsignsofinfection

•  Burns•  Choking•  HeatExhaustion&HeatStroke

•  Fainting•  Unconscious&breathing•  Panicattacks

First aid we will learn today:

Bleeding •  Bleedingiswhenbloodexitsthebodythroughawoundintheskin

• Whataretherisks?•  Lossofblood–whatiscomingout•  Infectionenteringthewound–whatisgoingin

•  Bleedingcanbemoreorlessserious.Whatshouldyoudo?•  Inallcases,applypressureandelevatethewoundabovethelevelofthehearttostopthebleeding

•  Cleanthewoundwithcleanwaterand/oriodine•  Youcanthencoveritusingaplasterorgauze(ifitisasmallwoundthatyoucancleanorabandage(ifitisabigwound)

•  Avoidputtingcreamsinthewoundifpossible,asthiscanintroduceinfection

Bleeding: more serious situations •  Ifthereissomethinginthewound(e.g.,apieceofglass):•  Applypressuresideways(squeezingtheedgesofthewoundtogether),NOTontop

•  Don’ttaketheobjectout,unlessitisverysmall,asthiscouldmakethebleedingworse

•  Takethemtohospitalifpossible

•  Ifthebleedingisverysevere:•  Thepersonmaybecomecold,pale,andsweaty.Thisiscalled“medicalshock”

•  “Medicalshock”meanstheyhavelostalargeamountofbloodandtheirorgansarestruggling

•  Totreatthis,liethepersonontheirback(withthewoundstillelevated)andraisetheirlegsup(e.g.,onachair).Thishelpsreturnbloodtotheirvitalorgans

•  Thencallanambulance–medicalshockisverysevereandneedstobeseenbyadoctor

Nosebleeds •  Nosebleedsarequitecommon,especiallyinchildren,andareusuallynothingtoworryabout•  Don’tworryifthereisquitealotofblood–thenosecontainsmanyfragilebloodvessels,soitcanbleedalotHowever,thisnormallyisn’taproblem

•  Totreatanosebleed:•  Pinchthesoftpartofthenose•  Sitthepersondownandleanthemforwards(notbackwards!)

•  Wait!

•  Whenshouldyouworryaboutanosebleed?•  Ifthebloodcomingoutofthenoseisthinandwatery(thiscouldindicateaheadinjury)

•  Ifthebleedinglastsforover30minutes

Bruising

•  Bruisinghappenswhenbrokenbloodvesselsleakbloodundertheskin,causingpainandswelling•  Totreatbruising:

•  Applyice,placingathinclothorlayerbetweentheiceandskintopreventfrostbite

•  Applyicefor20minutesatatime—20minon,20minoff

Recognising signs of infection •  Manywoundswillnotgetinfectedbecausethebody’simmunesystemissostrong,eveninbabies!

•  Keysignsofinfectiontolookoutfor:•  Atthesiteofthewound:

•  Swelling(theskinbeginstolook“tight”andshiny)•  Redness•  Pain•  Heat•  Pus

•  Intherestofthebody:•  Fever/chills•  Nausea/vomiting•  Fatigue•  Swollenlymphnodesintheneckorarmpit

•  Ifyouareseeingthesesigns,youneedtogotoadoctortogetantibioticsorothertreatment

Burns • Whataretherisks?

•  Infection•  Skindamage&scarring

•  Typicalsymptomsofburntskin:•  Redness•  Swelling•  Blisters&peelingskin(afteralittlewhile)

•  Totreataburn:•  Continuouslycooltheareausingrunning,coldwaterforatleast10minutes,oruntilthepainstops

Burns: do’s and don’ts DO:•  Cooltheburnusingcoldwater•  Looselycovertheburnedareawithaclean,dry,andnon-fluffymaterial(e.g.,clingfilm,acleanplasticbag,anon-fluffytowel)

•  Payspecialattentioniftheburn:•  Islargerthanthesizeofthe

person’shand•  Isontheface,hands,orfeet•  Doesnotcauseblisteringand

theseislittlepain(thisisasignthattheburnisverydeep)

•  Ifoneofthesearethecase,youmayhavetoseeadoctor

DON’T:•  Useice:thisdamagestheskin

•  Useburncreams:thesecanintroduceinfection

•  Wrapanythingaroundtheburncompletely,astheburnmayswellandthenthebandagewouldcutoffbloodsupplytopartsofthebodybeyondthebandage

Choking •  Chokinghappenswhenanobjectgetsstuckintheairway,reducingorcompletelystoppingbreathing

•  Signsofchoking:•  Difficultybreathing,coughing,andspeaking(e.g.,wheezing,cannotcough)

•  Red/purple,puffyface•  Signsofdistressorpanic•  Pointingtothroatorneck

• Wetreatchokingdifferentlyinbabiesandlargerchildren/adults

Choking: babies •  Babiesoftenputthingsintheirmouths,somaychokeatanytime,onanything!

•  Whatshouldyoudo?1.  Laythebabyface-downonyourthigh.Supporttheir

head.Hitthebabybetweentheshoulderbladesusingtheheelofyourhand,upto5times.

2.  Checkthebaby’smouthbyturningthebabyface-up.Removeanythingobviousthatyoucansee.

3.  Ifthisdoesn’twork,use2fingerstogivedownwardchestthruststotrytomovetheobject.Repeatupto5times.

4.  Ifstillchoking,youwillneedtotakethebabytohospitalimmediately.Repeatsteps1-3untilyougetthere.

•  Let’stryit!

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Choking: larger children & adults •  Theprocedureissimilar,butyoucanuseabitmoreforce

•  Whatshouldyoudo?1.  Encouragethepersontocough.Iftheycancough,they

maybeabletoclearitwithouthelp.Iftheycannotcough,youwillneedtohelpthem

2.  Leanthepersonforwards,andslapthemonthebackbetweentheirshoulderswiththeheelofyourhand,upto5times

3.  Checkiftheobjectisgoneandtheycanbreathe4.  Ifthisdoesn’twork,standbehindthemandputyourarms

aroundthem.Putonefistbetweenthebottomoftheirribsandtheirbellybutton.Putyourotherhandontop,andsqueezeupwardsandinwardssharply,upto5times

5.  Checkiftheobjectisgoneandtheycanbreathe6.  Ifthisisn’tworking,callanambulanceandrepeatsteps

1-5untiltheygettohospital

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Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke •  Heatexhaustionandheatstrokearebotharecausedbyexposuretoextremeheat•  Heatexhaustionhappensfirstand,ifleftuntreated,canprogresstoheatstroke

•  Whataretherisks?•  Heatstrokecancausedamagetothemajorbodyorgansandsystems

•  Heatstrokecanbelife-threatening

•  Signsofheatexhaustion:•  Heavysweating,goosebumpsoncold,clammyskin,rapidandweakpulse,dizziness,nausea

•  Signsofheatstroke:•  Hot,red,dryskin,rapidandstrongpulse,confusedmentalstate,nauseaandvomiting,rapidbreathing

Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke •  Keydifferences

•  Heatexhaustion:Lotsofsweat;cool,pale,clammyskin•  Heatstroke:Nosweat;hot,ret,dryskin

•  Whatshouldyoudo?•  HeatExhaustion

•  Moveoutofdirectheatexposure•  Loosenorremoveclothing•  Runcoolwateroverskin,orcoverskinincoolwettowel

•  Drinkrehydratingfluids•  Heatstroke

•  Callanambulance•  Inthemeantime,movetocoolerplace,applyiceorcooltowelstoneck,armpits,andgroin,donotgiveanythingtodrink

Fainting •  Faintingisashortperiodofunconsciousness

•  Ithappenswhenthebraindoesnotreceiveenoughbloodfromthebody

•  Oftenthepersonwillfalltothegroundorslumpintheirchair

•  Commoncausesoffainting:•  Standingupforlongperiodsoftime,especiallywhenit’shot

•  Emotionalstress•  Pain•  Fear(e.g.,phobiasofbloodorneedles)•  Hormonal/nutritionalimbalances(ex.Iron-deficiency)

•  Faintingisusuallynothingserious–thepersonwillwakeupveryquickly(althoughprobablywithaheadache!)

Fainting •  Totreatfainting:

•  Raisetheirlegsontoachair,orkneeldownandputtheirlegsonyourshoulders•  Thishelpsreturnbloodtotheirbrainsothattheywillrecoverfaster

•  Openawindoworfanthemtocoolthemdown•  Iftheyhitanythingwhentheyfell,checkforawound(e.g.,onthebackofthehead)

•  Thesecanalsobedoneifsomeonefeelsfaintbuthasnotyetcollapsed

Unconscious and breathing • Whensomeoneisunconscious,youneedtocheckiftheyarebreathing•  Tilttheirchinup–thisstopsthetonguefromblockingtheirairway

•  Then:•  Look•  Listen•  Feel

•  Iftheyarebreathing,youneedtoputthemintherecoveryposition

•  Iftheyarenotbreathing,administerCPRifyouknowhowtodososafelyandeffectively

Treating unconsciousness: Recovery position for babies

•  Thepositionaimstokeeptheairwayopen,andallowanyspitorvomittodrainfromthemouthsothatthepersondoesnotchoke

•  Forbabies:•  Holdthebabyinyourarmswiththeirheadtilteddownwards

•  Callanambulance

Treating unconsciousness: Recovery position for adults •  Foradults:

1.  Callanambulance.2.  Putthearmclosesttoyouatarightangle,with

thepalmfacingup(likea‘Stop’signal).3.  Taketheotherhand,andplacethebackofthe

handtothecheeknearestyou.Holdthishandinplace.

4.  Withyourotherhand,liftthekneefurthestawayfromyouuntilitisbent,withthefootflatonthefloor.

5.  Rollthepersontowardsyouusingtheirkneeasalever.

6.  Straightenthetoplegsothatitisatarightangle,tostopthemrollingbackover.

7.  Opentheairwaybytiltingthechinup.

Panic attacks •  Apanicattackisasuddenfeelingofverystronganxiety,fear,ordiscomfort.Panicattackscanlastfrom5to30minutes•  Panicattacksarepsychological,accompaniedbyphysicalsymptoms:•  Shaking•  Hyperventilating(breathingveryquicklyandshallowly)

•  Feelingdizzyordisorientated•  Drymouth•  Someonehavingapanicattackmaystruggletoobeycommands,andmaysaythingsthatsoundirrational

•  Theycanbecausedbyastressfulorfearfulsituation,orcanoccurseeminglyoutofnowhere

Panic attacks •  Ifyouexperienceregularpanicattacks,thesethingscanhelp:•  Gotoseeadoctor•  Reducingyourcaffeineintake(e.g.,coffee)•  Reducingsmokingordrinkingalcohol•  Takeregularexercise(e.g.,briskwalking)•  Practisebreathingexercisesoryoga,evenwhenyouarenothavingapanicattack

Panic attacks •  Whatshouldyoudo?

•  Staycalmyourself•  Takethepersontoaquiet,uncrowdedplace•  Reassurethemthattheyaresafe,theirfeelingsarenatural,andthefeelingswillpass

•  Focusonbreathing:•  Encouragethemtocontroltheirbreathing•  Itisusefultoexhaleforlongerthantheyinhale;forexample,”inhalefor5,exhalefor7”

•  Thiswillhelptoslowtheirheartrate,andgivethemasenseofcontrol,whichwillmakethemfeelcalmer

•  Focusonphysicalenvironment:•  Encouragethemtofeelphysicallypresent•  Youcanaskthemtofocusontheweightoftheirbodyonthechair/floor,andtotouchthematerialsaroundthem.Thiswillhelpdistractthemfromtheirthoughts

•  Let’stryit!

Thank you for coming! Doyouhaveanyquestions?