Every year thousands of people die or are seriously injured in incidents. Many deaths could be prevented if first aid was given before emergency services arrive
What to do
If someone is injured you should:
If someone is unconscious and breathing
If a person is unconscious but breathing, and has no other injuries that would stop them being moved, place them in the recovery position until help arrives.
Keep them under observation to ensure they continue to breathe normally, and don’t obstruct their airway.
If someone is unconscious and not breathing
If a person isn’t breathing normally after an incident, call an ambulance and start CPR straight away. Use hands-only CPR if you aren’t trained to perform rescue breaths.
Common accidents and emergencies
Below, in alphabetical order, are some of the most common injuries that need emergency treatment in the UK and information about how to deal with them:
anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock)
bleeding
burns and scalds
choking
drowning
electric shock (domestic)
fractures
heart attack
poisoning
shock
stroke
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock) is a severe allergic reaction that can occur after
an insect sting or after eating certain foods. The adverse reaction can be very fast, occurring within seconds or minutes of coming into contact with the substance the person is allergic to (allergen).
During anaphylactic shock, it may be difficult for the person to breathe, as their tongue and throat may swell, obstructing their airway.
Check if the person is carrying any medication. Some people who know they have severe allergies may carry an adrenaline self-injector, which is a type of pre-loaded syringe. You can either help the person administer their medication or, if you’re trained to do so, give it to them yourself.
After the injection, continue to look after the person until medical help arrives. All casualties who have had an intramuscular or subcutaneous (under the skin) injection of adrenaline must be seen and medically checked by a healthcare professional as soon as possible after the injection has been given.
Make sure they’re comfortable and can breathe as best they can while waiting for medical help to arrive. If they’re conscious, sitting upright is normally the best position for them.
Below, in alphabetical order, are some of the most common injuries that need emergency treatment in the UK and information about how to deal with them:
anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock)
bleeding
burns and scalds
choking
drowning
electric shock (domestic)
fractures
heart attack
poisoning
shock
stroke
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock) is a severe allergic reaction that can occur after
an insect sting or after eating certain foods. The adverse reaction can be very fast, occurring within seconds or minutes of coming into contact with the substance the person is allergic to (allergen).
During anaphylactic shock, it may be difficult for the person to breathe, as their tongue and throat may swell, obstructing their airway.
Check if the person is carrying any medication. Some people who know they have severe allergies may carry an adrenaline self-injector, which is a type of pre-loaded syringe. You can either help the person administer their medication or, if you’re trained to do so, give it to them yourself.
After the injection, continue to look after the person until medical help arrives. All casualties who have had an intramuscular or subcutaneous (under the skin) injection of adrenaline must be seen and medically checked by a healthcare professional as soon as possible after the injection has been given.
Make sure they’re comfortable and can breathe as best they can while waiting for medical help to arrive. If they’re conscious, sitting upright is normally the best position for them.
If someone is bleeding heavily, the main aim is to prevent further blood loss and minimise the effects of shock (see below).
If you have disposable gloves, use them to reduce the risk of any infection being passed on.
Check that there’s nothing embedded in the wound. If there is, take care not to press down on the object.
Instead, press firmly on either side of the object and build up padding around it before bandaging, to avoid putting pressure on the object itself.
If nothing is embedded:
apply and maintain pressure to the wound with your gloved hand, using a clean pad or dressing if possible; continue to apply pressure until the bleeding stops
use a clean dressing to bandage the wound firmly
if bleeding continues through the pad, apply pressure to the wound until the bleeding stops and then apply another pad over the top and bandage it in place; don’t remove the original pad or dressing, but continue to check that the bleeding has stopped
If a body part, such as a finger, has been severed, place it in a plastic bag or wrap it in cling film and make sure it goes with the casualty to hospital.
Always seek medical help for bleeding unless it’s minor.
If someone has a nosebleed that hasn’t stopped after 20 minutes, go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department.
Haemostatic dressings and tourniquets
In certain situations, where bleeding is very severe and from the body’s extremities, such as the head, neck and torso, it may be appropriate to use haemostatic dressings or a tourniquet.
Haemostatic dressings contain properties that help the blood to clot (thicken) quicker. A tourniquet is a band that’s wrapped tightly around a limb to stop blood loss. Haemostatic dressings and tourniquets should only be used by people who have been trained to apply them.
Burns and scalds
If someone has a burn or scald:
cool the burn as quickly as possible with cool running water for at least 20 minutes, or until the pain is relieved
while cooling the burn, carefully remove any clothing or jewellery, unless it’s attached to the skin
if you’re cooling a large burnt area, particularly in babies, children and elderly people, be aware that it may cause hypothermia (it may be necessary to stop cooling the burn to avoid hypothermia)
cover the burn loosely with cling film; if cling film isn’t available, use a clean, dry dressing or non-fluffy material; don’t wrap the burn tightly, because swelling may lead to further injury
don’t apply creams, lotions or sprays to the burn
For chemical burns, wear protective gloves, remove any affected clothing, and rinse the burn with cool running water for at least 20 minutes to wash out the chemical. If possible, determine the cause of the injury.
In certain situations where a chemical is regularly handled, a specific chemical antidote may be available to use.
Be careful not to contaminate and injure yourself with the chemical, and wear protective clothing if necessary.Choking
The information below is for choking in adults and children over one year old. Read what to do if a baby under one year old is choking.
Mild choking
If the airway is only partly blocked, the person will usually be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe. In situations like this, a person will usually be able to clear the blockage themselves.
If choking is mild:
encourage the person to cough to try to clear the blockage
ask them to try to spit out the object if it’s in their mouth
don’t put your fingers in their mouth to help them because they may accidentally bite you
If coughing doesn’t work, start back blows (see below).
don’t put your fingers in their mouth to help them because they may accidentally bite you
If coughing doesn’t work, start back blows (see below).
Severe choking
If choking is severe, the person won’t be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe, and without help they’ll eventually become unconscious.
To help an adult or child over one year old:
Stand behind the person and slightly to one side. Support their chest with one hand. Lean the person forward so that the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than moving further down.
Give up to five sharp blows between the person’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand (the heel is between the palm of your hand and your wrist).
Check if the blockage has cleared.
If not, give up to five abdominal thrusts (see below).
Don’t give abdominal thrusts to babies under one year old or to pregnant women.
To perform abdominal thrusts on a person who is severely choking and isn’t in one of the above groups:
Stand behind the person who is choking.
Place your arms around their waist and bend them well forward.
Clench one fist and place it just above the person’s belly button.
Place your other hand on top of your fist and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
Repeat this up to five times.
The aim is to get the obstruction out with each chest thrust, rather than necessarily doing all five.
If the person’s airway is still blocked after trying back blows and abdominal thrusts:
Continue with the cycles of five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until help arrives.
The person choking should always be seen by a healthcare professional afterwards to check for any injuries or small pieces of the obstruction that remain.
Drowning
If someone is in difficulty in water, don’t enter the water to help unless it’s absolutely essential.
Once the person is on land, if they’re not breathing, open the airway and give five initial rescue breaths before starting CPR. If you’re alone, perform CPR for one minute before calling for emergency help.
Find out how to give CPR, including rescue breaths.
If the person is unconscious but still breathing, put them into the recovery position with their head lower than their body and call an ambulance immediately.
Continue to observe the casualty to ensure they don’t stop breathing or that their airway becomes obstructed.
Electric shock (domestic)
If someone has had an electric shock, switch off the electrical current at the mains to break the contact between the person and the electrical supply.
If you can’t reach the mains supply:
don’t go near or touch the person until you’re sure the electrical supply has been switched off
once the power supply has been switched off, and if the person isn’t breathing, dial 999 or 112 to for an ambulance
Afterwards, seek medical help – unless the electric shock is very minor.
Fractures
It can be difficult to tell if a person has a broken bone or a joint, as opposed to a simple muscular injury. If you’re in any doubt, treat the injury as a broken bone.
If the person is unconscious, has difficulty breathing or is bleeding severely, these must be dealt with first, by controlling the bleeding with direct pressure and performing CPR.
If the person is conscious, prevent any further pain or damage by keeping the fracture as still as possible until you get them safely to hospital.
Assess the injury and decide whether the best way to get them to hospital is by ambulance or car. For example, if the pain isn’t too severe, you could transport them to hospital by car. It’s always best to get someone else to drive, so that you can deal with the casualty if they deteriorate – for example, if they lose consciousness as a result of the pain or start to vomit.
However, if:
they’re in a lot of pain and in need of strong painkilling medication, don’t move them and call an ambulance
it’s obvious they have a broken leg, don’t move them, but keep them in the position you found them in and call an ambulance
you suspect they have injured or broken their back, don’t move them and call an ambulance
Don’t give the casualty anything to eat or drink, because they may need an anaesthetic (numbing medication) when they reach hospital.
source: Nhs
If choking is severe, the person won’t be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe, and without help they’ll eventually become unconscious.
To help an adult or child over one year old:
Stand behind the person and slightly to one side. Support their chest with one hand. Lean the person forward so that the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than moving further down.
Give up to five sharp blows between the person’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand (the heel is between the palm of your hand and your wrist).
Check if the blockage has cleared.
If not, give up to five abdominal thrusts (see below).
Don’t give abdominal thrusts to babies under one year old or to pregnant women.
To perform abdominal thrusts on a person who is severely choking and isn’t in one of the above groups:
Stand behind the person who is choking.
Place your arms around their waist and bend them well forward.
Clench one fist and place it just above the person’s belly button.
Place your other hand on top of your fist and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
Repeat this up to five times.
The aim is to get the obstruction out with each chest thrust, rather than necessarily doing all five.
If the person’s airway is still blocked after trying back blows and abdominal thrusts:
Continue with the cycles of five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until help arrives.
The person choking should always be seen by a healthcare professional afterwards to check for any injuries or small pieces of the obstruction that remain.
Drowning
If someone is in difficulty in water, don’t enter the water to help unless it’s absolutely essential.
Once the person is on land, if they’re not breathing, open the airway and give five initial rescue breaths before starting CPR. If you’re alone, perform CPR for one minute before calling for emergency help.
Find out how to give CPR, including rescue breaths.
If the person is unconscious but still breathing, put them into the recovery position with their head lower than their body and call an ambulance immediately.
Continue to observe the casualty to ensure they don’t stop breathing or that their airway becomes obstructed.
Electric shock (domestic)
If someone has had an electric shock, switch off the electrical current at the mains to break the contact between the person and the electrical supply.
If you can’t reach the mains supply:
don’t go near or touch the person until you’re sure the electrical supply has been switched off
once the power supply has been switched off, and if the person isn’t breathing, dial 999 or 112 to for an ambulance
Afterwards, seek medical help – unless the electric shock is very minor.
Fractures
It can be difficult to tell if a person has a broken bone or a joint, as opposed to a simple muscular injury. If you’re in any doubt, treat the injury as a broken bone.
If the person is unconscious, has difficulty breathing or is bleeding severely, these must be dealt with first, by controlling the bleeding with direct pressure and performing CPR.
If the person is conscious, prevent any further pain or damage by keeping the fracture as still as possible until you get them safely to hospital.
Assess the injury and decide whether the best way to get them to hospital is by ambulance or car. For example, if the pain isn’t too severe, you could transport them to hospital by car. It’s always best to get someone else to drive, so that you can deal with the casualty if they deteriorate – for example, if they lose consciousness as a result of the pain or start to vomit.
However, if:
they’re in a lot of pain and in need of strong painkilling medication, don’t move them and call an ambulance
it’s obvious they have a broken leg, don’t move them, but keep them in the position you found them in and call an ambulance
you suspect they have injured or broken their back, don’t move them and call an ambulance
Don’t give the casualty anything to eat or drink, because they may need an anaesthetic (numbing medication) when they reach hospital.
source: Nhs
No comments:
Post a Comment