First aid. How to give it? [WE EXPLAIN]

Proven content

First aid should be provided by any person who has at least basic knowledge about it. Attacks, catastrophes, accidents. In the latter, the greatest number of victims is on Polish roads. Do you know how to provide first aid? It is she who can save someone’s life – help them survive until the arrival of the ambulance. How to give first aid to a pregnant woman? How to save a drowning person?

First aid and the safety of the rescuer

The main principle that should be followed by a person providing first aid is their own safety, that of other rescuers and victims. Possible threats may include, for example, traffic, fire or smoke, explosion or electric shock, unfavorable weather conditions, aggression, risk of inhalation poisoning.

The rescuer should also eliminate the risk of infection from the injured person, who may turn out to be HIV, HBV, HCV carrier. For this purpose, it is necessary to avoid direct contact with the victim’s blood. Gloves and a resuscitation mask should be worn when performing emergency procedures.

For more information on HBV and HCV infections, see this article: HBV and HCV – hepatitis B and C

Principles and general scope of providing first aid in emergency

After making sure that the rescuer is not in danger, the following seven steps should be taken:

1. approach to the casualty and assessment of his health condition;

2. checking for consciousness – shake the injured by the shoulders and ask “What happened?” or “Can you hear me?”;

3. providing help – telephone to the ambulance service (number 999 or 112). When reporting an emergency, the following information should be provided: who is calling for help, the exact place of the accident, the type and description of the accident, who was injured and how many people need medical attention, what emergency operations have been carried out, are there any dangers. Do not interrupt the conversation until the dispatcher decides to do so;

4. opening the airway by removing foreign bodies from the oral cavity and tilting the head back – this should be done when the victim is unconscious;

5. checking that the victim is breathing (the evaluation should last 10 seconds, during which 2 breaths must occur);

6. checking if the injured person has any dangerous items;

7. if the injured is breathing, call for help and while waiting for an ambulance, place him / her in a safe side position, checking for breath every minute and turning over every 30 minutes. If he is not breathing, the required procedure is CPR.

It is worth remembering that in the case of traumatic persons (fracture, hemorrhage, spinal injury), the injured should not be placed in the side position. It is important not to give the injured person any medication. If she insists on taking painkillers before the ambulance arrives, she should do it herself.

If you want to know how to equip a car first aid kit, be sure to read: Car first aid kit – what should be in it?

First Aid: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

The general rule for adult CPR is to begin with 30 compressions and 2 breaths. Repeat these steps until the victim regains their breath or an ambulance arrives. There are circumstances in which the rescuer may stop resuscitation, such as exhausted or endangered to safety. The lifeguard may also ask another person to replace you.

Compressions: do it in the center of the chest, using your own body weight. Hands should be clasped, elbows locked. 30 compressions should be performed to a depth of about 5-6 cm (for an adult), with a frequency of 100-120 compressions per minute.

Wdechy: about 0,5 liters of air should be blown through the mask – so that the victim’s chest rises. The nose of the person we are helping should be blocked and the head tilted back.

How to talk to an ambulance dispatcher? Read on: When and how to call an ambulance? When not to call an ambulance?

How to give first aid to a pregnant woman?

When a pregnant woman experiences a sudden drop in blood pressure or simply collapses, put her in a safe place, necessarily on her left side! Placing the pregnant woman in this way reduces the pressure of the uterus on the blood vessels, improves blood flow and oxygenation of the fetus. If cardiac arrest occurs, proceed with CPR at a ratio of 30 compressions to two breaths.

Perform these compressions while keeping the pregnant woman on her left side. This procedure is very difficult and requires certain skills on the part of the person providing help. It is worth remembering that even if compressions in this position are ineffective, just attempting to do so can save the lives of both the mother and the baby. If you do not feel up to it, you should immediately call for help or seek support from people nearby.

First aid for a child

What is resuscitation for a young child? First aid is started with 5 breaths through the nose and mouth, then 30 compressions of the chest (with two fingers, about 1,5 cm deep). We repeat these activities according to the scheme: 2 breaths for 30 chest compressions.

After resuscitation, we observe the child for no longer than 10 seconds and check whether the breathing has been preserved. Quickly taking first aid measures significantly increases the chances of saving your child’s life and health!

If you want to know more about first aid given to your child, check out: How to save a child. A responsible parent knows how to provide first aid

First aid in the case of choking / choking of a child up to 1 year of age

It is extremely important for infants to provide first aid for choking or choking. Rapid intervention can prevent your baby from becoming unconscious. If a piece of food, saliva or a small piece of a toy gets into a toddler’s respiratory tract, it may result in hypoxia and even cardiac arrest.

How to distinguish choking from choking? When choking, the child usually opens its mouth and tries to cough up the remaining mucus, in many cases the face turns red. In such a situation, do not help the child! Let it cough up food on its own. Help in such a situation may worsen his condition even more.

Choking in a child looks a bit different. Then he cannot make any sound, he breathes with difficulty and his face turns pale. Then you must intervene immediately! How to do it? If there is any object in the baby’s mouth, try to open the airway with a gentle movement. If the object is too small, the child should effectively cough it up on his own.

If the child does not cough or the cough does not bring relief, perform 5 strokes in the interscapular area and place the child upside down on his forearm, then grab the jaw with your finger and thumb. This activity should help your child with choking. If this procedure does not work, you must continue.

The next step in the help will be to turn your baby face down on his back and place him on his forearm. We should embrace the back of the toddler with our hand. Then we make five compressions in the lower part of the sternum (about 1 centimeter below the nipples), alternating with five compressions in the area between the shoulder blades.

What are the effects of brain hypoxia? Check: Brain hypoxia – symptoms, effects

First aid – burns

Burns are the result of an injury caused by energy – chemicals, heat or electricity. Burns can also occur as a result of high friction. There are three types of burns, the first of them – XNUMXst degree, it includes damage to the epidermis, then there is also a very painful erythema. This type of wound takes about a week to heal and does not leave any marks.

The second type of burns are second degree burns. They cover part of the dermis and epidermis, there are slight blisters and redness. A wound treated properly should heal after about 2-3 weeks. We are the third to distinguish deep burnwhich is the most dangerous. The wound covers the full thickness of the dermis, as a result of damage to the sensory nerves, the skin turns white and does not hurt. A deep burn takes several weeks to heal and, unfortunately, leaves permanent scars on the body, often requiring surgery.

When giving first aid to a burned person, you must always check whether you are safe yourself. Immediately cut off or extinguish the source of the burn and bring the injured person to a safe place. The burned wound must be cooled with water for a minimum of 15 minutes and covered with a sterile dressing. Jewelry and clothing must be removed from the burned surface of the body, otherwise the swelling will increase.

In a situation where the victim is unconscious and we suspect that the respiratory tract may also have burned, an ambulance should be called as soon as possible. Whether we respond quickly and efficiently, helping a burned person, may affect the course of treatment and further prognosis.

How to provide first aid for chemical burns?

This type of injury usually occurs in laboratories and factories where corrosive substances are used. Chemical burns can also occur at home, if certain detergents are used. If there is a burn in the room, ventilate and leave the room as soon as possible. Then remove the contaminated clothing from the burned person and put it in a bag.

The next point is to remove the chemical from the skin with lukewarm water. This should take no less than 30 minutes. Cover the burn site with a sterile dressing. Then we call one of the emergency numbers. If the injured person complains of severe pain, painkillers should be administered. In the event that the chemical has entered the respiratory tract of the victim, we give a large amount of water to drink. It is worth remembering to secure the agent that the patient has burned with and hand it over to the emergency services.

What is worth knowing about proper hydration of the body? Check: Proper hydration of the body – why is it crucial?

First aid for sunstroke

Sun paralysis usually occurs during the summer. It is the result of direct sunlight on the head and neck. The elderly and children are most at risk from sunstroke. This ailment is manifested by: severe headaches, dizziness, vomiting, general weakness of the body, high temperature, reddening of the skin and increased heart rate.

What is first aid for heat stroke? The injured person should be brought or moved to a dark and cool place as soon as possible. The next step is to loosen tight clothes. When the face of the injured person is pale, place his head lower than the torso, if it is red, it is better to place the victim in a reclining position.

The next step will be to apply cool compresses to the head and chest. Body temperature should be measured every 10 minutes, if it drops to 38 degrees, cooling the injured person can be interrupted. While the person is conscious, gradually give them plenty of fluids – preferably lightly salted water. If the victim’s condition improves, we have no reason to worry, otherwise a doctor should be called as soon as possible.

How to deal with the sun? Read on: The skin protects against the sun, which is too much is unhealthy

First aid – hypothermia and frostbite of the body

Hypothermia is a condition in which the body temperature drops as low as 35 degrees. Cooling down occurs when the proportion of heat produced by the body to the amount of heat that a person loses is disturbed. Hypothermia disrupts the nervous system, disturbs the heart rhythm and inhibits the respiratory system. Strong hypothermia occurs when we stay in a cold environment for too long or when swimming in an open water reservoir.

We can diagnose hypothermia on the basis of symptoms such as: disturbance of consciousness, hypothermia, difficulty in speaking and muscle tremors. While providing first aid, gradually warm the victim, move him to a warmer room, if necessary remove wet clothes and cover with a blanket. If the person we are helping is conscious, we can give him a warm liquid by mouth. It should be remembered that hypothermia in any case requires hospitalization, therefore, after performing the above-mentioned activities, we call an ambulance.

What might it mean if you feel cold often? Read on: Are you still freezing? Be sure to ask your doctor about it

First aid in case of drowning

Loss of consciousness due to intoxication, bravado or lack of swimming skills are the most common causes of drowning on Polish beaches. Water accidents happen very often. How to react in the event that the person has swam too far and does not come back, waves his hands nervously frothing the water in the lake or disappears completely from sight?

In the first place, you should call for help or go to the lifeguard looking after the bathing area. Then we should quickly assess the situation and rush to help the drowning person. If we cannot swim and the victim is far from the shore, unfortunately we must rely on the help of others. When giving first aid from the shore, it is best to give the drowning person a strong branch, make a string of clothes or use an oar.

It is quite dangerous to take a drowning person’s hand directly when we cannot swim. A drowning person has a firm grip and can make us lose our balance and fall into the water. If we can swim, jump into the water as soon as possible and swim to the injured person, stay within his arms and try to establish contact with him. Then you must overwhelm her and tow her to the shore as quickly as possible.

After reaching land, we check the victim’s consciousness, try to open the airways and gently tilt the head back. Place the fingertips of the other hand on the lower jaw and lift it. Then we check the breathing – when the victim is not showing any vital signs, we proceed to resuscitation. If the victim regains consciousness, place him in a side position to avoid choking on vomiting, then cover him with a blanket.

Can you protect yourself from drowning? Read: How not to drown? We ask the WOPR lifeguard

First aid – hemorrhage

First aid in the event of a nose or chest haemorrhage is essential for the health and life of an injured person. Always put gloves or foil bags on your hands before starting to stop bleeding to avoid direct contact with the patient’s blood. While providing first aid, you must be careful not to let the blood get into your nose, eyes or mouth.

How to provide first aid for nosebleeds? The casualty should be asked to sit on the ground with his head tilted forward. The next step is to pinch both sides of your nose together for about 10 minutes. If blood runs down the victim’s throat, he should spit it out immediately. The situation should normalize after approx. 30 minutes, when it does not happen, you need to call a medical emergency team.

We do a bit differently with people who struggle with a chest hemorrhage. We start the first aid by laying the injured person on the ground with their back supported (a conscious person with a chest wound cannot lie flat!). If the wound is small, it must be in contact with air and does not require a dressing. In case of heavy bleeding, we stop it with a complex bandage, a rolled up garment or gauze.

We do not use cling film or absorbent materials, such as towels, as a dressing. The place of bleeding should be effectively compressed, if the wound is still bleeding, we adjust the dressing and do not release the pressure. If the victim becomes unconscious, call the ambulance service. While waiting for help, we keep talking with the victim, control the bleeding site and cover her with a blanket to keep her warm.

What is the cause of a nosebleed? Read on: Blood from the nose – a banal ailment? Not necessarily

First aid – fracture of the limbs

In the event of a fracture of a limb, first aid should begin with checking the safety of yourself and the injured person. Then we need to limit the movement of the injured limb. In the next step, we proceed to immobilize the injury, we perform this activity in the existing or forced position. If a joint is damaged, we immobilize it and two adjacent bones.

We do the opposite in the case of bone damage. We use any rigid object to stiffen the injury and wrap it with a bandage. If the injured person has an open fracture, proceed as for bleeding. When providing first aid in an open fracture, remember not to remove or insert parts of the protruding bone. The last point is to calm the victim down and call a doctor.

What should you know about bone fractures? Check: Broken bones

First aid in case of carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when a gas system is leaking in a house or apartment and can lead to unconsciousness. Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas, so the person at risk may not even be aware of the danger. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include: drowsiness, headaches and dizziness, hearing and vision disturbances and shortness of breath.

If an unconscious person is found in a gas-heated apartment or garage, take him / her out of the hazardous area into fresh air as soon as possible. Then we assess the state of breathing and proceed to resuscitation. When the victim regains consciousness, we place him in a safe side position and call for medical help. During the waiting time, we do not leave the victim even for a moment, we check the health condition and protect against cold.

How to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning? Check: Carbon monoxide poisoning – causes, symptoms, prevention

First aid and a traffic accident

First aid in a car collision can save someone’s life. If we witness an accident, we should react immediately, call for help and stay cool. Then turn on the hazard lights, put out the warning triangle and put on the handbrake in your car.

When giving first aid, a car first aid kit, telephone and a fire extinguisher will certainly be useful. When approaching a damaged car, we evaluate our safety and general situation. If it is safe, approach the car, try to turn off the engine and apply the handbrake. Then we start helping the person injured in the accident.

If the situation allows, we try to get the victim out of the car. Always assume that the person may have multiple injuries or a broken spine. In such a case, we act very carefully, pulling the injured person out, supporting his head, grasping him under the armpits, then by the belt of trousers or folded hand and leaning against his chest. The last step is to move your legs out from under the steering wheel.

We move or carry the accident victim to a safe place and try to dress the wounds. A person who has suffered a car collision should be protected against cooling down. Loss of heat can aggravate the post-traumatic shock. It is best to use a blanket or an NRC insulating foil, which should be in every car first aid kit. We cover the injured with the silver side of the foil, thanks to which his body saves up to 80% of energy and heat.

Also read: Scientists are testing methods to reduce the number of car accidents and victims

Content from the site medTvoiLokony they are intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and his doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website.