Car, motorcycle, bicycle, scooter – the number of road accidents involving their drivers in the summer increases dramatically. The same as our failure to provide first aid to victims. The most common argument? “I was afraid that I would damage his spine”. This is not the only mistake we make when witnessing or participating in an accident. What should you avoid and how can you help yourself and others effectively? Mateusz Wawryszuk, paramedic, owner of the Aesculapa company, which offers first aid training, tells us.
- The error of neglect regarding first aid after a traffic accident is mainly due to ignorance
- – The motorcyclist (…) began to choke. He ran up to him to open his airways. People – other witnesses to the accident – screamed: «Leave him alone! Don’t move or you will damage your spine! ». Only when he explained to them that (…) the guy would suffocate, they let go and helped him – says the paramedic
- The expert also explains how to help victims of car accidents and what mistakes not to make, because they can cost us our lives
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Paulina Wójtowicz, Medonet: Errors are most often the result of ignorance. What do we not know about first aid to a traffic accident victim?
Mateusz Wawryszuk *: About many things, although sometimes worse than ignorance itself, is the so-called erroneous, false knowledge. It manifests itself, inter alia, in the abandonment of activities that may save someone’s life.
One of my students said that he once witnessed a traffic accident. He was driving on an expressway and a motorcycle collided with a car right in front of him. The motorcyclist, in a suit and helmet, flew 20 or 30 meters, was lying on his back, blood was leaking from his mouth, he began to choke. He ran up to him to open his airways and put him in a safe position. People – other witnesses to the accident – screamed: «Leave him alone! Don’t move or you will damage your spine! ». He didn’t worry about it, he did his job, but they pulled him away by force. Only when he explained to them that the spine was not the most important and otherwise the guy would suffocate did they let go and helped him.
I myself had a similar situation once, but with more tragic consequences. We got a call for a knocked down cyclist. The injured person was lying in the ditch, he was not breathing, he died. I ask the witnesses of the incident why they did nothing. They were afraid that they would damage the spine. People are so fixated on this spine that they let the injured person die, so as not to “damage” it.
I have heard many times myself: do not move when there is an injury
This sentence should read: “If there is an injury, do not move if there is no need to.” The problem is that she is often there. Someone has had a car accident, is unconscious, and is sitting in an armchair with his head hanging down on his chest. This head must be moved, the airway should be unblocked by tilting it back to the headrest. When the victim is not breathing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary, and we will not do this in the car. We need to get this person out of the vehicle. There is massive bleeding, for example from the lower limb, to which we do not have access. We pull out to jam.
The spine is not a priority.
Is not. The priority is to open the airways and stop hemorrhages. Later, in the absence of breathing, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We always save lives first, then health. Many injuries can be repaired, a brain that dies cannot be repaired. Who needs a whole backbone in a cemetery?
The rest of the text below the video.
What, then, should we do when witnessing an accident on the road?
First of all, stop, whether as a pedestrian or as a driver. Later evaluate the situation. First, we check whether it is safe. We take particular care when conditions are a threat to us, for example at night, in unfamiliar, unmarked and unlit terrain. When we ignore this, we ourselves can become a victim. It happens that the witnesses, wanting to help, cross to the other road, but do not know or forget in adrenaline that they are on the viaduct and fall into the gulf between the railings on the green belt that separates the road.
We turn on the emergency lights. We stop the car in a safe place; at night, we set the car to illuminate the place of the event. We get off in a reflective vest, and not just go for the vest in the trunk, which most people keep there. It should be available in the driver’s cab. We take the first aid kit and telephone, set up a warning triangle and go towards the accident, then we can call for help. On the way, we look for other wounded people on the street – it happens, especially when they were not fastened with seat belts.
On the spot, we assess the condition of the injured person: whether he is conscious, whether he is breathing or not bleeding profusely. Depending on the condition, we take appropriate actions: we open the airways, place them in a safe position, or undertake cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In the event of a hemorrhage, we stop it as soon as possible.
You can find dressing materials for haemorrhage at Medonet Market, including calcium alginate fiber dressing for wounds with high blood exudation.
There are situations where aid should be waived?
Mostly three. When it is too dangerous for it, when the victim has decapitated, i.e. the head has been separated from the rest of the body, and when we see late postmortem signs (body rot, precipitation spots and postmortem concentration). First aid does not make sense then.
Traffic accidents most often occur as a result of a car collision with another vehicle or object on the road. However, it happens that tragic events happen inside the car, and what we see outside is a consequence of them.
True, traffic accidents are not always caused by speeding or driving while under the influence, although we usually assume that. They often happen because something happened with the driver. It could be a heart attack, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, asthma attack, stroke. Each of us can lose consciousness behind the wheel, we must be aware of this. Therefore, as accident witnesses, we do not make any assumptions. Injuries will distract us. We always ask what happened, what hurts, is there anything else besides the injuries.
What about the kids? They are frequent victims of choking.
Therefore, we should never give food to a child during the journey, and we also have to be careful about it ourselves.
We feed children only at stops. If you choke, stop the car immediately, taking care to be safe. We make sure that we can safely get off. Unfasten the child from the seat and move on – we are not standing next to the car, but further along, on the expressway, preferably behind the barriers. It may happen that someone does not notice us and enters us.
If the cough is ineffective, i.e. the child is not coughing and begins to choke, we make five strokes between the shoulder blades, then proceed to five abdominal compressions (in children under the age of one, we press the chest instead of the epigastrium). We do it alternately. If it fails, we begin CPR with five rescue breaths to start with.
* Mateusz Wawryszuk is a medical and water rescuer. He works in the ambulance service and deals with education in the field of first aid. He is the owner of the Aesculapa company that organizes first aid training, breaking the stereotype that first aid is boring and difficult.
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