250 likes | 610 Views
FIRST AID and CPR. What is …..?. First Aid – the emergency care given to a victim of an accident or a sudden illness, required immediately and must continue until advanced medical help is available.
E N D
What is …..? • First Aid – the emergency care given to a victim of an accident or a sudden illness, required immediately and must continue until advanced medical help is available. • Can be simple like helping someone clean and bandage a minor wound to performing CPR until EMS arrives. • CPR – cardiopulmonary resuscitation
General Principles of First Aid • 1. Never panic! • Take a few slow deep breaths and look around to make sure the area is safe • Determine what resources are available and what is needed (AED, splints, EMS…) • 2. Evaluate the Situation • Check the victim’s level of consciousness, open the victim's airway and check for breathing, check for pulse and bleeding • 3. Is the victim in a safe environment, free from more danger?
General Principles of First Aid • 4. Determine the Priorities of treatment • Which condition requires the most immediate care • Urgent care for life – threatening situations: stopped breathing, heart attack, shock, serious wounds, poisoning, serious burns • Non-life threatening issues: fracture of arm or leg, minor contusions or lacerations (know definitions • 5. Decide what care is needed and do only what you are trained to do • Good Samaritan Law • 6. Call 911 or send for help
Life Threatening Situations • Obstructed Airway, choking (closed airway, stopped or not breathing) • When an object blocks the airway leading to the lungs • Partial obstruction – some air can be moved. Do not interfere with coughing or try to dig out the object • Complete obstruction – no air can be moved. Victim is suddenly unable to breathe, cough or speak, clutches neck, or is struggling to breathe
Life Threatening Situations • Obstructed Airway, choking (closed airway, stopped or not breathing) • What to do for a conscious victim … • 1. Ask “Are you choking?” • Observe victim coughing or wheezing. Do not interfere if good air exchange is present • 2. Give abdominal thrusts…. • Videos • Adult conscious • Adult unconscious • Child
Life Threatening Situations • Heart Attack • Early warning signs • Squeezing feeling in the chest, pressure, or tightness • “feels like a band is around chest” • “feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest” • Persistent discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, arm, neck, jaw, or across the chest • Sweating, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, or feeling faint
Life Threatening Situations • Heart Attack • What do you do? • Call for advanced life support (EMS or doctor depending on the setting) • Get an AED • Monitor the symptoms until help arrives. • Heart and breathing may stop and the patient may need CPR
Life Threatening Situations • Serious Wounds • Life threatening due to heavy bleeding • Bleeding that spurts is from an artery • Venous bleeding is also serious • Victim will bleed to death if the bleeding is not controlled
Life Threatening Situations • Serious Wounds • What to do…… • 1. Call or send for help • 2. Follow procedures for preventing shock • 3. Apply direct pressure with your gloved hand and some type of dressing or gauze pad. • A shirt or towel will work if nothing else is available • 4. Elevate the wounded area if you do not think there are broken bones • 5. if these do not work apply pressure to the appropriate pressure point above and on the same limb of the wound • 6. If the dressing becomes saturated add dry dressing over the saturated bandage • 7. When bleeding is under control slowly release the pressure point and lower the limb, but keep direct pressure over the dressing
Life Threatening Situations • Shock • Caused by major loss of body fluid or blood causing the body cells and major organs to be deprived of oxygen • A person can be appropriately treated for injury but still die of shock because of the fluid or blood loss
Life Threatening Situations • Shock • Procedure 13.7 page 298
Life Threatening Situations • Poisoning • Ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection of a harmful substance • Can cause sudden collapse, vomiting, and difficult breathing • Look around the victim for possible causes of poisoning as you are treating him or her • An unconscious victim may be convulsing or vomiting which is why you lay the victim on their side
Life Threatening Situations • Poisoning • Procedure 13.8 page 298 • Procedure 13.9 page 299
Life Threatening Situations • Burns • See page 299 for pictures of severity of burns • Severity of Burns • 1st degree- superficial or surface burns • 2nd degree – partial thickness, deeper or just below the surface of the skin. Blistering occurs • 3rd degree – full thickness, destroys both surface and underlying tissue, destroys nerve endings so victim may not feel pain in that area • Burns around the nose and mouth can mean the airway is burned
Life Threatening Situations • Treating burns • Procedure 13.10 page 300
Non-Life Threatening Situations • Bone Fractures • Closed fracture – a broken bone that stays inside the body • Symptoms – swelling, pain, change in the color of the skin, deformity • Determine mechanism of injury – did they fall, did something fall on them? Did they hear a “snap”? • Open Fracture – when the broken bones comes through the skin • If possible splint the affected area and call for medical assistance
Dressings and Bandages • Dressings cover wounds and help keep infectious bacteria out • Dressings are used to apply direct pressure to control bleeding • Bandages hold dressings in place
Dressings and Bandages • Principles of Bandaging • Always wear gloves and follow Standard Precautions • Never tie a bandage around the neck, taping is safer • The bandage needs to be tight enough to hold the dressing in place but not tight enough to stop circulation • Check skin temperature. If cold then bandage may be cutting off circulation. You should be able to fit one finger under the bandage
Dressings and Bandages • Principles of Bandaging • When applying these to arms or legs leave the finders and toes exposed so that you can watch for discoloration and swelling • Loosen bandages if the patient complains of numbness or tingling • Do not remove dressing once it has been applied. If blood soaks through, add another layer of dressings and secure the bandage
Dressings and Bandages • Principles of Bandaging • Procedures • Copy the following procedures into your notes • Procedure 13.11 pg 302 Applying a splint • Procedure 13.14 pg 304 Circular bandaging of a small leg or arm wound • Procedure 13.15 pg 305 Spiral bandaging of a large wound • Procedure 13.16 pg 306 Bandaging of an ankle or foot wound