Learning first-aid tips is very useful, basically because it helps save lives.  In most cases, emergency happens in the community – and almost always away from medical facilities.  When this happens, the priority will always be about saving lives.  There is what emergency medicine calls the golden hour. This is the period from the occurrence of the trauma lasting to about 60 minutes. During this period, life-saving procedures must be performed to prevent further damage to the patient.

The tips below cannot be used as a substitute for proper emergency training.  It is still best to be trained by a professional in order to better handle any situation that may occur. However, knowing what to initially do in the case of an emergency until proper help arrives could mean the difference between saving a life, or losing it.

How to Do a CPR

CPR, or cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, is a very important technique that one should learn.  Every household must at least have one member trained to perform CPR. But emergency cases cannot wait for training.  In cases of immediate needs, such as a person collapsing in front of you, the first thing to do is to attempt to wake the victim up.  If this proves ineffective and if you observe that the victim is not breathing, or has difficulty breathing, immediately call for help by dialing 911, or if you have somebody with you, ask him/her to do the call while you stay with the patient.  In most cases, 911 dispatchers can assist by giving instructions.

The next thing to do is to perform chest compressions. Let the patient lie on his back. Make sure that it is on a hard, stable surface. Remember to check for a pulse.  The best way to do this is to place two fingers at the side of patient’s neck.  The presence of a pulse, even a faint one, is good news. But if it is absent, then it is always worth a try.  Position the heel of your dominant hand at the center of the victim’s chest.  With the help of your non-dominant hand, pump at a depth of 1 ½ to 2 inches, at a rate of 100 compressions/1 minute.  After every 30 compressions, tilt the victims head and lift the chin. Pinch his nose and blow air into the mouth of the victim by covering his mouth with yours.  When you blow air, make sure that the chest rises.  Give 2 breaths each, with each breath lasting 1 second.  Continue with 2 breaths alternating with 30 compressions, until help arrives.

Always remember that CPR should be started immediately.  If you are not comfortable with giving rescue breaths, you may provide hands-only CPR.  Remember that it is still best to have proper training in order to provide the best care possible.

How to Perform the Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is the world’s best accepted technique for providing first aid care to those who are choking.  Choking is always an emergency. Anybody who is suspected to be choking must be provided with immediate care to prevent complications brought about by the decreasing oxygenation in the brain.

When doing the Heimlich maneuver, the first thing one should assess is if the victim really is choking.  The universal sign of choking is when the victim grabs his throat with both hands, gasping for air indicating, a sign of anxiety.  If the victim can talk, he may not be choking but, just the same, be with him until he finds relief.  It is recommended that before performing Heimlich maneuver, one should have knowledge of CPR, but this is not strictly necessary.

To start with the Heimlich maneuver, position yourself at the back of the victim. Put your arms around the victim’s waist. The thumb area of your right hand should be positioned at the area just below the ribcage, slightly above the victim’s navel.  With your left hand grabbing your fisted right hand, press the victim’s abdomen with an upward thrust.  The force should be on your hand, not the victim’s ribcage.  Repeat the thrusting motion until the object is expelled.

If the patient is unconscious or too big that you cannot wrap your arms around his body, place the patient on his back and position yourself by sitting astride him.  Place the heel of your right hand below the ribcage and above the navel.  Using the weight of your body, press this area with a forward thrusting motion until the object blocking the victim’s airway is expelled.

If you yourself are a choking victim, position your upper abdomen against a fixed solid structure, such as chair or table. Press yourself by making a quick thrust upward. Do this until the object is expelled.

Always remember that you should not slap the victim’s back.  This will make matters worse.  Additionally, as soon as the rescue is successful, immediately bring the victim to the hospital for more evaluation.

How to Stop a Bleeding

Bleeding is defined as the continuous outflow of blood from the body.  There are two kinds of bleeding: internal and external.  Internal bleeding is not normally visible. It can be caused by penetrating trauma, falls or blast injuries.  A normal adult has approximately 10 to 12 pints of blood.  Losing a pint of blood is not really harmful.  Beyond that, a person will go into circulatory shock.  It is best to bring the victim to the hospital.

For minor bleeding, there are five management principles to remember: elevation of the wound, application of direct pressure to the wound, utilizing pressure points, augmenting with a tourniquet and administration of clotting agent.  The human body can naturally stop bleeding through the clotting mechanism.  However, there are circumstances when a person cannot control bleeding in spite of the minor mechanism of injury, or the mechanism of injury itself is enormous that it caused severe bleeding.  No matter what, it is important that bleeding is stopped as soon as possible.

Therefore, when external bleeding occurs, make sure to elevate the wound above the level of the heart.  If there are other injuries, such as fractures, make sure to stabilize the affected area, e.g. splinting, first before elevating.  Together with elevation is direct pressure to the wound.  Find a clean or sterile dressing, place it on the wound and apply pressure it to close the severed blood vessels.

If bleeding is not controlled, apply another dressing and apply pressure with your hand or, if the victim is alert, allow him to apply direct pressure himself.  Utilizing pressure points is only done when elevation and direct pressure did not control the bleeding.  In most cases, pressure points are useful only when the bleeding is from the artery.  Pressure points are areas of the body that can be controlled by pressing the artery against a bone.  The common pressure points are: brachial (in the arm) and femoral (at the groin).  To do this, position the patient on his back.  If bleeding is at the lower part of upper arm or elbow, locate the pressure point on the inside of the arm between the muscles, using your thumb apply pressure on the inside of the arm over the bone.  If the affected area is on the thigh or lower leg, position the victim on his back and locate the pressure point on the front-center part of the crease in the groin.  Using the heel of your hand, press the area by leaning forward and apply pressure.

Tourniquet is only used as a last resort.  It is only recommended for severe bleeding on the upper or lower extremities or when it is totally or partially severed.  The application of a tourniquet by an untrained rescuer might cause more harm than what is intended. So unless impossible, it is best to the bring bleeding victim to hospital for proper management, including administration of clotting medications.

How to Save a Drowning Victim

There are around 150,000 deaths due to drowning in America.  In 2002, drowning has been redefined as a process that is a consequence of respiratory impairment due to submersion in a liquid agent.  When a person cannot anymore breathe or yell for help while he is immersed in water, then drowning occurs.

To save a drowning victim, the first thing that you need to remember is to always call for help – just in case you drown yourself in the process of saving the victim. Then look for any contraption, such as a pole, that can be used to grab the victim away from the water towards the dry area.  If the victim is near you and can be reached by the length of your arm, lie down on the deck with legs spread wide for stability.  Reach for the victim. If the victim is conscious, shout at him to grab your hand.  Grab the wrist of the victim for more strength.  If there is a need to go to the water to grab the victim who cannot be reached by your arms or any instrument, find a secure device, such as a pool ladder or a rope secured around a tree, and hold on to it as you reach towards the victim.  Let the victim grab your one arm or grab your feet. Never let go of the secure object.  As soon as the victim is saved and there is a need to perform CPR, give the victim CPR. If the CPR is successful, let him lay on his side so that the water that he might have ingested will come out of his mouth. If you do not have knowledge about CPR, bring the patient quickly to the hospital.

When rescuing a drowning victim, always remember that your safety is of primary importance than anything else.

How to Deal with Broken Bones

A broken bone, or fracture, is one of the most common emergency cases in the hospital.  When there is fracture, the aims of the rescuer should always be: (1) to prevent additional damage to the bone itself and the tissues surrounding it, (2) to minimize patient’s pain and make him feel comfortable, and (3) to find immediate professional medical assistance.

To implement these principles, the best initial treatment for broken bone is splinting.  There are various definitions for broken bones or fracture; they can be simple fracture, compound/open fracture, comminuted fracture, or transverse fracture.  Defining them is the task of medical professionals.  What a rescuer can do is to stabilize the injury so as not to cause further damage.  To do this, find a rigid board with length extending from the joints above and below the broken bone.  Harness it on the affected area using a triangular bandage, belts, ropes or torn strips of cloth as long as it will not cause additional damage to the integrity of the skin. By immobilizing the joints above and below the affected area, further injury to the bone is minimized.

As soon as the broken bone is immobilized, bring the victim to the hospital for more professional management. Never attempt to bring the bone back to its normal position, doing so might complicate the injury.

Sources
mademan.com
healthguidance.org
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faculty.deanza.edu
emedicine.medscape.com
depts.washington.edu