First Aid - GUIDE & TIPS

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Stroke

A stroke occurs when a blood clot or bleeding cuts off the blood supply, and therefore the oxygen, to part of the brain. The affected area of the brain will eventually die. The effect of a stroke depends on how much of the brain is affected and where the clot or bleeding is. Different parts of the brain control different functions, so a clot in the part of the brain that controls speech, for example, will result in slurred or confused speech. Often the signs will be confined to one side of the body.

Effects of stroke

If the bleeding or clot is in one of the larger blood vessels supplying a large area of the brain, then the stroke will often be immediately fatal. However, many people do survive, with some making a full recovery. Others may need extensive periods of rehabilitation and support to manage strokerelated problems such as reduced mobility.

First Aid Treatment
Monitor airway and breathing and be prepared to resuscitate if necessary. Place the person in the recovery position if she becomes unconscious. If she is conscious, help her to lie down with the head and shoulders slightly raised. Provide support and reassurance. The person will often be disorientated and may be speaking nonsense if the speech centre is affected. Equally, she may hear what you are saying but not understand it. Speak in a reassuring tone with confidence. Call an ambulance. Wipe any dribbling away from the side of the face and be prepared for the person to be sick.

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack
Any combination of the following may be present. In minor strokes, the signs and symptoms may be very limited.

History - the sufferer may have a history of smaller strokes over previous years, or may have been feeling unwell for some days with no known cause
Headache
Blurred vision, partial loss of sight or seeing flashing lights
Confusion and disorientation, often mistaken for drunkenness
Signs of paralysis or weakness, often only down one side of the body (confirm by asking the patient to hold out both arms in front of her and look for drooping or shaking)
Difficulty speaking; drooping mouth or smile (caused by minor paralysis)
Dribbling from one side of the mouth
Loss of consciousness (this can be gradual or sudden)
Sometimes the pulse will be full and throbbing, the person's breathing noisy and the skin flushed

 

[sakuraguy]

Stroke

A stroke occurs when a blood clot or bleeding cuts off the blood supply, and therefore the oxygen, to part of the brain. The affected area of the brain will eventually die. The effect of a stroke depends on how much of the brain is affected and where the clot or bleeding is. Different parts of the brain control different functions, so a clot in the part of the brain that controls speech, for example, will result in slurred or confused speech. Often the signs will be confined to one side of the body.

Effects of stroke

If the bleeding or clot is in one of the larger blood vessels supplying a large area of the brain, then the stroke will often be immediately fatal. However, many people do survive, with some making a full recovery. Others may need extensive periods of rehabilitation and support to manage stroke*related problems such as reduced mobility.

First Aid Treatment
Monitor airway and breathing and be prepared to resuscitate if necessary. Place the person in the recovery position if she becomes unconscious. If she is conscious, help her to lie down with the head and shoulders slightly raised. Provide support and reassurance. The person will often be disorientated and may be speaking nonsense if the speech centre is affected. Equally, she may hear what you are saying but not understand it. Speak in a reassuring tone with confidence. Call an ambulance. Wipe any dribbling away from the side of the face and be prepared for the person to be sick.

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack
Any combination of the following may be present. In minor strokes, the signs and symptoms may be very limited.

History - the sufferer may have a history of smaller strokes over previous years, or may have been feeling unwell for some days with no known cause
Headache
Blurred vision, partial loss of sight or seeing flashing lights
Confusion and disorientation, often mistaken for drunkenness
Signs of paralysis or weakness, often only down one side of the body (confirm by asking the patient to hold out both arms in front of her and look for drooping or shaking)
Difficulty speaking; drooping mouth or smile (caused by minor paralysis)
Dribbling from one side of the mouth
Loss of consciousness (this can be gradual or sudden)
Sometimes the pulse will be full and throbbing, the person's breathing noisy and the skin flushed

 

[sakuraguy]

Treating Other Types of Burn

The general principle of treating burns remains to cool and cover the affected area but some types of burn need extra consideration. With burns to the neck and mouth, beyond the risk of shock and infection, the greatest potential problem is the risk of airway obstruction due to swelling. The obvious additional danger with electrical burns is the combination of water as a treatment and electricity as the cause.

Treating burns to the neck and mouth - First Aid
Check the casualty's airway and breathing and be prepared to resuscitate if necessary.
Call an ambulance and reassure the casualty until help arrives.
Get the casualty into a position where his breathing is comfortable (this will usually be sitting up).
Loosen any constriction around the neck to ease breathing. Keep the airway clear.
Cool any burns continuously - do not attempt to cover.
Maintain a check on the casualty's airway and breathing.
Lightning

Although rare, lightning strikes do happen and can kill. If caught outside in a thunderstorm, seek shelter in a car or building.

If there is no shelter, make yourself as low as possible, minimise your contact with the ground by crouching and avoid single trees, bodies of water and tall objects.

If a person has been struck by lightning, check their airway and breathing, be prepared to resuscitate, treat any burns and call for help.

Electrical burns

If a casualty has suffered from an electric shock, do not attempt to touch the person unless you are absolutely certain that he or she is no longer in contact with live equipment. If the person is still attached to an electrical current, your best option is to turn the electricity off at the mains point. If you cannot access the mains, you may be able to turn off electrical equipment at the wall socket but be particularly careful that you do not touch the casualty or any live equipment.

If there is no way to turn the electricity off, you can attempt to move the casualty away from the point of contact using a nonconducting material such as a broom handle and by insulating yourself as much as possible by wearing rubber gloves and shoes, and by standing on a telephone directory.

Electricity demands respect - if in doubt call in professional help. Do not put yourself in any danger.

Treating electrical burns - First Aid
A casualty suffering from an electrical burn may well have respiratory or circulatory difficulties. An electrical discharge across the heart can make the heart stop beating, so be prepared to resuscitate the casualty over and above the treatment of any burn that may be present.

Make absolutely sure that there is no further risk from the electricity.
Check to see whether the casualty is conscious. If unconscious, check airway and breathing and take action as appropriate.
Treat any burns with cold water if safe to do.
Cover burns as appropriate with sterile, fluffy dressings.
Seek urgent medical attention. Stay with the casualty and reassure him until medical help arrives.
High-voltage electricity

High-voltage electricity (power lines, railway tracks, overhead power cables etc.) usually kills immediately, causing severe burns, heart problems and potentially even broken bones and internal injuries as the casualty is thrown by the shock.

If somebody has been hit, your first priority is to keep yourself and other bystanders safe. High-voltage currents can jump some distance so keep people back at least 20 metres (66 feet) and call for professional help via the emergency services.

 

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Unconscious Casualty

This is a particularly difficult situation to deal with. The casualty's airway is always your first priority. The person may have a broken back that could cause nerve damage and paralysis, but you do not protect the airway and ensure that the casualty continues breathing, she will die.

First Aid Treatment
If you come across an unconscious person for whom the nature of the accident or the positioning indicates that she may have broken her back (for example, a bystander tells you the casualty fell, or the person is wearing motorcycle leathers and lying next to a damaged bike), your priority remains to check the airway.

Ask a question to find out if the casualty is conscious. Do not shake the casualty.
Carry out your ABC checks, taking care to tilt the head gently. If the head is already extended a suitable way, do not move it any further. lnstead, just use the chin lift and carefully check the mouth.
If the casualty is not breathing, give rescue breaths and full CPR as needed. Make an early call for an ambulance.
If you have to roll the casualty on to her back to resuscitate, then you should aim to keep the casualty's head, trunk and toes in a straight line. If possible, get bystanders to help move the casualty over, but do not waste time looking for help because the casualty needs air as soon as possible.
If the casualty is unconscious and lying in such a way that the head is extended and she is on her side, allowing fluid to drain from the mouth, then leave her alone.
Hold the casualty's head still by placing your hands over the ears and your fingers along the jawline. Ensure that the airway is monitored.
If the casualty is unconscious and either the head is not extended or she is not lying on her side, you need to move her into the recovery position. Ideally, with enough bystanders, you should use the log roll. lf not, be prepared to roll the casualty into the recovery position with all available help.

 

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Unconsciousness

Unconsciousness is an interruption of normal brain activity. It can happen suddenly or gradually. Unconsciousness can be caused by a range of injuries and medical conditions, as well as by a number of different drugs. An unconscious person may still have some reactions to pain or to commands, for example, or may have no reactions at all.

Whatever the cause or degree of unconsciousness, the immediate emergency treatment remains the same:

Assess whether the person is unconscious by gently squeezing the shoulders and asking a question.
Open the airway by lifting the chin, clearing the mouth and tilting the head.
Check the breathing and be prepared to resuscitate if necessary.
If breathing, check for life-threatening conditions and then turn into the recovery position.
Call for emergency help.
This may be all that you have time to do before emergency help arrives. However, if you have longer, there are some things that you can do to gather information that may help medical staff with their diagnosis and treatment.

Assess the level of response

There is an agreed scale for assessing how responsive an injured or ill person is - the Glasgow Coma Scale. A fully alert person will score 15 while somebody who is totally unresponsive will score 3 with several variations in between. You can help collect information to inform medical staff using some of the checks from this scale:

Eyes. Do they:

Open without you having to ask the person to open them?
Open on command?
Open if you cause the person pain (this is often done by pinching the earlobe)?
Remain closed?
Movements. Does the person:

Understand and follow sensible instructions?
Move only in response to pain?
Not move at all?
Speech. Does the person:

Answer questions sensibly?
Answer questions in a confused way?
Make sounds that cannot be understood?
Make no noise?
Do the checks of eyes, movement and speech every 10 minutes and record your answers.

Monitor and record breathing

Breathing is measured by counting the number of breaths in 1 minute (one breath being one rise and fall ofthe chest).

Monitor and record pulse rate

Pulse rate is measured by counting the number of beats at the pulse at either the neck or the wrist for 1 minute. The easiest place to feel a pulse is in the carotid artery in the neck, though you can also check the wrist. Take recordings of breathing and pulse rate every 10 minutes and write down the results for the medical staff.

Fainting

A faint is a briefloss of consciousness. Shock is one of the potential causes of fainting but other causes include lack of food, a reaction to emotional news or long periods of inactivity, for example guardsmen standing for a long time in the summer.

To treat someone who has fainted, open the airway and check for breathing. If the person is breathing and there are no signs of injury, then the best treatment is to lie her on her back with her legs raised. This puts maximum oxygen back to the brain and speeds up recovery from a faint. If she has not begun to come around after 3 minutes, or if breathing becomes difficult, put her into the recovery position and call for help.

Examining the unconscious person

Your initial check of the injured or ill person will be for life-threatening conditions, particularly serious bleeding. If you have more time while waiting for the ambulance, a more thorough check may show up less serious injuries or illness and potential clues to the cause of unconsciousness. This check should never be at the cost of monitoring and maintaining the airway or of keeping the injured person as still as possible. If doing a check of the body, it is sensible to do so in the presence of a third person.

Check the body from head ro toe, looking for areas of bleeding, signs of broken bones or burns, or clues as to the cause of unconsciousness.

 

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If You Have to Move the Casualty

The two key reasons for moving somebody with a spinal injury are: to turn the person on to her back in order to resuscitate her; and to turn her into the recovery position if she is unconscious and in a position that does not allow her to maintain a clear airway.

Neutral position

The best position for a person with a suspected neck or spinal injury is the neutral position. Here the head is in line with the neck and spine. To move a person into the neutral position, grip the head firmly over the ears and move it slowly into line. Once in this position, do not give up this support until medical help arrives to take over from you.

Only use this technique if you have been trained to do so.

Log roll

One of the most effective ways of turning a person over is the log roll technique. Log roll can also be used to turn somebody with a spinal injury on to her side as an alternative to the recovery position. It is also commonly used to move people with other injuries, such as a broken leg or pelvis, on to a stretcher or blanket.

Ideally, six people should be used to carry out this technique, with one person taking the lead and control of the head.

Place your hands over the ears with your fingers along the chin. Hold the head in the neutral position.
Ask the supporters to gently move the arms to the side of the body and to move the legs together.
Ask the supporters to support the spine and limbs and to follow your commands.
Roll the casualty like a log, keeping the head and chin in line with the neck and spine.
If you are by yourself and the injured person is not breathing, do not waste time searching for help. Turn the person as carefully as you can with any help available to you.

Whiplash

This is a common neck injury, particularly after car accidents. It accompanies a sudden impact accident when the person is wearing a seat belt and results from the head being thrown backwards and forwards violently. Whiplash is best described as a neck sprain. It is an injury to the soft tissue in the neck and can result in the need for long-term physiotherapy and the use of a neck collar. Whiplash may not appear until hours or even days after the injury.

It is very difficult to distinguish whiplash from spinal cord damage and a broken neck because the signs, symptoms and potential causes are very similar and the pain of the whiplash injury may be masking other, more serious, problems. For this reason, whiplash should be treated in the same way as other spinal injuries until professional medical staff rule out more serious damage.

Spinal injury recovery position

Support the casualty's head. Make yourself comfortable, as you will have to continue to do this until the ambulance arrives.
Ask a bystander to put the arm nearest the casualty's shoulder gently underneath the casualty's body, ensuring that the fingers are flat and the elbow straight. Bring the furthest arm across the body. The first aider must support the face.
The casualty's furthest leg should be bent upwards and the bystander's arm placed on the thigh just above the knee.
Working under orders from the first aider at the head, the casualty should be gently turned, ensuring that the head, trunk and toes stay in line.
Once the casualty has been turned over, the neck should continue to be supported while lhe bystander ensures that the casualty is stable, either by supporting the body himself or by placing coats or rolled-up blankets, for example, around the casualty.
Alternatively, you can use the log roll technique.

Warning
Do not give anything to eat or drink - the casualty may need a general anaesthetic in hospital.
Do not move the casualty unless she is in danger or needs resuscitation.

 

[sakuraguy]

Hope its useful to everyone.


Thnx

SakuraGuy
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