In life, we quite often encounter various kinds of situations in which human life is in danger. Fire in shopping centers, natural weather conditions, industrial injuries, gunshot attacks or attacks on life with knives - there are a lot of options for getting physical damage in modern life. They are waiting for a person at almost every step, having an accidental or deliberate background, but the fact that a person needs the ability to defend themselves against them is today a pretty weighty argument. And knowledge of the rules of first aid here plays an important role. Indeed, often it is the first few minutes after the defeat of a person’s physical health by one or another threatening factor that affects the course of his pathological condition and affect the results after a possible injury in general.
What is first aid?
The concept, rules and sequence of actions to provide first aid should be known to every conscious representative of the current society. Due to the daily cataclysms of the natural or technical nature of the lives of tens, hundreds, thousands of people are in danger every day. And it’s rather strange that not everyone today is familiar with the concept of what first aid is and how to act in the event of an unusual situation in which one or more people have suffered. Whether this is the fault of the superior persons who regulate the enlightenment of citizens, or is this an omission of the society itself - in fact, is not so important. However, the problem of the educational moment in this vein is worth considering.
So what is first aid? This is a set of measures for emergency resuscitation of the physical condition of the victim, whose health is accidentally or intentionally destabilized by weather, technical, situational conditions or intentional damage to his physiological well-being before the arrival of qualified doctors. In other words, this is a set of actions aimed at maintaining the viability of one person by another in the event of an unforeseen incident that threatens the health of the victim of circumstances. The sequence of first aid is determined by the specifics of a particular case, since different traumas cause different injuries and various kinds of damage are caused to the victim’s state of health. Physiological damage is stopped depending on the nature of the damage, so each specific emergency requires a specific set of actions to prevent the spread of danger.
Value for society
The importance of first aid to victims carries a colossal meaning. We all know very well that the health care system in the state is imperfect, there are a lot of nuances that do not allow it to work one hundred percent. Somewhere underfunding, somewhere lack of resources, somewhere simply someone's negligence - and, as a result, ambulance crews arrive at the scene not as fast as we would like. And precisely at this moment, skills are needed in providing first aid to victims, it is at these moments that emergency intervention and assistance in the localization of injuries suffered by victims are required. Many lives were saved precisely thanks to the time taken by the measures of people who were not far from the emergency.
The need for knowledge about first aid
What is first aid, today they say in the lessons at school, at workshops in universities, at meetings in various levels of institutions and enterprises. But they say little about it. Or not enough to prevent the number of people affected by emergency. In addition to educational insufficiency, the legislative framework that regulates the legal actions of participants in catastrophic and emergency situations is imperfect. Although inaction in the provision of first aid is criminalized.
What is first aid and a set of actions that it is accompanied, alas, does not know a high percentage of the population. And in vain. The need to educate young people at different stages of the educational process is due to the importance in view of the often occurring emergencies, where such knowledge will be simply vital.
Today, in a brutal world of civil strife, hostilities, terrorism, and even accidental emergencies, every student, every student or employee of a manufacturing and technical enterprise, to say nothing, absolutely every person of a conscious age should be familiar with the concept of first aid. Life safety as a subject on the basics of safe life should not just be an extracurricular activity, as it is now customary to practice in secondary schools every two weeks, but a full lesson. Why is it worse than art classes? And is it really less significant than a workshop on ethics and aesthetics? Life support and first aid are complementary concepts, because thanks to this knowledge people learn to help each other in difficult situations of emergency, and the ability to provide first aid makes it possible to put into practice the lessons learned in today's unsafe world. As well as in the post-educational period: all enterprises and institutions of different ownership forms and areas of operation should be equipped with memos and instructions for assisting victims before the doctor arrives at the scene of the incident.
First aid training can at least give life to a victim, next to whom an enlightened person will be on time, and at the very least reduce mortality due to emergencies, natural disasters, terrorist acts, where the wounded will receive timely help from experienced and knowledgeable people who find themselves in this moment is near.
Burn help
One of the most common injuries is a burn. Household situations with boiling water, steam, fire, or chemical exposure in contact with the source of spread inevitably lead to burns on the body. Moreover, different types of lesions are stopped by different types of first aid. A set of standard measures aimed at assisting a victim of thermal exposure is determined by the following actions:
- the primary task is to eliminate the source of ignition or to remove the victim from the zone of its spread;
- the second stage is to rid a person of clothes in the affected area, nothing should come into contact with the wound;
- if the clothes are stuck to the body, you need to trim the excess tissue around it;
- if the burns are minor and only redness or blisters on the skin are observed, it is necessary to water this area of the skin with copious amounts of cool water for ten to fifteen minutes; if the burn is more serious, up to charring, a clean, damp cloth is applied to the wound;
- the victim’s dehydrated body needs to be replenished, so you need to give him two glasses of water, while you can add a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of soda to maintain the body’s water balance;
- even before carrying out the listed events it is required to call an ambulance.
The indicated sequence of first aid should not be violated by additional incorrect actions. For example, categorically it is impossible:
- transfer or transport the victim without examination - there may be fractures or deep damage to internal organs;
- treat affected skin with improvised folk remedies - such actions can only aggravate the situation;
- clean the burn without sterile paraphernalia in the form of bandages and anesthesia;
- apply dressings or a tourniquet without the physician’s specific special experience - an improperly applied dressing can increase swelling and cause pain shock;
- puncture the resulting blisters;
- to tear off adherent clothing.
Observing the technique of proper provision of first aid, you can save the victim from pain stress and shock, preventing the lesion from spreading further.
Help with carbon monoxide poisoning or smoke
There are also frequent situations in which a person is not only exposed to thermal damage, but also becomes hostage to a lack of air due to severe poisoning by smoke curtains formed as a result of a violent fire. It also requires intervention and knowledge of the rules of first aid, because if you do not help the victim in time, his health may worsen and worsen, even to the point of a coma.
As in the case of burns, the degree of smoke poisoning of a person is divided into several stages according to the level of exposure to the body. A slight level of smoke damage provokes the appearance of severe dizziness, accompanied by jumps in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, sore throat are possible, which ultimately leads to an onset of paroxysmal cough and severe redness of the skin of the face. The average degree of poisoning occurs with a longer stay of the victim in the area of the smoke exposure and is characterized by a short loss of consciousness, a sharp mental overexcitation, followed by apathy, the appearance of hallucinations, noise attacks in the ears, as well as tachycardia and high pressure. But the most dangerous is a heavy level of smoke intoxication, it is characterized by the most harmful manifestations. It can be convulsive attacks in the limbs, which gradually spread throughout the body, respiratory failure, heart damage, similar to a heart attack, due to oxygen deficiency and, as the climax, coma.
What is the set of rules for first aid in such situations?
- Moving the victim to a place where a new smoke screen attack does not overtake him.
- Relief from the inconvenience of tight clothing that makes it difficult to smoke poisonous - removing a tie, unbuttoning the shirt collar, loosening a tight belt.
- Providing the victim with drinks in the form of strong hot tea or milk.
- Provision of sorbents of the type "Polysorb", "Enterosgel", activated carbon.
- Removing the patient from a fainting state by holding a fleece with liquid ammonia to the olfactory apparatus.
- Ensuring airway patency by releasing them from vomit.
- Exclusion of hypothermia with the help of plaids or heating pads.
- In case of lack of breathing, conducting activities for indirect heart massage and artificial respiration.
Providing first aid to a carbon monoxide victim can not only prevent him from falling into a coma, but also save his life.
Help with open wounds and bleeding
Bleeding refers to quite serious pathologies of the state of the human body, which, with heavy loss of blood, will inevitably lead to death. That is why it must be able to stop in time. In short, first aid for open wounds is entirely aimed at stopping the bleeding. But what specific measures should be taken in this case as a pre-medical intervention?
- In the case when the wound is not deep and is accompanied by slight bleeding, it is necessary to initially clean the wound with plenty of water and apply a sanitized clean dressing to its surface.
- If the blood loss is significant, it is necessary to apply a compressive gauze or tissue tape, which will prevent it. A bandage soaked in blood is not removed, a bandage is applied again on top of it.
- If bleeding is jet and pulsating, you need to apply a tourniquet to the closest artery to it - the region of the forearm, shoulder, and thigh.
- In the event that the wound is blocked by a protruding object, it cannot be removed without qualified medical professionals. A bandage is required to be applied around him, trying to fix it.
- If nosebleeds, do not throw your head back. On the contrary, you need to thoroughly blow your nose, lower your head down and apply cold to the bridge of the nose.
- Internal bleeding should be stopped by the application of cold to the stomach, the adoption of a sitting position, a temporary refusal of food, drink and medication.
- With a penetrating wound and an eruption of internal organs, you need to cover them with a damp cloth, do not let them dry out.
- When injured in the head, you need to apply a clean dressing to the wound and immediately call an ambulance.
- If the chest is damaged, try to close the injured area as tight as possible, apply cold to it until the doctor arrives. If the wound is caused by a gunshot, you must find the penetration hole and also close.
- If the injury occurred with traumatic amputation, the severed limbs must be put in a sterile bag and left in the cold. The next six hours they can still be sewn with a high probability of survival.
- If the wound is caused by a squeezed position or falling under the rubble, it requires the application of a tourniquet, cold care, and the victim himself should drink plenty of fluids.
Knowing this first aid instruction for open wounds allows you to save a person’s life by reducing blood loss.
Fracture assistance
Often there are situations in which people injure limbs with possible open or closed fractures. And in anticipation of doctors, the correct position of the body is also required before they arrive at the scene. The timely first aid provided for injuring the victim’s body with fractures can not only reduce the risk of complications and reduce the time of disability, but also save him from disability. This type of injury is one of the most frequent, therefore, every conscious citizen needs to know the list of measures to help the victim.
The sequence of first aid provided to a fracture victim consists of the following aspects:
- immobilization of the victim - the primary task of the assistant providing first aid; the damaged limb should remain motionless until the arrival of doctors in order to avoid pain shock, loss of consciousness and damage to surrounding tissues;
- when the victim complains of severe pain, you should not find out what exactly causes this discomfort - a fracture, dislocation or severe injury; it is required to provide him with a comfortable position with a minimum of movements and call an ambulance;
- if the victim needs to be transported, it is imperative to lay the tire in order to prevent the movement of broken bones, after anesthetizing the lesion segment;
- open fractures undergo disinfection of the skin with brilliant green, iodine or alcohol and a pressure dressing to prevent blood loss;
- in any case, broken bones do not need to be tried to place yourself on the original physiological site of growth;
- taking the painkiller in the form of “Analgin”, “Tempalgin”, “Amidopyrin” and the like medications will help to ease the patient’s condition;
- abundant drinking of water, hot tea, as well as warming the victim with a blanket will not aggravate the problem.
Help with drowning and water-filled lungs
In cases of drowning and filling the lungs with liquid, complex measures are taken for indirect heart massage and artificial respiration. The basics of first aid in the context of this type of trauma to the human body are of primary importance in the lessons of life safety. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is considered a basic skill in assisting victims of drowning, filling the lungs with water, and many other incidents. What is the first aid provided to the drowned man?
- Checking the pulse and breathing of a drowning victim.
- The belief that there are no foreign bodies in the victim’s oral cavity.
- Convenient location of the victim’s body before the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation: he should lie on a hard surface on his back with his head thrown back, his mouth open and his lower jaw extended to prevent tongue dropping.
- Indirect cardiac massage is characterized by pressing palms on the chest of the drowned man with a frequency of at least 100 presses per minute and with pressure efforts such that the sternum of the adult bends 5-6 cm.
- Artificial respiration from mouth to mouth - pinch your nose and blow a stream of air into the lungs of the victim. If the expansion of his lungs is not observed (the chest does not heave from artificial respiration) - this means that the lungs are clogged.
Carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation is much easier for two assistants than for one. But if the situation has developed in this way, then pressure on the chest and air injection into the victim's lungs should alternate in the performance of one person in the amount of 10-12 pressures per breath. Indirect cardiac massage and artificial respiration continue for thirty minutes until the victim is revived or the first signs of biological death appear.
Help with a heart attack or stroke
Heart attack and stroke are frequent pathologies of the cardiovascular and nervous system of the human body. These are phenomena that overtake not only people of older age categories. They can be subjected to absolutely everyone, regardless of the age threshold of a person. As a result of a heart attack or stroke, a person may die if he does not receive first aid in a timely manner. Basically, this happens if, at the time of the attack, no one is next to the patient. But how to help a person suffering from a heart attack or stroke?
- The first step is to urgently call an emergency ambulance - preferably if it is a specialized team.
- If the victim did not lose consciousness from the attack, he should be given a semi-sitting position, putting something like pillows from folded clothes under his head, shoulders and knees.
- All tight knots, belts, ties, watches, chains, rings must be removed, especially in the neck area, so that the patient does not feel stiffness or suffocation.
- Provide the Aspirin tablet to the victim, since chewing it helps to improve metabolic processes in the affected area of the heart muscle during a heart attack.
- Monitor blood pressure: regularly measure the heart rate, and if it is normal, you can give "Nitroglycerin" under the tongue to relieve spasm of coronary arteries and increase blood flow to the myocardium. If the pressure is high, the drug should not be given.
- If nevertheless the patient lost consciousness from an attack, it is necessary to put him in a comfortable position in a safe position. To prevent flooding of the victim with vomiting in case of a stroke, you need to turn his head to the side.
- Monitor respiration and blood circulation. In case of cardiac arrest, proceed to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as described previously.
Psychological first aid
The topic of first aid is raised not only in the case of physiological damage to victims at the time of the emergency. Quite often, in times of catastrophes or accidents, people are struck by a certain numbness and they are plunged into a severe stressful state, the culmination of which becomes shock. In such cases, people also need help: you need to try to talk with the person as calmly as possible, hold hands, and convince everyone that everything is behind, that danger has passed. In an extreme case, taking out of a state of stupor will help a weak amplitude clapping on the cheeks. A glass of clean water and a comfortable position of the body will also help a person recover — you can sit him on a soft surface with a back and cover with a blanket.