ACKNOWLEDGEMENT__________________________________________________________________2POCKET GUIDE ON FIRST AID___________________________________________________________3
What is FIRST AID?_____________________________________________________________________3Why do we need FIRST AID?______________________________________________________________3Who can perform FIRST AID?_____________________________________________________________3Basics of FIRST AID:____________________________________________________________________3
Survey the scene:______________________________________________________________________3Survey the patient:_____________________________________________________________________3Approaching the victim:________________________________________________________________3Check the ABCs (airway, breathing, and circulation):_________________________________________4Check Airway:________________________________________________________________________4Check Breathing:______________________________________________________________________5Check Circulation:_____________________________________________________________________5Call for emergency services:_____________________________________________________________6108 Services:_________________________________________________________________________6Scene at Accident Site:_________________________________________________________________7Adequate Steps to be taken citing an emergency:_____________________________________________8
Conditions that require first aid:____________________________________________________________8First Aid Techniques:____________________________________________________________________9FIRST AID KIT________________________________________________________________________10FIRST AID TREATMENTS______________________________________________________________10
Cuts and Bleeding____________________________________________________________________10Bleeding Control:_____________________________________________________________________10Burns:______________________________________________________________________________10Poisoning:__________________________________________________________________________10Fractures and Joint Injuries:_____________________________________________________________10Heat and Cold wave:__________________________________________________________________10Heat:_______________________________________________________________________________10Cold:______________________________________________________________________________10Shock______________________________________________________________________________10
Disasters expose mankind to a variety of hazards. The misery can be minimized if each one of us is familiar with surviving skills when a disaster does take place. Individuals can do a lot in mitigating human misery if they are familiar with elementary rules of first aid to the injured and rescue skills needed to locate and rescue people who might be trapped.
Locating the victims of disaster and rescuing them is the most important post disaster task. It has to be organized using both the community resources and the specialists. The survivors of the disaster need help to be pulled out of the debris, given first aid then handed over to authorities who can give them the necessary medical attention.
The job of a rescuer starts with reaching the site of the disaster. Information about the disaster may be collected from the surviving locals. The next step is mobilizing the available manpower. Apart from the rescue team, help may be taken from the local volunteers. Once manpower has been mobilized, there would be need for equipment.
It is a matter of pleasure and privilege to acknowledge my profound gratitude to all those who helped me in completing this work. The home matters most when you are trying to pursue an intensive work like this. Neither work nor reflection would ever have been possible but for the support of my parents. I am also grateful to my institution for allowing me to use library and internet facilities at my will and my teachers for their academic guidance and support. I am thankful to other well wishers who have granted me an overwhelming support and cooperation during the course of the present study.
What is FIRST AID?First Aid is medical attention done at the scene of an accident.
Why do we need FIRST AID?You perform first aid if someone is hurt or having a fit.
Who can perform FIRST AID?First Aid can be performed by all kinds of people such as paramedics, teachers, physeos, nurse, doctor, and the army and also by sports teachers.
Basics of FIRST AID: Survey the scene Survey the patient Call for emergency servicesThe above actions are elaborated as follows:
Survey the scene:Survey the scene and approach the victim. Determine whether the scene is safe. Look for dangers, such as downed power lines, traffic, unstable structures or fast-moving water. Determine what may have happened, how many victims are involved, and if any bystanders can help. If several persons appear to be injured, perform triage (Triage is a system used by medical or emergency personnel to ration limited medical resources when the number of injured needing care exceeds the resources available to perform care so as to treat the greatest number of patients possible.), that is evaluate and categorize the wounded and then treat those requiring the most urgent medical attention first.
Survey the patient:
Perform an initial assessment. Get consent from a conscious victim (parent/guardian if the victim is a minor) before providing care. If the victim is unconscious, consent is implied. Use infection control precautions and check for signs and symptoms of any life-threatening conditions and care for them. To perform an initial assessment: 1. Check the victim for consciousness and obtain consent if the victim is conscious; 2. Check the ABCs (airway, breathing, and circulation); and 3. Check for severe bleeding.Approaching the victim: Approach the patient visibly and offers help. Direct questions ("Can you hear me?", "What happened?", "Where are you hurt?") or instructions ("Open your eyes!") are favored. It is often recommended that one announces to the patient
that he/she will be touched ("I am going to touch your shoulder, all right?"); the rescuer can take the hand of the patient and ask him to squeeze his hand, in case the patient is conscious but too weak to speak, or incapable. The rescuer comes in front of the patient, introduces herself, and asks the patient to squeeze her hand, in case the patient would be too weak to speak. If the patient responds and there are no safety issues, CPR is unnecessary, and more time is available to summon help as needed. If there is no response, meaning the patient is unconscious, a single rescuer will generally need to call for help before proceeding further.
Check the ABCs (airway, breathing, and circulation):
Check Airway:
Quick inspection of the mouth may reveal a blocked airway. If possible, the patient should be placed on his/her back on a firm surface. The next step is to get a further view of the mouth and throat and to make as much space for breathing as possible: - In the possibility of a neck injury, lifting the chin or jaw may be enough to stabilize the airway; - In other cases, tilting the head back will lift the tongue away from the back of the mouth, opening the airway.
After opening the victim's airway, breathing effort should be checked. Placing one's cheek in front of the victim's mouth (about 3-5 cm away), while looking at the patient’s chest, should allow one to detect any of the following signs: 1. feeling the airflow on the cheek 2. Hearing the airflow 3. Seeing the chest rise and fall this is done for no less than 5 to no more than 10 seconds.
Check Circulation:
To care for breathing and circulation means first clearing the airway, and briefly attempting to restart their breathing or circulation with rescue breathing or CPR. This step is crucial, because an unconscious person's airway can be blocked by a normal, comfortable-looking head position (e.g., on their back with a pillowed head). Often, simply tilting the head back will open the airway and restart their breathing. Likewise, many people recovering from a blocked airway vomit, and if they are unconscious, they can drown in the vomit. The standard prevention for both these issues is to turn a breathing, unconscious patient on their side, turning their head and spine in the same movement to avoid spinal injury, pillowing their head on one of their arms.
Do not move casualties unless it is necessary to remove them from danger, or to make treatment possible (such as onto a hard surface for CPR). Calling for emergency medical services must take priority over extended care such as long term rescue breathing or extended CPR, since these techniques are intended to gain time for emergency services to arrive as part of the chain of survival. However, if bystanders are available, both can be pursued at the same time.
Call for emergency services:To activate emergency medical services by calling for help using a local emergency telephone number, such as 108 in A.P. Operators will generally require the caller's name and location and some information on person that is being called about (level of consciousness, injuries, name if known, chronic medical illnesses if known). If you ask bystanders to call an ambulance for you, make sure they report back to you once released by the emergency operator to confirm that the call has been made. Also note that in some circumstances, such as in remote areas or on the battlefield, outside help may be unavailable. The skill of wilderness first aid covers other measures including evacuation, but is no substitute for a medical professional if one can be located.
108 Services:
1-0-8 Emergency Response Service is 24X7 emergency service for medical, police and fire emergencies. It is a free service for any Emergencies involving people. The service is available 24x7 in the entire state of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand.
It a 24x7 emergency service. Toll Free number accessible from landline or mobile Emergency help will reach you in an average of 18 minutes Call 1-0-8 for all emergencies (Medical, Police and Fire)
1-0-8 is a toll-free number and is dialed:
To save a life To report a crime in progress To report a fire
In Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand, 108 Emergency Response Service have MOU with over 3310 hospitals which provide initial stabilization free of cost for the first 24 hours.
Scene at Accident Site:Is it safe?
Take care of you, then your helpers, then the victim.Is the scene safe?What caused this?Is there anything here that can hurt me?
Women only: Normal Childbirth | Childbirth - emergency delivery | Miscarriage | Elective abortion
First Aid Techniques: Artificial respiration: A technique for providing air for a person who is not breathing on their own but whose heart is still beating. Auscultation: A technical term for listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): An emergency first aid protocol for an unconscious person on whom both breathing and pulse cannot be detected. Defibrillation: For cardiac arrest following a heart arrhythmia (which can occur after a heart attack, electrocution, and electrolyte imbalance), defibrillation is the most effective treatment. First Aid Kit: A collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, particularly in an emergency. Occlusive dressing: an air- and water-tight trauma dressing used in first aid. Oxygen first aid: Use of oxygen administration as a treatment for an acute or chronic medical emergency. Pulse: The throbbing of their arteries as an effect of the heart beat. It can be felt at the neck, at the wrist and other places. Recovery Position: A first aid technique recommended for assisting people who are unconscious, or nearly so, but is still breathing. Triage: A system used by medical or emergency personnel to ration limited medical resources when the number of injured needing care exceeds the resources available to perform care so as to treat the greatest number of patients possible. Tourniquet: A tightly tied band applied around a body part (an arm or a leg) sometimes used in an attempt to stop severe traumatic bleeding, but also during venipuncture, and other medical procedures. Sub-abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver): A first aid procedure for clearing an obstructed airway. It is an effective life-saving measure in cases of choking.
Skin is red, dry, Skin is red, dry, and painfuland painful
Minimal swellingMinimal swelling
Skin not brokenSkin not broken
Bandage if necessary. Skin lotion may be helpful (Aloe). 108 may not be needed.
SecondSecond--Degree BurnsDegree Burns
Skin is swollen Skin is swollen and red, may and red, may be blotchy or be blotchy or streakedstreakedBlisters that Blisters that may be may be weeping clear weeping clear fluidfluidVery PainfulVery Painful
If someone is poisoned you could see nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, drowsiness, dizziness
Determine (if you can) what was swallowed, when, and how much.
Call Poison Control Center or 108
Swallowed Swallowed PoisonsPoisons
Smal l chi ldren
love pretty bottles.
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Carbon MonoxideCarbon Monoxide
Invisible, odorless, and Invisible, odorless, and tastelesstasteless——and very lethal and very lethal
May be present from motor May be present from motor vehicle exhaust, a faulty vehicle exhaust, a faulty furnace, fires, some furnace, fires, some camping heaters camping heaters
Exposure to large amounts Exposure to large amounts causes an immediate causes an immediate poisoning reactionpoisoning reaction
Get victim away from Get victim away from sourcesource
FracturesFracturesBone may be Bone may be completely broken or completely broken or only crackedonly cracked
Closed fractureClosed fracture -- skin skin is not broken is not broken
Open fracture Open fracture -- open open wound at the fracture wound at the fracture site site
Bleeding can be severe Bleeding can be severe with fractures of large with fractures of large bonesbones
118118
First Aid for FractureFirst Aid for FractureWith open fracture, cover wound with dressing and apply With open fracture, cover wound with dressing and apply
gentle pressure around the site if needed to control gentle pressure around the site if needed to control bleedingbleeding
If help may be delayed or if victim is to be transported, If help may be delayed or if victim is to be transported, immobilize with a splintimmobilize with a splint
125125
Spinal InjuriesSpinal Injuries
Fracture of the neck or Fracture of the neck or back back May be life threatening and May be life threatening and can cause permanent can cause permanent paralysisparalysis
Do not move the victim any Do not move the victim any more than necessarymore than necessarySupport the head and neck Support the head and neck to prevent worsening the to prevent worsening the injuryinjury
First Aid First Aid for Heat Crampsfor Heat Cramps
Have person stop activity and Have person stop activity and sit quietly in cool placesit quietly in cool place
Give sports drink or waterGive sports drink or water
Massage the cramped Massage the cramped muscles. muscles.
168168
First Aid for Heat First Aid for Heat ExhaustionExhaustion
Move victim from heat to rest in cool place Move victim from heat to rest in cool place Loosen or remove unnecessary clothingLoosen or remove unnecessary clothingGive sports drink or water to drinkGive sports drink or water to drinkRaise feet 8Raise feet 8--12 inches 12 inches Put wet cloths on forehead and body or Put wet cloths on forehead and body or spray skin with waterspray skin with waterSeek medical care if victimSeek medical care if victim’’s condition s condition worsens or does not improve within 30 worsens or does not improve within 30 minutesminutes
A A lifelife--threatening emergencythreatening emergency more more common during hot summer periodscommon during hot summer periods
May develop slowly over several May develop slowly over several days or more rapidly with strenuous days or more rapidly with strenuous activity in the heat activity in the heat
Different from heat exhaustion:Different from heat exhaustion:–– Skin is flushed and feels very hot and Skin is flushed and feels very hot and
dry to touch; skin may by pale, or dry to touch; skin may by pale, or may turn red if severemay turn red if severe
–– Victim becomes confused, irrational, Victim becomes confused, irrational, may become unresponsive or have may become unresponsive or have convulsionsconvulsions
HeatstrokeHeatstroke
104°F
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First Aid for First Aid for HeatstrokeHeatstroke
Call 108Call 108Move victim to Move victim to cool placecool placeRemove outer Remove outer clothingclothing
Wrap victim in wet Wrap victim in wet sheet and sponge sheet and sponge with cool waterwith cool water
Cool victim quicklyCool victim quickly
Spray skin with Spray skin with waterwater
Put ice bags or Put ice bags or cold packs beside cold packs beside neck, armpits, and neck, armpits, and groingroin
Skin looks waxy and Skin looks waxy and white, gray, yellow, or white, gray, yellow, or bluish bluish
Area is numb or feels Area is numb or feels tingly or achingtingly or aching
Severe frostbite:Severe frostbite:Area feels hardArea feels hard
May become painless May become painless
After warming, area After warming, area becomes swollen and becomes swollen and may blistermay blister
158158
First Aid for First Aid for FrostbiteFrostbite
Move victim to warm environmentHold frostbitten area in hands to warm it – do not rubRemove any tight clothing or jewelry around areaPut dry gauze or fluffy cloth between frostbitten fingers or toesDo not use fire, heat lamp, fire, heating pad to re-warmSeek medical attention
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HypothermiaHypothermia
Occurs when body cannot make heat as fast as it loses itInternal body temperature drops below 95°F Can occur whenever and wherever a person feels cold, including indoors in poorly heated areas
SymptomsShivering (but stops in severe hypothermia)Confusion, or irrationalLethargic, drowsinessPale, cool skinChanging Levels of responsiveness
SymptomsShivering (but stops in severe hypothermia)Confusion, or irrationalLethargic, drowsinessPale, cool skinChanging Levels of responsiveness
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First Aid for HypothermiaFirst Aid for Hypothermia
Check ABCs Check ABCs Call Call 108108 for all severe for all severe hypothermia victimshypothermia victimsQuickly get victim out Quickly get victim out of cold, and remove of cold, and remove wet clothingwet clothingHave victim lie down Have victim lie down and cover with and cover with blankets blankets Serious cases need Serious cases need immediate medical immediate medical carecare
Untreated Untreated –– it can lead to death.it can lead to death.Can be caused by all kinds to things Can be caused by all kinds to things
like:like:
Severe bleedingSevere bleeding
Heart problemsHeart problems
Nervous system injuriesNervous system injuries
DehydrationDehydration
Serious infectionsSerious infections
Severe burnsSevere burns
Allergic reactionsAllergic reactions
Not enough blood is getting circulated around the body.
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First Aid for First Aid for ShockShock
Have victim lie on back Have victim lie on back and raise legs 8 to and raise legs 8 to 12 inches (except 12 inches (except with spine injury) with spine injury)
Maintain victimMaintain victim’’s s normal body normal body temperature temperature
CONCLUSION: First aid is only immediate and temporary assistance while one waits for medical
help to arrive. For most injury situations, first aid is the best course of action. The situation, type of severity of the injury, life-threatening nature of the injury
and size of your detail will all factor into the decision of how to provide first aid. Always one should get qualified medical help as soon as possible for every first
