FIRST AID

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FIRST AID
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Goals for this class

• Identify Emergencies
• Personal Safety
• Basic care
• Hygiene

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Identifying an Emergency
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What has happened?

• Personal Safety Am I in danger?
• Personal Protection What can I do to protect
  myself?
• What specifically is going on?
• Additional resources Do I need help

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Hazards and Protection

• Blood and body fluids Wear Gloves or use
  something to create a barrier
• Unsafe scene Dont enter unless the scene is
  safe, or you can do something to remove the
  hazard

• Unseen hazards Pay attention to your
  surroundings (Look up, look down, look all around)

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Possible Solutions

• I can deal with this
• Begin treatment

• I cant deal with this
• Get help immediately

If at any time you begin to feel unsure about
managing a problem get help
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Life threatening emergencies

• Unconsciousness
• Not Breathing
• Severe Bleeding
• Neck injuries

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Not breathing

• If you find that a person is unconscious send
  someone to get help then check if they are
  breathing.
• Look, Listen, Feel
• Open their airway using the head tilt/chin lift
  or jaw thrust

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Severe Bleeding

• Control Bleeding
• Call for help
• If they have lost a significant amount of blood
  have them lie down and elevate their feet

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Types of Bleeding

• Venous Dark, oozing
• Arterial Bright red, spurting
• Internal Bruising
• External Abrasions, laceration, punctures,
  amputations

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General Bleeding Control

• Remember to try and protect yourself from contact
  with blood and other body fluids

• Steps to control bleeding
• Direct pressure
• Elevation
• Ice for bruising
• Pressure points

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Bleeding control cont.

• Do not remove bandages once they have been
  applied
• Do not use a tourniquet unless all other efforts
  have failed to stop bleeding
• Remember applying a tourniquet means that the
  person will probably lose that limb

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Wound Management

• Abrasions
• Involve top layer of skin
• Blood is dark and oozing
• Classic scraped knee
• Care
• Clean with soap and water
• Use antibiotic ointment
• Bandage wound and change the dressing once or
  twice a day (Change dressing if you get it wet)

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• Lacerations
• Cuts through various layers of skin
• Blood can be venous or arterial
• Care
• Clean wound by irrigation
• After cleaning wound needs to be held shut with
  some sort of bandage (i.e. butterfly bandage or
  tape)
• Once closed keep it closed (Thats why we clean
  it first)
• Once wound is closed, use antibiotic ointment on
  the surface and bandage
• Decide if stitches are needed (if you feel
  stitches are necessary you should get them within
  about 8 hrs)

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• Punctures
• Usually involves minimal bleeding
• Poses high risk of infection
• Care
• If object is still impaled stabilize in place
• Clean with water
• Consider if tetanus shot is needed

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• Amputations
• Bone and skin are removed from body
• Care
• Control bleeding
• Wrap amputated part in gauze or clean cloth then
  put it on ice

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Strains and Sprains cont.

• Treatment for strains and sprains H I R I C E
• Heat
• Ibuprofen
• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation

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Fractures

• Basic care for fractures
• Support injured limb
• Leave in position of comfort
• Protect from further injury/damage
• Get medical assistance
• Splinting Do not attempt to splint the injury
  unless the patient must move to get medical
  assistance

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Fractures cont.

• Simple splinting techniques
• Anatomical splints
• Sling and Swathe
• Cautions when splinting
• Do not cut off circulation by tying bandages too
  tight
• If you use something hard to splint an extremity,
  be sure to pad around it

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• Hypothermia Low Body Temperature
• Ways we lose heat -
• Radiation Heat lost to a colder environment
• Convection Circulating Air
• Conduction Direct contact with cold objects
• Evaporation Moisture on the body
• Respiration - Breathing

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• Environmental factors
• Cold air
• Water immersion
• Contributing factors
• Old Age
• Lack of exercise
• Illness
• Injury

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Signs of hypothermia

• Cool skin
• Decreased mental function
• Stiff muscles
• Shivering in mild cases
• No Shivering in severe cases
• Umbles Mumbles, Stumbles, Fumbles, Grumbles,
  Tumbles

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Treatment for hypothermia

• Remove victim from the cold environment
• Remove wet clothing
• Cover with a blanket
• Handle victim gently
• Dont allow victim to exert themselves
• Do not attempt to massage extremities
• If victim is drowsy, do not let them eat or drink

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Treatment cont.

• If no shelter is immediately available
• Build one
• Start fire
• Warm some water and place warm water bottles
  around the neck armpits and groin
• Try to get the victim to medical help as soon as
  possible

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• Hyperthermia High body temperature
• Environmental factors
• High temperature and humidity
• High activity levels
• Other factors
• Very young or old
• Dehydration
• Illness
• Obesity

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• Heat Exhaustion ranges from mild to severe
• Sign and symptoms
• Muscle Cramps
• Weakness
• Dizziness, faintness
• Altered mental status
• Mild cases skin is moist and normal to cool in
  temperature
• Severe cases skin is dry and hot

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• Treatment for heat exhaustion
• Remove from hot environment
• Loosen or remove clothing
• Cool with moist towels and fanning
• If pt is responsive give them water
• Apply cool packs to neck, armpits, and groin
• If unresponsive get help immediately

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Bites and Stings

• Primary concerns here in Texas regarding bites
  and stings
• Snakes
• Water moccasins, Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, Coral
  Snakes
• Spiders
• Black Widow, Brown Recluse

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• General Bite and Sting management
• Try to identify what bit you
• Wash area with soap and water

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Snakes

• Identification of poisonous snakes
• Typically have a triangular shaped head
• Coral Snakes can be identified by the colored
  bands found on their body (Red touch yellow, kill
  a fellow)

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Treatment of Snakebites

• Wash with soap and water
• Immobilize bitten limb
• Apply cold pack to slow blood flow in the area of
  the bite
• Seek medical attention immediately

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Identification of poisonous Spiders

• Black widow
• Black spider with rounded abdomen
• Distinct red hourglass shape on the underside of
  the abdomen

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• Signs of a Black Widow bite
• Minor discomfort following bite
• Painful muscle cramps within 15 min starting at
  the site of the bite and spreading throughout the
  whole body
• Weakness and intense painful muscle spasms

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• Toxins eventually attack the brain causing
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Labored breathing
• Slurred speech
• Convulsions

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• Brown Recluse identification
• Brown in color
• Distinct violin shape on its head

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• Signs of a Brown Recluse bite
• May have localized pain
• Over time develops into a bullseye look with a
  dark center surrounded by a red area
• Forms blister
• After several days blister ruptures and turns
  black or brown
• Dead tissue falls off and forms a crater in the
  skin

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• Brown Recluse cont.
• While Brown Recluse bites are not typically
  fatal they can result in the loss of a limb if
  not properly treated.

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Hygiene

• Proper hand washing techniques
• Foot care
• Sanitation

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• Frequent, proper hand washing is your number one
  defense against transmission of disease

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• How should your hands should be washed
• With water and soap
• Work up lather and coat your palms, top of your
  hands, and between your fingers with soap
• Rub hands together vigorously for about 15 sec
• Rinse thoroughly
• When should they be washed
• Prior to eating
• After using the bathroom
• After touching animals or raw meat
• After touching blood or body fluids
• Any other time you feel like it. It never hurts
  to wash your hands

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Proper Showering

• Similar principles to hand washing
• Key areas which should be thoroughly cleaned
• Hair
• Armpits
• Groin
• Feet

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Foot care

• Regularly trim toenails
• Scrub feet when showering
• Allow feet to air out as you get a chance
• Change socks regularly (i.e. socks should not be
  worn more than one day and should be washed
  between each use)
• Socks should be changed more frequently when feet
  are subjected to wet conditions
• Take care of blisters early on

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Foot care cont.

• Jungle Rot and Athletes Foot
• Soak feet it epsom salts or a diluted bleach
  solution
• Dont walk around barefoot (this will prevent
  getting it or passing it on to squad mates

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Poison Ivy/Poison oak

• Wash area with soap and water
• Wash hands after touching it, since you can
  spread it around your body by touching it then
  other areas
• Resist the urge to scratch or rub on the effected
  areas
• Try to dry out areas with a diluted bleach
  solution or alcohol

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Question and Answer time