First Aid Tips

The minimum requirements for first aid for any workplace are:

A suitable Emergency First Aid at Work workshop should cover:


Here’s a quick list of first aid tips more will be added later.

  1. Standard Precautions—Before touching any blood or body fluid, put a barrier between yourself and the fluid. Barriers like latex gloves, sandwich baggies, or even thick rolled-up towels might do in a pinch.
  2. Bleeding—Most scrapes or cuts are minor and will stop bleeding without our help. When they don’t, take a clean cloth and press on the wound for about 20 minutes. Elevate the site if possible. If the bleeding doesn’t stop or significantly slow down, get professional advice.
  3. Wounds—No need for soap in the wound, just rinse it out with clean water. If any fragments remain, pluck them out with clean tweezers. Put antibiotic ointment on the wound to help prevent infection and cover it with a bandage. If the wound seems deep, more than ¼ inch, get stitches.
  4. Heat—If you or someone else is suffering from heat stroke, get in the shade, cool down with water from a garden hose or another source, and call for the pros because heat stroke isn’t something with which you want to mess around.
  5. Insects—If you’re stung, scrape the stinger from side to side to remove it. Wash the site with soap and water and put an ice pack on it to reduce swelling. If you have a tick, remove it with tweezers, pinching it as close to your skin as you can. Wash the area with soap and water, as you would with any bug bite.

Reassurance and First Aid Hygiene


By combining reassuring words with good first aid management, you will (in most cases) ease the angst and pain levels of the patient. By easing these levels in the patient you help to promote recovery by decreasing the pulse rate. This, in turn also slows any blood loss that may occur, which in turn slows down the shock process.
 
First Aid Hygiene:

For minor wounds, when possible thoroughly wash your hands before and after the application of a dressing.

When dealing with injured or ill persons also wear disposable gloves if available.

If performing ‘Rescue Breathing’ use a CPR mask or face shield whenever possible.

When cleaning wounds and the surrounding area use antiseptic solutions, make sure to always read the label before applying.

When using sterile swabs or gauze, always clean away from the centre of the wound. Never apply the same swabs or gauze more than once and use multiple coverings if possible.

Also ensure that you do not cough, sneeze or talk over any part of the dressing, as this will compromise the hygiene of the dressing.

When applying the dressing, ensure you apply it directly onto the wound. The dressing should always be covered using a bandage that extends beyond the dressing.

First Aid for Children


Natural excitement and curiosity are normal and healthy parts of development, but they present special challenges for child safety. Children don't usually spend much time thinking about how to stay safe and healthy. That's mom and dad's job. While scrapes and bruises are also a normal part of childhood, there are more serious threats, such as poisoning and burns. Keeping key first-aid supplies handy for common injuries is a great first step in a child safety plan.

Child Safety: The Top 10 First-Aid Essentials

1. Your local poison control number. Almost 80 percent of reported poisoning cases involve children, and most of those are among children age 5 and under. Haller recommends placing the phone number for your local poison control center in your medicine cabinet and on your refrigerator, and programming it into your cell phone. "The centers are open 24 hours a day and have a nurse on call who can tell you exactly what to do after you describe the situation," Dr. Haller says. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in a life-threatening emergency situation, dial 000 or in the US 911.

2. Pain relief medication. Child safety choices include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve). Monitor children's dosages carefully. For instance, if they're sick with a cough and congestion and you've already given them a medicine with acetaminophen (like a cold remedy), you don't want to give them another dose of Tylenol at the same time.

3. An assortment of bandages. A two-inch-square sterile gauze pad can clean almost any wound, says Haller. In addition, have adhesive-free dressings, other sizes of sterile pads, or a roll of gauze for minor burns or kneecap scrapes. Tape and strip bandages in a variety of sizes work for cuts and blisters, and an elastic wrap like an Ace bandage is effective for sprains.

4. Soap for clean-up. "For most wounds, cleaning with soap and water is good enough," says Haller. Always wash a wound before dressing it. You might also want to have an antiseptic solution or towelettes handy, which Haller says makes a good disinfectant.

5. Antibiotic ointment. Choose today's gold standard, Polysporin, or the old standby, bacitracin. For a large open wound on a frightened young patient, you can put the ointment on the bandage pad, instead of directly on the injury.

6. Tweezers. Essential for the removal of splinters or dirt particles from a cut or puncture wound, tweezers should be wiped with alcohol before using. If possible, have both a pointed tip and a slanted tip pair.

7. Itch relief. Choose a few different formats to cover all itchy bases. Calamine lotion is still a soother for poison ivy and the like. Over-the-counter (OTC) hydrocortisone cream is great for dermatitis-type skin rashes and irritations, while an OTC antihistamine like Benadryl (a cold symptom and nasal allergy mainstay), is handy for an itchy initial reaction to a wasp or bee sting. If your child breaks out in hives and has any throat swelling, signs of a serious allergic reaction, call your doctor immediately.

8. "Instant" ice packs. These disposable packs don't need to be kept frozen and are literally a snap to use to reduce swelling after an injury.

9. A tooth-preserving storage device. Should one of your child's permanent teeth get knocked out by accident, a product like Save-A-Tooth will hold and protect it on your way to the dentist, improving the chances of it being replanting.

10. A sterile eye wash. This is handy to flush out any dirt or foreign particles that get into the eyes.

Child Safety: What to Toss

Here are a few medicine chest items that can be cleared out to make room for the top 10 child safety items:

• Ipecac (a poison treatment). "Ipecac is not recommended anymore," says Haller. Not only can ipecac cause a number of side effects, it can also make the damage of certain harsh poisons worse. Each poison affects the body differently and needs a different treatment approach.

• Neosporin. This antibacterial ointment may cause redness or inflammation and has been largely abandoned in favor of Polysporin or bacitracin.

• Aspirin is not recommended for children, unless specifically directed by your physician, because of the risk of a condition called Reye's syndrome.

• Expired products. Check your medicine cabinet every three months and get rid of products that have reached their expiration date. "It's not that they become toxic, but that the components break down, so they're simply no longer effective," Haller explains. "If you notice that your product is only past the date by a week or so and you need it right then, go ahead and use it. Just make a mental note to replace it soon." This advice goes for both over-the-counter and prescription items.

Taking time to ensure child safety is important. With a carefully thought-out shopping list and a trip to your favorite drugstore, you can easily outfit your medicine cabinet for most of life's little bumps along your child's road to discovery.

First-Aid Kits for Dogs and other Pets


A Dog First-Aid Kit suitable for treatment of essentials after an accident, bite or sting may be purchased, or put together by buying a basic first aid kit, taking out anything which is inappropriate, and purchasing key dog-care items.

Having this dog first-aid kit in its own place in the home, will make it much easier to find in an emergency, such as when your dog has suffered a reaction to an insect bite or sting.

It is  recommended that a dog first-aid kit should contain at least the following items:


    * Antihistamine, or sting spray
    * Antiseptic
    * Thermometer
    * Bandages
    * Cotton buds/ cotton wool
    * Curved scissors
    * Dog nail clippers
    * Glucose powder or specialist electrolytes (for rehydration)
    * Heavy duty protective gloves
    * Non-stick dressings and gauze
    * Space blanket
    * Saline solution
    * Surgical gloves
    * Surgical spirit (for removing ticks)
    * Syringe plunger (for administering liquid medicine)
    * Muzzle

Learning basic dog first-aid is also a very useful skill, and many courses are available especially on the net.

A simple way to remember vital first-aid is ABC, Airway, Breathing and Circulation. This is applicable to your pets just as much as it is to yourself and family.

Heart Attack


Once a person suffers a heart attack, they can collapse suddenly because of a cardiac arrest or rhythmic disturbance. CPR training and the availability of an AED Defibrillator may here save a life.
 
Signs to look out for:

The patient may complain of an abrupt tight pain in the chest. This pain is not relieved by moving position or by taking pain killers.
The pain can extend to the shoulders or arms (usually the left arm), and to the jaw and even to the neck.
 
They may complain of nausea, shortness of breath, and may vomit. The patient can often look pale and distressed, have sweaty skin and feel tired and lightheaded.

Not all who suffer a heart attack experience all of the above signs and symptoms. The most significant symptoms are PAIN and SWEATING. Many patients will simply report a feeling of discomfort.

How to Manage:

If the person is conscious, begin by relaxing the patient and offering words of comfort. The patient must not be permitted to move any more than is essential. Make them comfortable and observe that the airway is clear and they are breathing. After that you should call for urgent medical assistance, if possible an ambulance. It is crucial that you do not leave the patient alone at any time. The sooner you call the ambulance the better their chance of recovery.

Try to slacken off any tight clothing around the neck, chest, and body. Be prepared for the patient to lapse into sudden unconsciousness. If an oxygen mask is accessible, administer oxygen therapy to the patient until assistance arrives.

If they are unconscious, then make sure that the airway is clear and follow the Basic Life Support procedures.

Look for any DANGERS to yourself and the patient and control or move away from the danger.

Check for RESPONSE. Check the patients response to talk and touch. If NO response – call 000 for help.

Seek Urgent Medical Assistance.

First Aid for Asthma attack:


An asthma attack is caused by an acute narrowing and spasm of the small air passages in the lungs. As a result the patient finds it increasingly difficult to breathe, which results in wheezing respirations. Asthma can be caused by things such as changes in weather, allergies, upper respiratory tract infections, exercise, and nervous tension or quite often for no apparent reason.

Recognition:
In mild cases a cough may develop.

In medium cases, wheezing breath sounds are usually present. Rapid breathing and pulse, pale and sweaty skin. Difficulty or unable to speak.

In severe cases wheezing may not be audible and the person may be distressed, anxious, fighting for breath, exhausted and later developing into unconsciousness and possibly respiratory arrest.

Management [If Conscious]

Step 1. Give reassurance and assist the patient into an upright position. i.e. sitting in a chair.

Step 2. If the patient is prescribed asthma medication such as ventolin, asmol etc. Assist with the prompt administration using their inhaler. Ask the patient to breathe in and our 4 times after each puff.

Step 3. Wait 4 minutes, and if no improvement repeat step 2.

Step 4. If still no improvement, call 000. Repeat steps 2 + 3 while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Management [If Unconscious]

1. Clear Airway and follow basic life support flow chart.

2. Seek urgent medical assistance.
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