First Aid

1. First Aid

2. The Basics of First Aid • First aid is the immediate care that you give someone with an illness or injury before someone with more advanced training arrives and takes over. • First aid may help someone recover, if not completely recover. First aid could be the difference between life or death. • First aid is usually given for minor illnesses or injuries, but first aid can also be given for more seriousness such as a heart attack or amputation.

3. When and how to provide First Aid? • If providing first aid is part of your job description you must help while you are working. However, if you are not on duty you can choose whether or not to provide First Aid. • When providing first aid it is important to introduce yourself as a first aid provider. Then ask the person if you may help them; if they agree proceed with first aid. • If a person seems confused or is unable to respond always assume they need your help and proceed with first aid.

4. Supplying a first aid kit • A first aid kit is a kit that carries most basic emergency supplies. All first aid kits are different depending on what supplies are chosen to go in them. Some companies carry different supplies than others. • The first aid kit needs to be in a waterproof container and clearly labeled. You must always know where the first aid kit is. After the use of the first aid kit, be sure to replace all used items so the kit will be ready for the next emergency. • If you work for a company that requires you to do first aid, check the kit every morning before work to check for expired supplies.

5. Victim and Rescuer Safety:Assessing the Scene. • Assessing the scene is checking to see if the scene is safe. For example, if the injured or ill person is in a room with poisonous fumes you are not to enter the room. Even though you want to help, if the scene is not safe you cannot. Others may need your help later, and you cannot help anyone if you are injured yourself.

6. Action to take while Assessing the Scene: • As you approach the scene, consider the following: • Danger: Look out for danger to you and danger to the injured person. Move the injured person only if they are in danger or if you need to move them to provide first aid or CPR. Move them ONLY if you can do it safely. • HELP: Look for people who can help you and look for telephones. Have someone phone your emergency response number. Phone for help yourself if no one else is around. • WHO: Who is injured? Figure out how many people are hurt and see if you can tell what happened. • Where: Where are you? Be specific. The emergency response team dispatcher will want to know your address, floor, or location in the building or on the property.

7. Victim and Rescuer Safety:Washing Hands • Washing your hands is a very effective way to stay sanitary. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty and after taking off gloves. • HOW TO WASH HANDS: • Wet your hands with clean running water, preferably warm, and apply soap. • Rub hands together and rub all surfaces of hand and fingers for at least 20 seconds. • Rinse hands with a lot of running water. • Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and to open the bathroom door with. • If you cannot wash your hands with soap and water use hand sanitizer and let it air dry.

8. Victim and Rescuer Safety:Universal Precautions • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came up with the universal precautions to protect you from all diseases. For best protection, always treat blood like it is infected. • Body fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine can sometimes carry germs that cause diseases. Personal protective equipment (PPE’s) protect you. PPE’s include: • Gloves to protect hands from blood or body fluids. • Eye protection, if the person is bleeding, to protect eyes from blood and body fluids. • Mask to protect you when you give breaths.

9. Actions for Universal Precautions: • Wear PPE’s if necessary. • Place all disposable equipment that has touched blood or body fluids containing blood into a biohazard waste bag, or whatever your company requires). • Dispose of the bag however your company requires. • Wash your hands with soap and water after taking off your gloves. • Because so many have allergies to Latex, never use Latex gloves on the injured.

10. Victim and Rescuer Safety:Exposure to Blood • Bloodborne diseases are caused by germs. A rescuer may catch a disease if germs in someone else’s blood or body fluids get into their mouth, eye, or a cut on their skin. This is why you should always wear PPE’s. • Some bloodborne diseases are HIV (the virus that causes aids), HepB, and HepC.

11. Actions for Exposure to Blood • If you are wearing gloves, take them off. • Immediately wash your hands and the contact area with soap and water. • If body fluids have splattered in your eyes, nose, or the inside of your mouth, rinse these areas with lots of water. • Tell our company’s emergency response program supervisor what happened as soon as possible. Then contact a healthcare professional.

12. Taking off Gloves • When you give first aid, the outside of your gloves may touch blood or other body fluids. Take your gloves off without touching the outside of the gloves with your bare hands. • The steps of how to properly take off gloves: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4gyNAsPCbU

13. Victim and Rescuer Safety: Phoning for Help • The American Heart Association (AHA) has a Chain of Survival. The first, most important, step to this is phoning your emergency response number. • When to phone for help: If someone is seriously injured (heart attack, stroke, poison) or you are not sure what to do. If someone tries to commit suicide or has been assaulted call your emergency response number regardless of the condition. • How to phone for help: If alone yell for help and tell them to call. If no one shows, leave the injured person and call yourself while also getting the first aid kit and AED. If you are with others stay with them and have someone else call and proceed with as much first aid as you know. • Remember, all companies policies are different. Be sure you know your companies policies for how to phone your emergency response number. • Also remember to answer all of the dispatchers questions. Do not hang up until told to. This will not delay the arrival.

14. Victim and Rescuer Safety:Finding the Problem • After checking to see id the scene is safe, begin looking for the problem. At first look for life threatening problems, then look for other problems. See how the person responds and watch the persons breathing. • ACTIONS: • Check if the scene is safe. • Shout, “ARE YOU OK?” • Check if the person is breathing. If they are not breathing of if they are gasping for air begin CPR and AED. • Look for any obvious signs of injury, such as bleeding, broken bones, burns, or bites. • Look for medical information jewelry. • If a person cannot respond their muscles in the airway relax causing the tongue to block the airway. Always check the airway.

15. Victim and Rescuer Safety:After the Emergency • When giving first aid you will find our private information on the ill and injured person. You may only give this private information out to EMS rescuers and your company’s emergency response program supervisor. You may also need to fill our a report for your company. You may not share this information with anyone else.

16. Medical Emergencies • It is common to give CPR in medical emergencies. • Medical emergencies include: Breathing problems, chocking in an adult, allergic reactions, heart attack, fainting, diabetes and low blood sugar, stroke, seizure, and shock. We will learn about each of these.

17. Medical Emergencies:Breathing Problems • Someone may develop mild or sever blocking of the aid passages. Someone having a heart attack or stroke may also have breathing problems. • Signs: Breathing is very fast or slow, have trouble with every breath, has noisy breathing such as whistling or wheezing, and can only make sounds or speak no more then a few words at a time between breaths.

18. Asthma • In some cases you may need to help those with asthma if they are having breathing problems and cannot give themselves their own inhaler. • Actions: • Shake medicine. • Put the medicine into the medicine chamber. • Remove the cap from the mouthpiece. • Attach a spacer if there is one available, and if you know how. • Tilt the person’s head back slightly and have them breathe out slowly. • Put the inhaler or spacer in the persons mouth. • Push down on the top of the medicine canister. Have the person breathe in slowly and deeply as you push down. • Have the person how their breathe for 10 seconds, and then breathe out slowly.

19. Helping Someone with Breathing Problems • Follow these steps for someone who is having trouble breathing: • Make sure the scene is safe. • Ask the person if they have medicine. If they need their medicine but they are too sick to get it, get it for them. • Ask the person if you have the right medicine. • Assemble and use. • Phone your emergency response number if the person has no medicine, doesn’t get better after medicine, or the persons breathing gets worse and has trouble speaking or responding. • Stay with the person until someone arrives. • See if the person needs CPR. If they do, give CPR.

20. Medical Emergencies:Choking in an Adult • Choking is when an object gets stuck in the airways. Some choking is mild and some is severe. • MILD

21. Medical Emergencies:Choking in an Adult • Severe Choking:

22. Helping a Choking Adult • When helping a choking adult you are to give inward-upper thrusts right above the navel. This is called the Heimlich Maneuver. This video will provide the steps to help someone who is choking. It also includes pregnant women and larger people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgtIgSyAiU • If a person stops responding give the person CPR and check for objects in the throat every 30 compressions.

23. Medical Emergencies:Allergic reactions • Many allergic reactions are mild, however some reactions that seem mild can turn severe within minutes. People can have allergic reactions from foods, bites, and stings. An epinephrine pen should be given. • Again, companies have different policies. Be sure to know if your company allows you to give an epinephrine shot. • Steps to use an Epi Pen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjILFYPE3Uw

24. Mild and Severe Allergic Reactions When helping someone with a severe reaction give them an Epipen and note the time of injection. If needed, give CPR. If possible, save a sample of what caused the reaction.

25. Medical Emergencies:Heart Attack • Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. The first minutes of the heart attack are the most important because it is when the person is likely to get worse. If the treatments for a heart attack are given quickly the can be successful. • Signs: Chest discomfort, discomfort in other areas around the upper body, shortness of breath, and nausea or light-headedness. However, in women, the elderly, and those with diabetes their signs will be chest pain, heartburn, and indigestion. • Actions: Help them stay calm. Call 911. Ask someone to get the first aid kit and AED. If the person is not allergic to aspirin, no major bleeding, and no signs of a stroke, proceed to give 2 baby aspirin or 1 regular. If the person becomes unresponsive and needs CPR, proceed.

26. Medical Emergencies:Fainting • Fainting is when someone stops responding for less than a minute and them seems fine. This is usually caused by not enough blood going to the brain. Before fainting the person may feel dizzy. Fainting often occurs with the person stands without moving for a long time—especially is the weather is hot, has a heart condition, suddenly stands after squatting or bending down, and receiving bad news.

27. Actions for Fainting • Make sure the scene is safe. • Help the person lie flat on the floor. • If the person doesn’t improve or stops responding, phone 911. • If a person faints and then starts to respond: • Ask the person to continue to lie flat on the floor until he can feel normal. • If the person fell, look for injuries caused by the fall. • Phone 911/

28. Medical Emergencies:Diabetes and Low Blood Sugar • Diabetes is a disease that affects levels of sugar in the blood. Too much or too little sugar causes problems. Too much insulin can cause low blood sugar. • Low blood sugar can occur if the person with diabetes hasn’t eaten or is vomiting, not eaten enough food for the level of activity, or injected too much insulin. Signs of low blood sugar can appear quickly and may include a change in behavior, sleepiness or not responding, hunger, thirst, or weakness, swelling and pale skin, and seizures.

29. Actions for Low Blood Sugar • If the person can sit up and swallow give them something that contains sugar to eat or drink. • Have them sit quietly or lie down. • Phone 911. • Give them fruit juice, sugar, milk, honey, or pop.

30. Medical Emergencies:Stroke • Strokes occur when blood stops flowing to a part of the brain. This can happen if there is bleeding or a blocked blood vessel in the brain. The signs of a stroke are usually sudden. New Treatments can reduce the damage from a stoke if given after the first few hours after the signs appear. • Signs: Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg—especially on one side of the body, sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding, sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, and sudden headache with no cause.

31. Actions for Stroke • Make sure the scene is safe. • Phone or ask someone to phone 911 and get first aid kit and AED. • Not the time of stroke. • See if the person needs CPR.

32. Medical Emergencies:Seizure • A seizure is abnormal activity in the brain. Most seizures stop within a few minutes. Epilepsy often causes seizures but not all seizures are caused by that. Seizures can be caused by head injury, low blood sugar, heat-related injury, and poisons. The person may bite his tongue during a seizure, DO NOT put your fingers or any other object in their mouth to stop this. Treat that injury afterwards. The person may be sleepy and confused after the seizure. • Signs: Lose muscle control, fall to the ground, jerk arms, legs, or other parts of the body, and they may stop responding.

33. Actions for Seizure • Make sure the scene is safe. • Protect the person by moving furniture or other objects out of the way. And placing a small pad or towel under the persons head if it is easy to do so. • Call 911. • After a seizure, follow these steps: • See if the person needs CPR. • Stay with the person. • If the person is vomiting or has fluid in their mouth and you think the person doesn’t have a head, neck, or spine injury, roll him to his side.

34. Medical Emergencies:Shock • Shock develops when there is not enough blood flowing through the body. Someone with shock may stop responding. In adults shock is most present if someone loses a lot of blood that you may or may not be able to see, has a sever heart attack, or has a severe allergic reaction. A person in shock may feel weak, faint, dizzy, nauseous, thirsty, have pale skin, act restless agitated or confused, and be cold and clammy to the touch.

35. Actions for Shock • Make sure the scene is safe. • Phone or send someone to call 911. Get the first aid kit and AED. • Help them lie on their back. • Cover the person in shock to keep them warm. • Give CPR if needed.

36. Injury Emergencies • CPR often needs given. Injury Emergencies include bleeding you can see, wounds, bleeding you cannot see, head, neck, and spine injuries, broken bones and sprains, and burns and electrical injuries.

37. Injury Emergencies:Bleeding you can see • A lot of the times bleeding seems worse than what it is. When a vessel is cut or torn a lot of blood can be lost in a short amount of time but usually it can be stopped with pressure. • Call 911 if the bleeding will not stop, if there is a lot of blood, if the person has a head, neck, or spine injury, signs of shock, or you are not sure what to do.

38. Actions for Bleeding you can see • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Put a dressing on the wound and apply direct pressure. • If the bleeding does not stop apply more dressing and pressure. • Keep pressure until it has stopped. • If you cant keep pressure wrap a bandage firmly around the wound. • Use antibiotic cream on small wounds and clean off the small wound, also.

39. Bandaging • Bandages help protect, cover, and put pressure on a would. • Steps to bandaging: • Make sure scene is safe. • Use direct pressure, with gauze dressing if available, to stop any bleeding. • Apply the bandage over the dressings.

40. Tourniquets • These are used for sever bleeding and can be painful. • Steps: • Make sure scene is safe. Call 911 and get the first aid kit and AED. • Place 2 inches above wound. • Tighten until bleeding stops. • Note the time you put it on. • Get medical help ASAP. • Leave it on until someone arrives.

41. Injury Emergencies:Wounds • Wounds such as bleeding from the nose or mouth, tooth injuries, eye injuries, penetrating and puncturing objects, and amputation.

42. Nosebleeds • With nosebleeds it can be hard to tell how much blood the person is loosing because they often swallow some of their blood causing them to throw up. • Actions: • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Press both sides of nostrils while the person sits and leans forward. • Place constant pressure on both sides of the nostrils for a few minutes until the bleeding stops. • If bleeding continues, press harder. • Phone 911 if you cant stop the bleeding within 15 minutes, the bleeding is heavy, or if they are having trouble breathing.

43. Bleeding from the mouth • Usually bleeding from the mouth can be stopped with pressure. Bleeding from the mouth can be serious if blood or broken teeth are blocking the air way or if you cannot reach the bleeding area. • Actions: • Make sure that the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • If you can easily reach the bleeding, apply pressure to the area with dressings. • Phone 911 if you cannot stop the bleeding of if the person has trouble bleeding.

44. Tooth Injuries • Broken, loose, or knocked out teeth can be very dangerous. • Actions: • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Check the mouth for any missing, loose, or parts of teeth. • Clean the wound with saline or clean water. • If a tooth is loose, have the person bite down on a piece of gauze to keep the tooth in place and call a dentist. • If a tooth is chipped, gently clean the injured area and call a dentist. • Apply pressure with gauze to stop any bleeding at the empty tooth socket. • If a tooth has come out, put the tooth in a cup of milk or clean water and immediately take the injured person and tooth to a dentist or emergency department. • Tell the person to talk with a dentist if a tooth changed colors after injury. • Hold the tooth by the crown, not the roots. This will help reattach the tooth, And keep the tooth out of mouth.

45. Eye Injuries • Eye injuries may happen with a direct hit or punch to the side of the head, when a ball or other object directly hits the eye, when a high-speed object hits the eye, when a stick or other sharp object punctures the eye, or when a small object gets in the eye. • Signs: Pain, trouble seeing, bruising, bleeding, and redness or swelling. • Actions: • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Phone 911 if they eye is hit hard of punctured. Tell the person to keep their eye closed. • IF there is an irritant in the eye use water to rinse it. • If the irritant does not come out or it the person is in extreme pain, phone or ask someone to phone 911 while the person keeps their eye closed.

46. Penetrating and Puncturing Objects • An object such as a knife or stick that can penetrate and puncture the skin. Leave the object in place until a healthcare provider arrives. • Actions: • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first Aid kit and AED. • Call 911. • Stop any bleeding you can see. • Try to keep the injured person from moving.

47. Amputation • If a part of the body is cut off, save the body part because they may be able to reattach it. You can save a body part at room temperature but it would be best if it remained cool. • Actions for the body part: • Rinse amputated part with clean water. • Cover or wrap he amputated part with a clean dressing. • If it will fit, place the amputated part in a watertight plastic bag. • Place that bag in another container with ice or ice and water; label with the injured person’s name, date, and time. • Make sure it is sent to the hospital with that person. • Never place the amputated part directly on ice or in water because it may damage it.

48. Actions for Amputation • Make sure the scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Call 911. • Stop bleeding with pressure. You will have to press for a long time with a lot of pressure to start the bleeding. • If you find the amputated part, protect it. • Stay with the person until someone arrives.

49. Injury Emergencies:Bleeding you cannot see • Bleeding inside the body can be mild or sever. You may not be able to see physical signs of this feeling. Suspect this bleeding if you have been in a car crash, a sports injury, had a hit to the abdomen, shortness of breath, bruising on the stomach, or a knife or gunshot wound. • Actions: • Make sure scene is safe. Get first aid kit and AED. • Call 911. • Have the person lie down and keep still. • Check for signs of shock. • See if the person needs CPR.

50. Head Injuries • Suspect the injury from the following: • Fell from heights, was hit in the head, was injured while diving, suffered and electrical injury, or was involved in a car crash. • Signs: • Does not respond or only moans or moves • Acts sleepy or confused • Vomits • Complains of a headache • Has trouble seeing • Has trouble walking or moving any part of the body • Has a seizure