Emergency First Aid: Types of Injuries and Immediate Actions
Types of Injuries and Their Characteristics
Cutting or Incised Wounds
Produced by sharp objects like knives, glass, etc. These can sever muscles, tendons, and nerves. The wound edges are clean and linear.
Puncture Wounds
Produced by sharp, pointed objects like needles or nails. The injury is often painful.
Lacerated Wounds
Produced by objects with jagged edges (saws, cans). These cause tearing of the tissue, and the edges of the wounds are irregular.
Firearm Wounds
Caused by projectiles. The entry wound is typically small, rounded, and clean, while the exit wound is larger.
Scrapes, Excoriations, and Abrasions
Caused by friction or rubbing of the skin against hard surfaces.
Blunt Injuries
Produced by objects like stones or sticks.
Amputation
Complete removal of part or all of an extremity.
Crushing Injuries
Occur when body parts are caught between heavy objects.
First Aid: Immediate Actions in Emergencies
First aid involves administering health techniques to victims in case of an accident or acute illness, rather than waiting for them to recover or be attended to by a healthcare professional.
Characteristics of Emergency Situations
According to the WHO, an emergency is a fortuitous event in any place or activity that causes a problem of diverse and variable severity. This generates awareness of an immediate need for attention by the affected individual or their family. An urgency is a situation where there is no immediate risk of death, but medical care is required within a limited time-span to avoid major complications (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea). According to the AMA, an emergency is a situation that threatens the life or function of an organ. It is a critical, life-threatening situation where life may be endangered due to the importance or severity of the condition if immediate action is not taken (e.g., severe bleeding).
General Rules for Emergency Care
- Stay calm and act fast.
- Handle the injured person with gentleness and caution.
- Tranquilize the injured person.
- In case of a serious accident, the victim should usually be placed with their head tilted backward or to the side.
- A general assessment should be performed to check the effects of the accident (hemorrhage, fracture) and possible hazardous conditions at the location where the victim is.
- Do not move the casualty from where they are unless absolutely necessary due to hazardous environments, until their injuries are known and first aid has been administered.
- Breathing and possible hemorrhage should be addressed first.
- Do not give the victim anything to drink in case of loss of consciousness.
- Do not overheat the victim; avoid covering them with blankets.
- Notify the nearest physician.
- Move the injured person to the nearest hospital once they have been attended to.
- Make a report of the place and the incident.
Victim Assessment
Protect / Warn / Rescue:
- Primary Survey: Assess the state of consciousness, breathing, and heartbeat.
- Secondary Survey: Check for severe bleeding. This is performed if the injuries do not endanger the victim’s life, after the primary survey, and after vital signs have been restored. It involves an orderly examination from head to toe.
Defibrillation
A defibrillator is an instrument used in case of a potentially fatal heart rhythm disorder called ventricular fibrillation. All people experience ventricular fibrillation before cardiac arrest. If an electric shock is applied at the appropriate time, it is likely that the heart will return to its normal rhythm, increasing the person’s chances of survival while receiving professional help. Every person who goes into ventricular fibrillation has only about 3 minutes before they die, hence the importance of having this equipment available.