Essential First Aid: Techniques for Emergency Situations
First Aid
First aid is the assistance or treatment given to a casualty for any injury or sudden illness BEFORE the arrival of an ambulance or qualified medical expert.
First aid may involve improvising with facilities and materials available at the time, and can include everything from bandaging a minor wound to preventing shock to keeping someone’s heart beating during a cardiac event.
It is not necessary to have knowledge of first aid to provide help; calling the authorities would be enough, but it is worth acquiring some basic notions that could help us to provide better assistance without great effort.
First Aid treatment is given to a casualty in order to:
- Save a life.
- Prevent the condition from worsening.
- Promote recovery.
Things to be Aware Of
- Keep calm.
- Reassure that everything is going to be OK.
- Get as much information as possible about the accident.
- Prioritize those who need more help.
What Do You Have to Do?
Protect, Alert, Save / Proteger, Avisar, Socorrer
PAS Procedure
In any accident, we must ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY SYSTEM. If someone is injured, you should:
- First check that you and the casualty aren’t in any danger, and, if possible, make the situation safe.
- If necessary, dial 112 for an ambulance when it’s safe to do so.
- Carry out basic first aid.
This is called P.A.S. (Protect, Alert and Save) procedure.
STEP 1: PROTECT
Before acting, we must be sure that both the injured and rescuer are out of danger.
Moreover, appropriate measures must be taken to avoid another accident. Examples: open windows, close the gas passage in case of leaks or poisonings, Keep bystanders away from the scene of the accident, etc.
STEP 2: ALERT
If necessary, you will notify the accident to the emergency services (telephone 112). In case you are attending your classes, you will notify the accident to the teacher who is in the classroom.
To communicate an accident or alert, always indicate:
- Exact location where the accident took place.
- Your phone number.
- Number of people involved and the type of injuries or symptoms they present, if possible.
STEP 3: Save
Once we have protected the place and called the emergency services, we must proceed to assess the status of the injured. How? Doing a primary and secondary survey. REMEMBER! We shouldn’t move the injured person unless it’s necessary.
Primary Survey
Awareness; Are they conscious? and Breathing; Are they breathing?
Secondary Survey
If we verify that the victim is out of danger, we must conduct a physical reassessment of their situation. All of this information will be very helpful to the medical team.
PRIMARY SURVEY
AWARENESS Check for responsiveness; Ask simple questions “Can you hear me?” – Give simple orders; “Press my hand”.
If the person IS CONSCIOUS, do the secondary survey.
If the person ISN’T CONSCIOUS, check if they’re breathing.
BREATHING
Check for breathing; Look, Listen, Feel
If the person IS BREATHING, put the person in the recovery position and do the secondary survey.
If the person ISN’T BREATHING, you must perform CPR.
RECOVERY POSITION (1º)
The recovery position is the way to place an unconscious person who is still breathing, until emergency services arrive. This position helps prevent the entry of vomit into the lungs in case it occurs and assists in maintaining an open airway for periodic patient assessment.
It is important not to leave the victim until emergency services arrive, as we must continuously monitor their breathing. In the event that it stops, we will initiate CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
If after the primary assessment, the person is unconscious and not breathing, we should perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the most important medical procedure of all, because it could save a life. When the heart stops beating, the lack of oxygenated blood can cause brain damage or death in only a few minutes.
You can’t stop performing CPR until the emergency service arrives.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
If you have to carry out a CPR, follow these steps:
- Place your hands on the person’s chest. Imagine a line between the nipples and put the heel of one hand directly on that line, in the center of the chest. Center your weight directly over your hands.
- Perform chest compressions. Push hard, using your body weight to help you administer compressions to a depth of at least 5 cm and fast—about twice per second until the person responds. Your hands shouldn’t bounce, but you should lift your entire body weight off the patient in between each compression.
- Give rescue breaths. If you have had CPR training and feel comfortable performing the steps, push on the chest 30 times, then give two rescue breaths.
- Repeat. Repeat cycles of 30 chest compressions and two breaths until help arrives or the patient wakes up.
HAND PLACEMENT: Place the heel of one hand in center of chest; ● Interlock fingers of the other hand. ● Lean forward so your shoulders are over your hands. ● Press straight down with elbows straight. ● Push down at least five centimeters. ● Push at a rate (speed) of 100 compressions per minute.
AIRWAY MANAGEMENT
Mouth to mouth or mouth to mask (if possible). If you are uncomfortable with doing mouth to mouth, then skip it and just do compressions.
STEP BY-Step CPR Guide
- Shake and shout
- Call 112
- Check of breathing
- Place your hands at the center of their chest
- Push hard and fast-about twice per second
- If you’ve had training repeat cycles of 30 chest pushes and 2 rescue breaths.
Automatic External Defibrillation (AED)
The Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is a device that applies a special electric current to the chest of those who need it. It is very easy to use, and its use can significantly increase the chances of survival for a person experiencing cardiac arrest.
AED can be crucial in addressing and resolving a cardiac arrest, that’s why they are increasingly found in more schools, airports, sports facilities, etc.
The AED is a device capable of determining whether the heart of a person who has lost consciousness is functioning improperly (it analyzes the heart rhythm) and if the person can benefit from an electric shock because it detects that the victim is experiencing ventricular fibrillation. It is an almost autonomous machine that decides when to apply a shock if it deems it necessary.
How to use it? 1. Start the PCR and ask someone to look for the defibrillator or AED (DEA).
2. Turn on the AED and attach the adhesive pads following the instructions.
3. NO ONE can touch the victim while the AED is analyzing the heart rhythm. Then it will say what to do:
- Continue with PCR.
- Stay away while it gives an electric shock and then continue with PCR.
Use pediatric electrodes in children under 8 years of age. Never use it in children under 1 year of age.
CHOKING
Choking is the accidental obstruction of the airway, usually caused by food (bones, a piece of meat, gum, etc.) or other objects that become trapped in the throat, preventing the passage of air to the lungs. This obstruction, if not addressed promptly, can result in cardiac and respiratory arrest, or even death.
The universal sign for choking is hands clutched to the throat. If the person doesn’t give the signal, look for these indications:
- Inability to talk.
- Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing.
- Squeaky sounds when trying to breathe.
- Cough, which may either be weak or forceful.
- Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky.
- Skin that is flushed, then turns pale or bluish.
- Loss of consciousness.
In case of partial blockage of the airway: This occurs when the person is breathing with difficulty but still retains the ability to speak and cough. We must encourage the person to cough.
In case of complete blockage of the airway: There are two steps: the back blows and the Heimlich maneuver
STEP 1: BACK BLOWS
To carry out a back blow on an adult or child over 1 year old:
- Stand behind them and slightly to one side. Support their chest with 1 hand. Lean them forward so the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than moving further down.
- Give up to 5 sharp blows between their shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. The heel is between the palm of your hand and your wrist.
- Check if the blockage has cleared. If not, give up to 5 abdominal thrusts.
STEP 2: ABDOMINAL THRUSTS (Heimlich maneuver)
If back blows do not relieve the airway obstruction, proceed with abdominal thrusts.
- Stand behind the person. Place one foot slightly in front of the other for balance. Wrap your arms around the waist. Tip the person forward slightly. If a child is choking, kneel down behind the child.
- Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person’s navel.
- Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust — as if trying to lift the person up.
- Perform 5 abdominal thrusts. Then, alternate betwen 5 sharp blows and 5 abdominal trusts until the person breathes or loses consciousness (in this case, start performing CPR).
RECOVERY POSITION (2º)
With the person lying on their back, kneel on the floor at their side. Extend the arm nearest you at a right angle to their body with their palm facing up. Take their other arm and fold it so the back of their hand rests on the cheek closest to you, and hold it in place. Use your free hand to bend the person’s knee farthest from you to a right angle.
Carefully roll the person onto their side by pulling on the bent knee. Their bent arm should be supporting the head, and their extended arm will stop you rolling them too far. Make sure their bent leg is at a right angle. Open their airway by gently tilting their head back and lifting their chin, and check that nothing is blocking their airway.