Unit 4. First aid and injuries

1. Reading. First Aid Cases

Basic First Aid Cases

Ouch! I Just Tripped and Rolled Over My Ankle

If you’re still able to walk, albeit a bit uncomfortably, then relax: It’s not a fracture but simply a sprain. That means a ligament has been stretched or, in more severe cases, torn. About 65 to 75 percent of ankle injuries fall into this category, says David A. Porter, M.D., Ph.D., an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon at Methodist Sports Medicine, in Indianapolis. Reduce any swelling as soon as possible with RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation (recline on a chair and raise your ankle to above hip level). Ice in 10- to 20-minute intervals, with 10-minute breaks in between, for a few hours. Continue RICE intermittently (or whenever you feel pain) for the next few days, and wear only sneakers. The soreness and swelling should go away within a week or at most four weeks. (During this time, the doctor may send you for physical therapy.) If your ankle swells dramatically within the first hour after the injury (for instance, it may look as if a golf ball—size lump is lodged under your skin, or the entire ankle area may be puffy and purple) and you find it almost impossible to walk, you may have a more serious sprain or fracture. See your doctor within 48 hours. He may prescribe physical therapy and outfit you with a walking boot or a brace or, in the case of a broken bone, recommend surgery or a cast.

*sprain: esguince torn: roto (ligamento) soreness:dolor swelling: hinchazón cast: escayola.

My Friend Got Hit in the Head With a Baseball

Baseball, soccer ball, lacrosse stick. The rule is the same for all head traumas: If the person is vomiting, too dizzy to walk, or unconscious for any period of time, take him to the ER to determine the need for medical tests that check for internal bleeding or other significant injury, says Howard Mell, M.D., a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians and a former paramedic. Even if the person is walking and talking just fine, he should sit out the rest of the game. Watch him for signs of headache, confusion, blurry vision, irritability, memory loss, sensitivity to light or noise, and sleepiness, says Nick Wetjen, a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota: “You can be awake and still have a concussion.”

Continue monitoring your friend for three weeks, in case he has a post-concussive disorder, says Mell. The symptoms resemble those of a regular concussion but may not show up for 24 to 72 hours and typically continue for several weeks.

dizzy: mareado blurry: nublado, borroso

The Neighbor’s Cat Bit My Hand—Hard

Rinse the injury with soap and water. Then keep an eye on it. If pain, redness, or swelling increases over the next few hours or days, let your doctor know what happened and get his first available appointment. If he doesn’t have any immediate openings (say, he’s putting you off for a few days), proceed to the emergency room. According to a recently published study in The Journal of Hand Surgery, almost 30 percent of patients who seek medical attention after a cat bite to their hands end up needing hospitalization (and often surgery) to treat infection. Many of the rest require oral antibiotics on an outpatient basis. The reason: Unlike dog bites, which often create open wounds that are easier to clean and allow for drainage, cat bites tend to be deep, narrow, and hard to reach. Plus, “the joints and tendons in the hand are close to the skin and contain fluid that can act as a breeding ground for bacteria,” says Brian T. Carlsen, a hand surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “That makes hands particularly susceptible to infection.”

2. Vocabulary. First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit

Your basic first aid kit

A basic first aid kit may contain:

plasters in a variety of different sizes and shapes
small, medium and large sterile gauze dressings
at least 2 sterile eye dressings
triangular bandages
crêpe rolled bandages
safety pins
disposable sterile gloves
tweezers (pinzas)
scissors
alcohol-free cleansing wipes (toallitas limpiadoras)
sticky tape (esparadrapo)
thermometer (preferably digital)
skin rash cream, such as hydrocortisone or caléndula (picadura, erupción)
cream or spray to relieve insect bites and stings (mordedura y picadura)
antiseptic cream
painkillers such as paracetamol (or infant paracetamol for children), aspirin (not to be given to children under 16), or ibuprofen
cough medicine (tos)
antihistamine cream or tablets
distilled water for cleaning wounds
eye wash and eye bath

It may also be useful to keep a basic first aid manual or instruction booklet with your first aid kit.

Medicines should be checked regularly to make sure they're within their use-by dates.

3. Listening. Basic_Life_Support

My 2-Year-Old Niece Has a Horrible Sunburn

If she is dizzy, weak, sick to her stomach, or spiking a high fever—or if the burn is severe (oozing blisters form within 48 hours) and covering a large portion of her body, for instance her entire back and legs—take her to the ER. A doctor will check her heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs and determine a treatment, such as pain medication or creams. If her only symptoms are discomfort and redness, apply cool compresses (for 10 to 15 minutes, twice a day) and aloe vera lotion and give her children’s ibuprofen (such as Advil, which is anti-inflammatory, unlike acetaminophen). Avoid lotions with petroleum, which can cause infection, or anything ending in-caine (benzocaine, lidocaine). When not administered by a professional, these drugs may be dangerous. She should feel better in a few days.

I Scraped My Arm on a Metal Fence

Cleanse badly broken skin with soap and running warm water. If you haven’t had a booster shot for tetanus within the past 10 years or you can’t remember the last time you had one, head straight to an urgent-care clinic to get a shot. Tetanus isn’t caused by the metal itself but by bacteria transmitted by dust, animal feces, or saliva. These bacteria can be found on all sorts of surfaces, from an iron fence to a wooden bench, says Shawna Mudd, a nurse practitioner and an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, in Baltimore. A tetanus infection can be extremely serious, causing severe illness and, in rare cases, death, so don’t delay. If you are up-to-date on the vaccine and you don’t think you need stitches, simply bandage the cut and keep a close eye on it. If the pain persists for hours or the wound grows warm or red, there’s a slight chance that you could be developing a different (that is, non-tetanus) infection. See your doctor as soon as possible to find out if you need antibiotics or stitches.

I Cut My Foot on a Piece of Glass at the Beach

Ask yourself, Am I up-to-date on my tetanus shot? If not, go to the ER or an urgent-care clinic to ensure that the wound doesn’t get infected. All set on the shots? Then try to remove the glass. If it comes out easily, simply clean the wound with soap and running water for 10 minutes, stop the bleeding with direct pressure, cover with a waterproof bandage, and get back to having fun. If you can’t get the glass out but can feel it under your skin and it hurts, go to the ER or an urgent-care center. And if you can’t remove the glass but you’re not in pain, go ahead and wash with soap and water, slap on a bandage, and carry on. The glass may slide out on its own with your activities, says Mell. Remove the bandage once your foot feels normal again. If the glass never appears but you see signs of infection (pus, warmth, increased pain), ask your doctor to fit you in as soon as possible.

4. Reading. Why Hands_Only CPR?

Why Hands_Only CPR?

Why Hands-Only CPR?

Ok, so now we get to the point of the topic. There are 3 primary reasons for why they have eliminated breaths from the CPR sequence.

Oxygen is already in the blood. Studies show that there is already some oxygen in the blood, that if circulated with high quality compressions, can effectively sustain life until emergency personnel arrive.
Individuals were intimidated by giving breaths. The thought of locking lips with a stranger is understandably an unpleasant thought. Who knows what kind of diseases that person might have!? Statistics have shown that because of this fact, among other inhibitions, CPR in its entirety was never initiated in 68% of cardiac arrest victims.
Breaths were performed incorrectly. There is a technique to giving breaths. Such things as the head-tilt-chin-lift, only giving enough breaths until you see the chest rise, not blowing too forcefully. When performed incorrectly, even if the heart is restarted, can result in a fatality.

So there you have it. And believe it or not, since the outset of teaching Hands-Only CPR in 2010, statistics in survival rates have increased!

KS4_Basic_Life_Support_presentation ‎(3)‎

Primary Survey

What to do

1. Danger. Before approaching the casualty, always make sure the area is safe.

2. Response. Check if the casualty is responsive or unresponsive.

As you approach them, introduce yourself

and ask them questions to see if you can get a response.

Kneel next to their chest and gently shake their shoulders,

asking, ‘What has happened?’, ‘Open your eyes!’.

• If the casualty opens their eyes, or gives another
gesture, they are responsive.
• If they do not respond to you in any way they are
unresponsive and should be treated as quickly
as possible.

3. Airway. Next, you need to check that the airway is open

and clear. Open the airway by placing one hand on the

forehead to tilt the head back and use two fingers from the other hand

to lift the chin.

• If they are unresponsive, you need to move on to breathing as quickly as possible.

4. Breathing. You now need to check if the casualty is breathing

normally. Place your ear above their mouth,

looking down their body. Listen for sounds of breathing

and see if you can feel their breath on your cheek. Watch

to see if their chest moves. Do this for 10 seconds.

• If they are unresponsive and not breathing, you
need to call 999/112 for emergency help and start
CPR straight away. Ask a helper to find and
bring a defibrillator (AED).
• If they are responsive and breathing move
on to circulation.

5. Circulation. Once you have established they are

breathing, look and check for any signs of severe bleeding.

• If they are bleeding severely you will need to
control and treat the bleeding by applying direct pressure
to the wound. Call 999/112 for emergency help.
• If they are unresponsive and breathing but
with no bleeding, put them in the recovery position
and call 999/112 for emergency help.

Once you have completed your primary survey and

have treated any life-threatening conditions you can

move on to the secondary survey (top to toe survey).

2. Recovery position: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubbZU15-ETM&feature=youtu.be

Recovery Position

What you need to do - Recovery position

5. Listening. Have Fun

Kneel down next to them on the floor.

Follow the next three steps if you find someone lying on

their back. If you find them lying on their side or their front

you may not need all three:

1. Place their arm nearest you at a right angle to
their body, with their palm facing upwards.
2. Take their other arm and place it across their
chest so the back of their hand is against their cheek nearest
you, and hold it there
3. With your other hand, lift their far knee and pull it up until
their foot is flat on the floor. Now you’re ready to roll them
onto their side. Carefully pull on their bent knee and roll
them towards you. Once you’ve done this, the top arm
should be supporting the head and the bent leg should be
on the floor to stop them from rolling over too far.

• Next, it is very important that you check that their airway is open,

so they can breathe and any blood or vomit from their mouth can

drain away. To do this, tilt their head back, gently tilt their chin

forward and make sure that their airway will stay open and clear.

• If you think they could have a spinal injury, you must try to keep

their neck as still as possible. Instead of tilting their neck, use the

jaw thrust technique: Place your hands on either side of their face

and with your fingertips gently lift the jaw to open the airway,

avoiding any movement of their neck.

• Once you’ve put them safely into the recovery position, call

999/112 for an ambulance.

• Remember that until help arrives you must keep checking

that they’re breathing.

• If they stop breathing at any point, call 999/112 straight away

and get ready to give them CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

If you suspect a spinal injury

If you suspect that they might have a spinal injury and need to place

them in the recovery position because you cannot keep their airway

open, do your best to keep their spine as straight as you possibly can:

• To open their airway, instead of tilting their neck, use the jaw thrust technique: Place your hands on either side of their face. With your

fingertips gently lift the jaw to open the airway, avoid moving their neck

Activity

Team work. Shoot a video where there is an emergency situation and you should act fast.

1. Carry out a primary survey.

2. Place an unresponsive casualty, who is breathing normally, into a recovery position.

3. Deliver CPR to an unresponsive casualty who is not breathing normally.

• To roll them onto their side, use the normal technique but do your

best to keep their spine as straight as you can. If possible, get up to four helpers, two on each side, to help you keep their head, upper body and

legs in a straight line at all times as you roll the body over.

CPR

What to do

1. If you find someone collapsed, you should first perform a primary survey. If you have established from this that

they are unresponsive and not breathing, you should ask a helper to call 999 or 112 for emergency help while you start CPR.

Ask a helper to find and bring a defibrillator, if available.

• If you are on your own, use the hands-free speaker
on a phone so you can start CPR while speaking to ambulance control.
• Do not leave the casualty to look for a defibrillator yourself. The ambulance will bring one.

2. Start CPR. Kneel by the casualty and put the heel of your hand on the middle of their chest. Put your other hand on

top of the first. Interlock your fingers making sure they don't touch the ribs.

Keep your arms straight and lean over the casualty.

Press down hard, to a depth of about 5-6cm before releasing

the pressure, allowing the chest to come back up.

3. Repeat the compressions 30 times; at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute.

• The beat of the song ‘Staying Alive’ can help you keep
the right rate.

4. After 30 compressions, you need to give two rescue breaths. To do this, open the airway by placing one hand

on the forehead to tilt the head back and use two fingers from the other hand to lift the chin.

5. Take the hand from the forehead and pinch the soft part

of the nose closed. Allow the mouth to fall open. With the

head still tilted, take a breath in and place your mouth

over the casualty’s forming a seal. Blow into their mouth

for one second, until the chest rises. Take your mouth away

and watch the chest fall.

• If the chest doesn’t rise, check the airway is open.
• If you are not trained or do not feel comfortable performing rescue breaths, give continuous chest compressions.

6. Continue to perform CPR, alternating 30 chest

compressions with two rescue breaths, (30:2) until:  

• emergency help arrives and takes over  
• the person starts showing signs of life and starts to breathe normally
• you are too exhausted to continue (if there is a helper, you can change over every one-to-two minutes, with minimal interruptions to chest compressions)
• a defibrillator is ready to be used.