1st Aid and Medical

Taking a basic first aid class will give you the skills that may save a loved one’s life. Certification classes are offered frequently through colleges, community centers etc. The small fee to take the classes will be invaluable in an emergency situation. Take the time NOW to schedule a class.

After becoming certified begin building your own medical kit. Essential supplies include a first aid kit and emergency dental kit. These come in all sizes and can be tailored to fit your situation. Remember to include medical supplies for children and pets, which may require different sizes of supplies or strengths of medications. A list of 1st Aid supplies is located in the perpetual inventory section of this book. One essential item in a kit is a cell phone. Even if you don’t have a service provider on the phone, if you have a charged battery you can call 911.

You may be required to administer more advanced medical care to yourself or others. If communications with a healthcare provider is available, you will need supplies and skills to be able to follow their directions. If no medical care is available, you might find yourself the sole provider of care for those around you. You will need supplies and skills.

Emergency Dental Kits

You can find emergency dental kits online, in drugstores and in camping stores or you can put together your own. Kits vary, but usually include ways to temporarily repair or treat lost fillings, toothaches, broken dentures, and loose crowns and bridges. They do not provide permanent solutions, but could help you get through a rough time until you can get dental care.

Information books will be very helpful if you find yourself without a medical professional. Get a good first aid book and also “Where There is no Doctor”, and “Where There is no Dentist”. These are available free on-line at

http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wtnd.php.

There may be a time when you may not be able to get medical help for your family. You may not wish to bring children to a treatment center for minor illnesses or injuries, as doing so may expose their child to pandemic flu. While healthcare services may be available for the critically ill or injured during a pandemic, parents may find themselves caring for minor illnesses and injuries at home. In your household 1st Aid Kit be sure to include items for children.

Good reference books may help you diagnose and treat illness and injuries when other sources of advice are unavailable. Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Revised Edition: Birth to Age 5, by American Academy of Pediatricians or a similar reference is a good resource to have. These books focus on the needs of young children. Another reference is ‘Where There is No Doctor‘. These books are written for areas of the world where medical professionals are not available. This book can be downloaded for free at: http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wtnd.php

Prevent Illness, Infection and Injuries

Prevention is the best way to prevent an illness. Pay attention to cleanliness. Wash hands frequently and especially before and after a meal. Use first aid skills to dress any blister, open sores and cuts. This will prevent infection. Personal hygiene and grooming also come into play here. Keeping your body clean will wash away any germs you may have come in contact with. Keeping your nails clipped will prevent germs from entering the body through a simple scratch that could become infected. Signs of infection include swelling, redness or discharge from the wound. Call your healthcare professional or us your reference books to learn how to deal with infections.

There may be times when healthcare for emergencies is available but you do not want to expose your children who have only minor medical needs. During a pandemic is an example of this situation. While a pandemic is in progress exposing your child to that illness is extremely dangerous. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that “social distancing” steps be taken to protect your family.

Social distancing is a term used to describe choosing to stay at home to reduce your family’s chances of exposure to harmful contagions. More information in Social Distancing is described in “Shelter In Place: Pandemic”.

Never assume your children are safe. During an emergency you don’t want to complicate the situation by not supervising your children. DO NOT allow older children to watch younger children during these times. There are multiple new dangers that the older child may not be aware of or know how to handle.

One of the first priorities in an emergency is making a safe home for your family. You may not normally have burning candles in your home on an everyday occurrence. But if there is no electricity candles will become common place. Teach your children ahead of time not to play with fire of any kind. Buckets of water or propane stoves are often used during emergencies when the power is out for an extended amount of time. They can cause serious injury or death if you are not careful.

Making your home safe includes removing choking hazards and poisons OUT of reach. Baby proof your home now more than ever. If an earthquake has occurred items may have fallen from shelves and broken glass may be hiding where you can’t see it. Stay alert to hazards at all times. In a stressful emergency situation you do not want to add to the emergency by not paying attention.

Treating Choking

“Treating Choking,” Family Home Evening Resource Book, (1997), 326

When someone is seriously choking, he will become pale and turn a bluish color. He may perspire and collapse. The signs of choking are often confused with those of a heart attack. When someone is choking because he will be unable to speak. Breathing must be restored within four minutes, or else brain damage may result. The person will die within eight minutes. So there is no time to call for a doctor or rescue vehicle.

Here are several life-saving techniques—

1. Heimlich maneuver, is the preferred method. With the victim standing or sitting, stand behind the victim and wrap your arms around the waist. Place the thumb side of your fist against the victim’s abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the tip of the breastbone. Grasp your fist with your other hand and press it into the victim’s abdomen with four quick upward thrusts.

2. If the abdominal thrust method does not work or is impractical, use the back blows method. With the victim standing or sitting, stand at his side and slightly behind him . Place one hand high on the chest for support and position the victim’s head at chest level or lower so that gravity can assist the procedure. Give sharp blows with the heel of your hand over the victim’s spine between the shoulder blades. Do not just pat him on the back; use a series of quick, sharp blows. Give the blows as rapidly as possible.

If the victim is in the lying-down position, roll him toward you and deliver the back blows.

If the victim is lying down, roll the victim on his back and straddle his hips or one thigh. Place one of your hands on top of the other, with the heel of the bottom hand in the middle of the victim’s abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the rib cage. Move forward so that your shoulders are directly over the victim’s abdomen and press upward toward the diaphragm with four quick thrusts. Do not press to either side.

For infants and small children, place the victim face up on your forearm, with his head down. This maneuver may be performed more easily by resting your forearm on your slightly elevated thigh. Place two or three fingertips on the middle of the victim’s abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the rib cage, and press into the victim’s abdomen with four quick upward thrusts.

If you are choking and there is no one around to help you, perform the abdomen thrust on yourself.

3. If neither of these procedures works, you must repeat the sequence: four quick upward thrusts and four quick back blows.

Press your own fist into your upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust, as described for the victim standing. Or you can lean forward and press your abdomen quickly over any firm object, such as the back of a chair, the edge of a sink, or a porch railing.

4. The chest thrust technique is an alternate technique that can be used for women in advanced pregnancy or people who are so overweight that your arms cannot encircle the victim’s abdomen.

If the victim is standing or sitting, stand behind him, place your arms under his armpits, and encircle his chest. Place the thumb side of your fist on the breastbone, but not on either the lower tip of the breastbone or the lower edge of the ribs. Grab your fist with your other hand and make four quick inward thrusts.

If the victim is lying down, place him on his back and kneel at the side of his body. Locate the tip of the breastbone, at the upper abdomen. Measure 2-3 finger widths—1 to 1 1/2 inches up from this point. Place the heel of your other hand toward the victim’s head, on the lower half of the breastbone, next to the two fingers used to locate the tip of the breastbone. Put your other hand on top of the first and lean forward to bring your shoulders over the victim’s breastbone. Make four quick downward thrusts with your arms, which will compress the chest cavity.

If you use any of the above procedures properly, the food or other blocking object should pop from the patient’s mouth.

Have the assigned family member explain the above procedures to the family. Have everyone get a partner and practice; the children could practice on dolls. Spending a few minutes now may prepare you to save a life.

Treating Shock

“Treating Shock,” Family Home Evening Resource Book, (1997),328

Shock is the severe condition that depresses body functions and can keep the heart, lungs, and other organs from working normally. Almost all medical emergencies involve some form of shock. Unless it is treated, shock can kill a person, even if his injuries are not serious.

Recognizing shock.

One common form of minor shock is fainting or faintness.
The skin may be pale or bluish and cold to the touch. If the victim has dark skin, look at the color of the inside of the mouth or of the skin under the eyelids or nails.
The skin may be moist and clammy.
The pupils of the eyes may be dilated. The eyes may be dull and lackluster, a sign of poor circulation.
The victim is weak.
Breathing may be shallow, panting, labored, or irregular.
The pulse is usually fast (over 100 beats a minute).
There may be nausea, vomiting, anxiety, and thirst. The victim may collapse.
As shock grows worse, look for these signs:
The victim may become apathetic and not respond. This is because he is not getting enough oxygen.
The eyes may become sunken. The victim may have a vacant expression.
The victim’s skin may become spotty because of very low blood pressure and congested or collapsed blood vessels.

Unless the victim is treated, he will eventually pass out. His body temperature will fall, and he may even die.

Treating shock

Treat for shock as soon as you have dealt with stopped breathing and severe bleeding. A first aider cannot give complete medical care for shock; only a medical facility can do this. However, a first aider can give care that will help prevent shock.

For minor shock, have the victim sit down and put his head between his knees. As blood flows to the brain, the body’s normal functions will resume.

Have the victim lie down. Do your best to comfort, quiet, and soothe the victim. Keep him comfortable, and keep the body temperature normal. If it is hot, provide shade; if it is cold, put blankets or other protective coverings both under and over the victim.

Choose the best position for the victim according to the nature of the injury. The following illustrations will help you make a decision.

Standard position for giving care for shock: feet up, injury elevated.

Warning:

Do not elevate the injury if you think a bone may be broken.

The victim should be flat on the back if you think a bone may be broken, or if you are unsure about which position is correct.

If the victim has a head wound or is having trouble breathing, elevate the head and shoulders. Do not elevate the feet and the head at the same time.

A victim who is bleeding from the mouth, vomiting, or may vomit should lie on one side, so fluid will drain from the mouth.

A trained medical person can help prevent shock by giving intravenous fluids to replace body fluids lost through an injury or illness. If you cannot get medical help within one hour and the victim is likely to die, giving fluid by mouth may help prevent shock.

Do not give the victim fluid to drink if he or she is unconscious or semiconscious, vomits or may vomit, or appears so severely injured that surgery or a general anesthetic may be needed.

Make a salt and soda solution. Mix 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of baking soda in a quart of water that is neither hot nor cold. If you do not have salt and soda, give plain water in the amounts listed below:

Adults who are conscious and not vomiting: Give half a cup or glass of salt and soda solution over a period of 15 min. Have the victim sip it slowly. Give the same amount during the next 15 min, and the next, if the person is still conscious.

Infants and children who are conscious and not vomiting: Give the same salt and soda solution in smaller amounts. To a child, give about 1/4 cup or glass over each 15-minute period. To an infant, give about 1/8 of a normal glass over each 15 minutes. You may need to use a nursing bottle.

If someone has not already left for help, take all necessary precautions and be fairly sure the victim is stable. Then go for help yourself. Return as fast as you can.