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Over the years we have seen that sometimes “good old fashioned home remedies” weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Sometimes they cause more harm than good. We’re not blaming Mom for trying, we just want to clear a few things up.
Changes in health care have also brought about the need to be aware of different methods of care for administering first aid. Read below to find out the best way to give first aid, and to find out what we’ve learned over the years.
Seizures:
A common misconception of handling a seizure victim is to hold them down while they have a seizure. This is no longer accepted as the correct way to handle this situation. The reason for this is because our bodies natural “fight or flight” mechanism of defense can tend to fight back, even while having a seizure. If the victim’s body tries to break loose of the bystander’s hold, studies show that this prolongs the seizure by his body's natural instinct to fight against it.
If you are ever in a situation where you must act to help, or if you are a witness to a seizure, make sure that the responders do not hold the victim down. Our only instruction is to remove any potentially dangerous objects out of the way (such as chairs, coffee tables, etc.) so that the victim does not further hurt themself.
Nose Bleeds:
A nose bleed may not be a genuine emergency (unless it was caused by an accident or an object hitting the nose) but it is a definite cause for concern. Nose bleeds can be handled a certain way to minimize further blood loss.
In the recent years, we were told to stop a nose bleed by leaning backward, and squeezing the nostrils together. Now, doctors believe that we should lean slightly forward while holding the nose, lessening the blood flow going down our throat. Other benefits to leaning forward instead of backward, are that we are giving the blood time to clot, which will stop the nose bleed sooner.
A tip for caring for nosebleeds in children: Use a timer, and set it to five minutes. While the timer is ticking, try distracting the child from the wait by reading a book to them. Instruct the child to continue holding the cloth at the end of the nose for the full five minutes, or until the timer goes off.
Bleeding:
Basic information on bleeding you should know: Bleeding from a vein (this is the usually the form we see from a small cut or scratch) will tend to ooze or run, while bleeding from an artery will be much different. An arterial cut will squirt, and a victim can lose blood quickly this way. Bleeding from a large wound is a potential emergency. Our first priority is to get the bleeding stopped immediately.
We do this by holding pressure to the site, allowing a scab to form. This can take up to five minutes or more. An old remedy for bleeding was a tourniquet. We no longer use tourniquets to control bleeding, but rather pressure point sites.
You have four pressure points sites available for bleeding control from arms or legs that you can easily access in an emergency, or until you can get the victim to emergency care. The pressure points for the arms are located on the inside of the arm, in the middle between the elbow and underarm. The pressure points for the legs are located in the groin area, at the point where the top of the thigh meets the genitals. It is the top crease of the thigh. In the past, people were leaving tourniquets on too long and causing unnecessary amputations. A tourniquet causes all the blood flow to be cut off from the injured limb, where as pressure point compression only slows it down.
Broken Bones:
If you are ever in a situation where a broken bone is protruding through the skin or an object is impaled in the body, never move the bone or object! The medical procedure for injuries of this nature is to x-ray first before resetting a bone or removing any object that is impaled. To pull an object out or push a bone back in place, would only cause further damage and pain to the victim.
In emergencies of this nature, our only goal is to control any bleeding from the source and to get the victim medical attention immediately.
Allergic Reactions:
Most people don’t realize that serious allergies could progress to true emergency situations. Even common foods such as peanuts, eggs and chocolate, can potentially be life-threatening emergencies to individuals that are allergic to them. (There are other foods are potentially dangerous to allergy sensitive individuals, however those mentioned are the most common).
The emergency in the allergy response from the victim comes from their bodies reaction to the food. The throat can begin to swell shut, leaving the victim gasping for air and unable to breathe.
Most severe allergy sufferers should be aware of their condition, and therefore carry an epi-pen with them at all times. When needed, the epi-pen can inject medicine into the thigh muscle of the leg.
A common misconception with the epi-pen is that is CURES the allergic reaction. This is not necessarily the case. The medicine in the epi-pen does not eliminate the poison in their blood stream, it only diminishes their reaction to it. The victim must still get help at an emergency facility before the allergic reaction returns later on.
Burns:
Home remedies of the past were to relieve the pain or heal the wound with butter or petroleum jelly. This has never worked, and only harms the condition of the burn. These remedies actually hold in the heat from the burn on the skin,
not allowing it to breathe. This only makes the pain worse! Butter on the skin also has properties in it which will harm open wounds by contributing to infection.
In order to help a burn, you must remember what stage of burn you are dealing with:
1st and 2nd degree burns appear red on the skin. Second degree burns will blister and could later scar. A sun burn (or other type) on over 10% of the body can cause a fever. Remember to take an over the counter medicine for fever relief.
3rd degree burns are the most severe, with the skin being black and charred. Seek medical attention for this degree of burn. This can not be handled at home.
If you are ever at home, or alone and need to alleviate the pain from a burn, remember that cold water always helps. Remember this: Your skin can only feel ONE sensation at a time at that spot, and by immersing the wound in cold water, you will soothe the burning feeling. By doing this, you can offer pain relief and burn relief at the same time.
If a burn occurs on the skin and on top of the clothing he/she was wearing, NEVER rip it away. If the clothing does not come off and seems to stick to the skin, immerse the whole burned area in water, or wrap a cold soaking wet towel around it until you can get to emergency care. By the towel being wet and cold it offers pain relief to the victim until further care can be given.
Choking:
The abdominal thrust (formerly called the “Heimlich”) is still widely used for a choking victim. But did you know that this method can be self administered? If you are alone, and find that the food you were eating has suddenly blocked your airway, quickly thrust yourself over the top edge of a chair or against the edge of the counter, with the abdominal “push” from the chair targeted at your stomach. If you target the right spot (above the belly button) and place blunt force on the diaphragm, the object will likely come out of your throat.
Fainting:
Often times, someone may pass out by simply receiving bad news. Women tend to faint or have dizzy spells at the beginning stages of pregnancy as well. If someone passes out for unknown reasons, then check the scene around them to see if you can decipher why they would have passed out.
Were they crouched down for several minutes at a filing cabinet or leaning over a drawer? Were they standing/or sitting very still for too long? If the answer to those questions is yes, then hopefully the victim will recover fully in a few minutes by trying these simple tips.
Gently lie them down and raise their legs straight up, equal to the level of their head. Try resting their feet on a box, a foot stool, etc. so you don’t have to hold their legs. By doing this, you are forcing more blood to flow back into the head where it belongs, instead of all the blood staying in the legs.
If there was no apparent reason for the loss of consciousness, and no history of this happening to them, then call your emergency number right away. Fainting is our bodies signal that something inside is wrong, and it needs help.
Staying Calm:
We realize that you have heard this before, and it is still very good advice. By staying calm we are giving our brain time to react to the situation appropriately and can make a quick emergency plan of action.
First aid is an important element of care and is beneficial to know whenever it is needed. Be prepared and know where the first aid kit is. Be careful not to cause further harm to the victim by using old methods of care that are no longer correct. By remembering these first aid hints, we hope this helps in the state of emergency. Don’t forget the most important step to take in an emergency: When in doubt of what to do, always call for help!
Disclaimer: This information booklet is not designed as an alternative for professional medical advice, emergency care or formal first-aid training. Do not use this booklet to diagnose any one or develop a plan for a health issue, disease, or allergy without consulting a qualified health care attendant. If you are involved in an emergency medical situation, get medical assistance immediately.
Disclaimer for AHA: This information is not intended to replace or combat any information taught in any of the American Heart Association courses. This booklet was privately funded and produced by an independent agent of CPRus, not to be used as emergency medical care replacement.
By: CelesteSimmons
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