First Aid

Hi.......

Owing to the raise in the accidents in the city, due to traffic, rash driving, and many other reasons, it has become more than important for everyone to know about the basic First Aid techniques to save themselves and others during times of emergencies... Leave alone the accidents, it is always better for everyone to be aware of First Aid... So, here are some of the tips which will help you along the way... Let us start with some of the small wounds and procedures to deal with them...

Cuts, Scrapes And Small Wounds:

Well, almost everyone knows that we have clean our hands and the wound with soap or antiseptic lotion, clean he wound, guage it and check out for infections. Here is one tip that some of you might not know..Never put alcohol or tincture of iodine directly into a wound. This will damage the flesh and slow healing.

Control of External bleeding:

Here again, we have to determine the type of the wound first. It can be of the following types..

• Incision is the type of wound made by cutting with a sharp knife or sharp piece of metal.
• Laceration is a deep wound with associated loss of tissue — the type of wound barbed wire would cause.
• Abrasion is a wound where the skin layers have been scraped off.
• Puncture wounds are perforations, and may be due to anything from a nail, knife or bullet.

In any kind of wound involving bleeding, do the following:

• Apply pressure on the wound to check bleeding
• Apply dressing
• If possible, keep the injured part above the level of the heart
• Call for medical aid, in case of profused or uncontrolled bleeding

In cases of amputaion, extra care has to be taken.The casualty must reach the nearest hospital as soon as possible.

In the meanwhile:

• Apply immediate pressure to stop any bleeding.
• Apply a large pad or dressing to the wound.
• Treat for shock.
• Collect amputated part — keep dry, do not wash or clean.
• Seal the amputated part in a plastic bag or wrap in waterproof material.
• Place in iced water — do not allow the part to come in direct contact with ice. Freezing will kill the tissue.
• Ensure the amputated part is sent to the hospital with the casualty.

Lets look at other first aid techniques in the blogs to follow....