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Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

INTRODUCTION

Bites / Stings

A bite is a wound received from the mouth of an animal or human.

A bite is a wound received from the mouth of an animal or human.
Bite wounds raise a number of medical concerns including:

-	Tissue damage due to tearing
-	Infection by bacteria
-	Introduction of venom into the wound (venomous animals)
-	Introduction of other irritants into the wound

First Aid – Control bleeding, clean the wound, comfort and calm the victim, and seek medical care if needed (if in doubt always
seek medical attention).

Most bites and stings usually only cause minor swelling, itching, and redness that lasts for a few hours. First aid care is usually all that is needed to relieve the pain. However, bites and stings from venomous snake, insects, or marine animals need to be treated promptly by medical professionals.

Venomous snake bites – cover with a gauze or bandage, keep bite lower than heart level and seek immediate medical attention. DO NOT cut into the wound, suction the wound or tie a tourniquet.

Animal bites – bites from humans, dogs, cats, bats, raccoons, and rats can cause severe infection. Clean the wound and seek immediate medical attention.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Bleeding Control

Bleeding is the loss of blood from the circulatory system

Bleeding can occur internally as well as externally

Most external bleeding situations can be stopped with direct pressure on the wound.

-	Until emergency help arrives, try to control any bleeding
-	You always want to protect yourself first so put on protective gloves before giving care. If gloves are not available, a clean plastic bag can be used to cover your hands
-	Rip or cut away the clothing if needed so the wound can be seen
-	The safest way to control bleeding is by applying direct pressure with a sterile gauze pad. If the blood bleeds through the first pad add another one on top of it. It is very important not to remove the first gauze pad as you are trying to start the blood clotting process and get the bleeding to stop
-	Apply direct pressure (either with your hand or by wrapping an elastic bandage snugly over the gauze) until the bleeding stops or until medical attention is received
-	Once the bleeding has stopped be sure to wash and properly dress the wound

If the injury is extensive the victim may go into shock and should be treated for it

Bruise

A bruise, also known as a contusion is caused by damaging capillaries (small blood vessels) allowing blood to seep
into surrounding tissue. The likelihood of bruising along with the severity of

it increases as one ages, because elderly human skin becomes thinner and less elastic Signs / Symptoms:

-	Pain
-	Swelling
-	Discoloration

First Aid Care

-	Apply ice to the injury to reduce pain and swelling
-	Place a towel in-between the cold source and skin
-	Limit application to 20 minutes or less

Bruises can range from no damage at all to risk of death. If you are uncertain of the extent of damage caused seek medical attention immediately.

Nose Bleed

Nose bleeds can be caused by a number of reasons from as extensive medical conditions (head trauma) down to nose picking. If the nose bleed is caused by a serious injury the victim needs to seek medical attention immediately. Most nose bleeds can be stopped with direct pressure.

First Aid Care

- Pinch the soft fleshy part of the nose to close the nostrils. This applies pressure to Little’s area; the source of 90 percent of nose bleeds and promotes blood clotting.
- Have the victim stay in a neutral upright position. Do NOT tilt the victims head backwards or pinch the bridge of the nose.
- Do NOT put tissue or gauze in the nose
- Apply pressure for at least 10 minutes.
- Spit out any excessive blood that gets in the mouth
- If this method does not stop the bleeding seek medical

attention

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Broken Bones

A bone fracture is a cracked or broken bone. When a bone is broken there are two outcomes, an open (compound) fracture or closed (simple) fracture.

Open (compound) fracture: A fracture in which the broken bone is exposed through a wound in the skin

Closed (simple) fracture: A fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin

Signs / Symptoms

losed (simple) fracture

Sharp Pain

Swelling

Deformity

Tenderness

Bruising

Open (compound) fracture

Bleeding

Pain

Swelling

Deformity

Possible substantial blood loss

First aid for broken bones

- Immobilize the body partt

- Activate EMS or call 911t

- Care for shockt

- Treat other injuries (control external bleeding)

- DO NOT try to realign the bone or snap the body part back in place

You want to stabilize the break with a splint or sling to prevent movement. Broken bones can have sharp edges which sever into blood vessels, nerves, muscles, or even through the skin. Improper care can turn a simple fracture into a compound fracture. If you are unsure if the bone is broken act as if it is. Compound fractures are treated as open wounds in addition to fractures.

Splints

Splinting is the most common procedure for limiting movement. Splints are used to support and immobilize the injury, If you are unsure of the severity of the injury treat it as a fracture.

One needs to only apply a splint if EMS personnel are delayed or unavailable. In most urban settings a splint is not necessary with the ease of contacting EMS or getting to a hospital as fast as possible.

Most individuals won’t have access to commercial splits. Improvised splints can early be made.

To splint you can use common everyday materials

- Soft Splints- towels, blankets, pillows, tied or wrapped with bandaging material or cloth
- Rigid Splints- cardboard, wood, magazine, ect.

How to make a splint

1. Treat the area of all wounds before creating the splint and cover wounds with a sterile dressing
2. Do not move the injured limb, it should be left in the position that it was found in.
3. Something rigid will be best for support such as sticks, boards, or rolled up newspaper. If these are not available, try rolled up clothing. The limb can also be taped to an uninjured body part to prevent it from moving.
4. Extend the splint above and below the injured area to prevent it from moving. Splinting beyond the closest two joints is ideal.
5. Secure the splint with ties and be sure not to knot the injured area. Do not tie too tight
6. Check the area often for swelling or paleness
7. Seek medical attention immediately

Suspected Spinal Injury

If you suspect a victim might have a spinal injury follow the Emergency Action Steps then:

Manually stabilize the victims suspected spinal injury

If the victim is responsive tell the victim not to move

Place your hands on both sides of the victim’s head to help stabilize it

Keep victims head, neck, and spine in line

Comfort and calm the victim

If the victim becomes unresponsive and has trouble breathing or is vomiting

If the victim becomes unresponsive and has trouble breathing or is vomiting

Put victim into the injured recovery position and seek help immediately

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Burns

A burn is an injury that can be caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.

Thermal Burns- caused by sun, fire, hot liquids, hot objects, and gases

Electrical Burns- caused by contact with electricity (turn off power immediately)

Chemical Burns – caused by contact with wet or dry chemicals

-	Dry- Brush off chemical from victim (do not touch the chemical). Wash off remaining chemical
-	Wet- Wash off chemical immediately

Radiation Burns – caused by exposure to radio frequency energy or ionizing radiation.

Burns are classified in 3 categories:

1st Degree Burns - Minor

Redness
Minor Pain
Mild swelling

2nd Degree Burns - Moderate

Redness
More severe pain
Blistering

3rd Degree Burns - Severe

Relatively painless due to killed nerve endings
White leathery looking skin
Immediately seek medical attention

No matter what type of burn a victim suffers, inflammation and fluid accumulation in and around the wound occur. The skin is the body's first defense against infection. A burn is also a break the skin, and the risk of infection exists both at the site of the injury and potentially throughout the body. So proper first aid care is very important!

Minor Burns

-	Expose the burn by carefully removing or cutting away clothing
-	Cool heat burns with cool water as quickly as possible. Continue cooling until the pain is relieved.
-	After cooling apply a sterile dressing
-	DO NOT pop blisters (that is your bodies natural way or healing)
-	DO NOT apply butter or oil to a burn

Major Burns

-	Immediately contact EMS or 911
-	Expose the burn by carefully removing or cutting away clothing
-	After cooling apply a sterile dressing
-	If clothing is stuck or melted to the burn DO NOT remove it
-	If the victim is in contact with a chemical, immediately wash the chemical off with large amounts of water
-	Remove jewelry if possible (burns cause swelling)
-	Lightly cover burn area with a dry sterile dressing
-	Treat victim for shock

We were all taught stop-drop- and roll at a young age and it is still taught to today’s youth. A key feature is left out of the equation. Stop-drop-roll is very effective for putting you out if you happed to catch fire. What they do not teach you is what to do after the fire is put out. You never want to remove any clothing after you stop drop and roll. More than likely the clothing has already melted to your skin. By removing the clothing you will also be removing layers of your skin along with it. So keep clothing on until medical help arrives. The hospitals have a solution that separates your skin from your clothing.

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