first aid final

emergency medical services

provide emergency medical services, prehospital care to victims of accidents, injuries, or sudden illnesses.

chain of survival

a sequence of actions that maximize the victim's chances of survival for sudden cardiac arrest

A nearby coworker using a torch to free up a stuck bolt accidentally ignites his shirt sleeve on fire . As a trained first aid provider, you quickly put out the flames by throwing a nearby coat over his arm . When you remove the coat, you can see that his arm has been burned badly . What is your next step to remove heat from the burned area and prevent additional damage?

cool burn with water for at least 15 minutes

electrical burns

direct exposure to electricity Treat by shutting off current, approach only if safe, cool burn with water, check breathing and for signs of bleeding, treat for shock, seek medical attention -can cause abnormal breathing and loss of blood flow

A fellow employee collapses near you during a staff meeting . As a trained first aid provider, you move to help . You kneel next to him, squeeze his shoulder, and loudly ask, "Are you all right?" He is unresponsive, so you direct other employees to activate EMS and get the company's AED . You look closely at the face and chest for breathing; he makes a brief gasping snort, but then remains still . What do you do next?

perform CPR immediately, starting with compressions

Often with an altered mental status, a person may develop a severely diminished level of responsiveness . What can you do to help that person to protect and maintain an open airway?

place in recovery position

If you need to leave an unresponsive person with a suspected spinal injury alone to get help

place the person in a re-covery position to protect the airway before you go.

if seizure occurs

protect from injury roll on side to drain saliva

if person has a seizure

protect head and prevent from bumping into things -do not restrain tightly and do not place anything in mouth

You are driving along your delivery route when you witness one car hitting another car at a high rate of speed . Trained as a first aid provider, you stop to help . The scene is secured and the driver of the car you have gone to help has no immediate life threats that you can assess . However, she is not wearing a seat belt and it appears she was thrown forward into the windshield, hitting it with her head . There is a small cut on her forehead, but she does not complain of pain in her neck, or numbness and tingling in her arms or legs . You elect to manually stabilize her head with your hands . Why?

lack of symptoms does not indicate spinal injury did not occur

cause of secondary cardiac arrest

opioid overdose

Mild obstruction

person can speak, cough, or gag tell them to cough

suspect concussion when

person is unable to remember facts before or after incident

When an unresponsive person is breathing normally, and uninjured

place him or her in a side-lying recovery position to help protect the airway.

what to do with severed body part

place in waterproof bag

first aid

the initial care provided for an acute illness or injury

sudden cardiac arrest

the loss of the hearts ability to pump blood victims become unresponsive and collapse

Fainting

the sudden loss of consciousness from an inadequate blood supply to the brain If someone complains of suddenly feeling warm, light-headed, or that his or her vision is narrowing, follow these guidelines:• Quickly lay the person flat on his or her back on the ground.• You can elevate the feet about 6 to 12 inches, which allows blood from the legs to move back into the body.• Do not elevate the feet if it causes pain or you suspect a person may be injured.

if nose bleeds

tilt head forward and pinch nose

When a tooth has been knocked out, what is the most critical factor in being able to successfully reimplant the tooth?

treat it without delay store tooth in saliva and get to dentist within an hour

Another carpenter with whom you work has accidently driven a framing nail into his hand with a nail gun . The nail is embedded deeply and extends out the other side of his hand . As a first aid trained provider, you begin to provide care .You elect to leave the impaled nail in place . What are the two main reasons you make that decision?

1. can act like a plug 2. movement of object can create additional injury

You are collecting water samples in a tide pool with a coworker when she reaches her hand into the pool and is stung by a jellyfish . What two treatment techniques will help to prevent and relieve pain at the sting site?

1. use vinegar 2. shower

how many minutes of cpr to switch?

2

hemostatic dressing

A dressing that has been treated with a specialized chemical that when placed onto a wound promotes clotting

signs of shock

A person may simply begin to appear uneasy, restless, or worried. Other, more serious signs can emerge gradually. The person may become confused. The skin may become pale, cool, and sweaty.

recovery position

A side-lying position used to maintain a clear airway in unconscious patients without injuries who are breathing adequately by using gravity

symptoms of poison

Abdominal pain or cramping• Nausea• Vomiting• Altered mental status

A visitor has tripped on a short staircase at the government building where you work . As a trained first aid provider, you have been asked to respond . You find him seated on a bench near the stairs with another employee talking to him . A quick primary assessment shows there are no immediate life-threats . He describes tripping on a step and falling down onto his hands and knees . What are the two techniques you will use to gather more information?

DOTS and SAMPLE

if someone is poisoned

Do not administer anything by mouth for any poison ingestion unless advised to do so by a poison control center or EMS personnel.• Keep the person still.• Calm, comfort, and reassure.• Reassess the person regularly until another first aid provider or EMS personnel take over.

if injured a limb

Encourage the person to not move or use the injured limb. If the injury seems serious, or you are not sure, activate EMS. Leave the limb in the position found. If a limb be-comes blue or extremely pale, circulation may be compromised by the injury. Activate EMS if this occurs.

FAST

Face droop: Ask the person to smile. Look to see if the smile is uneven.• Arm drift: Ask the person to raise both arms. Look to see if one drifts back down.• Speech difficulty: Ask the person to speak a simple sentence. Listen for slurring or difficulty.• Time to activate EMS: If the person has trouble with any of these tasks, activate EMS immediately. Report the time the person was last seen normal to EMS personnel.

if someone is having a heart attack

If an AED is available, have someone get it so that it's nearby if needed.• Allow the person to find the most comfortable position in which to breathe.• Loosen tight clothing.• Calm, comfort, and reassure the person.• A person who is having a heart attack may deny it. This is a common occurrence in this situation. Accept it, but never let this alter your approach to care.• The early administration of aspirin can be life-sav-ing for a person having a heart attack. Encourage the person to chew and swallow 1 adult (325 mg), or 2 to 4 low-dose (81 mg) "baby" aspirin.• Do not encourage aspirin use if the person has an allergy to aspirin, evidence of a stroke, a recent bleeding problem, the pain does not appear to be related to the heart, or if you are uncertain or uncomfortable with giving the aspirin.• Someone with a heart condition may carry a prescribed medication known as nitroglycerin.

how to treat shock

Maintain a normal body temperature. Insulate on top and underneath to prevent heat loss. Be careful not to overheat. Give nothing to eat or drink, even if the person asks for it. Keep the person as comfortable and calm as possible. Re-assess regularly until another provider or EMS take over.

secondary cardiac arrest

Occurs as the end result of a loss of an airway or breathing Without oxygen, the heart gets progressively weaker until it stops CPR with an emphasis on rescue breaths may be the only chance to help

AED

automatically analyzes rhythm, advises shock

paleness indicates

blood loss or shock

sample

Signs and symptoms: Things the person is feeling, such as pain, nausea, dizziness; anything related to the situation •Allergies: Things the person may be allergic to •Medications: Medications the person has been prescribed or is taking •Past medical problems: Medical problems that may be related to what is going on •Last oral intake: When and what the person last ate or drank• Events leading to the problem: What the person was doing just prior to the problem occurring

Severe obstruction

Signs of severe ob-struction include very little or no air exchange, lack of sound, and the inability to speak or cough forcefully. The person may hold his or her hands to the throat while at-tempting to clear the obstruction. -do heimlich

setup

Stop Environment Traffic Unknown hazards Protect yourself

stroke

Sudden loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion caused by rupture or obstruction (as by a clot) of a blood vessel of the brain. . The signs tend to show up suddenly:• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body• Confusion• A change in the ability to speak or be understood• Changes in sight and balance• A severe, sudden headache

Evisceration

The displacement of organs outside of the body. -do not push organs back into the body -cover wound with thick moist dressing

mechanism of injury

The manner in which that force creates an injury

You and your coworker are loading boxes into a truck on a busy street when a bicyclist, riding on the sidewalk, collides with your coworker . The bicyclist rides away, apparently uninjured, but the man who was struck is still holding his abdo-men and groaning . You have been trained as a first aid provider and think you can help, but you hesitate because you are unsure about your ability to help. What do you do?

You still have to offer assistance to your coworker and make sure the environment is safe until the EMS personnel arrives. Since you are a trained first aid provider, your skills, and knowledge, as basic as it is, could still provide initial care.

implied consent

Type of consent in which a patient who is unable to give consent is given treatment under the legal assumption that he or she would want treatment.

Suspect serious brain injury when

a blow to the head clearly results in a diminished level of responsiveness. -Activate EMS without delay and stabilize the head with your hands. Do not attempt to stop the flow of blood or fluid from the ears or nose.

hypoglycemia

abnormally low level of sugar in the blood The person may be trembling or shaking, and his or her skin may be pale, cool, and sweaty. • Quickly activate EMS. • Do not give anything to eat or drink .• Provide any required supportive care. if responsive: Provide about 15 to 20 grams of oral glucose tablets to chew, if they are available. • If glucose tablets are not available, use something with dietary sugar instead, such as orange juice, candy, fruit leather, or whole milk. Things that use artificial sweeteners will not help.

Secondary Assessment

after immediate life- or limb-threatening injuries/illnesses have been identified, this more thorough evaluation is performed to identify more subtle, yet still important, injuries -use DOTS

You have responded as a first aid provider to a coworker who is having difficulty breathing . You suspect an underlying medical condition is the cause and the person does not have his prescribed inhaler . While waiting for EMS to arrive, you see his condition has gotten much worse . He looks exhausted . What is your greatest concern at this point and how have you prepared to deal with it?

breathing and be prepared to provide cpr and use an AED

Chemical burns

caused by contact with chemicals that can burn the skin Treat by flushing burn with lots of cool water to remove chemical, or brush powdered chemical off skin with clean cloth

thermal burns

caused by contact with open flames, hot liquids or surfaces, or other sources of high heat Treat by removing victim from source, cool burn with water, check for bleeding and shock, seek medical attention if clothing stuck to burn, cut around it -never use ice

DOTS

deformities, open wounds, tenderness, swelling

shock

develops when poor blood flow creates a shortage of oxygen to body tissues. Any serious illness or injury has the potential to cause shock. If not treated early, it can get worse and become life threatening.

One of your coworkers was hit in the leg with a wide load on a forklift . As a responding first aid provider, you carefully cut her pant leg open to expose the injury site and find the lower leg is lying at an unnatural angle and the tissue color of the leg and foot below the injury is a grayish blue . What do you do?

do not move or straighten injured limb activate Ems if blue or pale

how to move endangered person

drag them by pulling in direction of long axis to keep spine in line

don't move person unless

endangered or needs or requires life supporting care

3 types of drags

extremity, clothing, and blanket drag

You are caring for a coworker who has been injured and is bleeding heavily . Because she is a close friend, it is not important to use personal protective equipment to protect yourself from possible exposure to an infectious disease .

false

True or false? It is recommended that first aid providers seal an open chest wound with an airtight dressing .

false, can increase pressure

neck breather cpr

give breaths through surgical opening

infectious blood borne diseases protection

gloves and facewear and wash hands

You respond as a trained first aid provider to a sales clerk in the store where you work . You find the 25-year-old woman curled up on a couch in the break room, complaining of a severe stabbing pain in her abdomen . As you provide care, what considerations should you take about positioning her to help relieve the pain?

help maintain position

You are trying to wrap up some repairs at an outside job site with another electrician . It has been a miserable rainy day and the temperature is going down late in the day . Your partner did not prepare as well as you did for the cold, rainy conditions and his light cotton clothes have been completely soaked through . You look up at him from a repair you have been concentrating on . It looks like he is having trouble grasping his pliers and is visibly shivering . You ask him if he is okay and he has trouble responding to you . What do you suspect may be occurring?

hypothermia

cold environment cpr

if body solid, do not perform CPR

good semaritan law

if someone aids someone else in peril , then even if they injure the person in peril further they aren't held liable for their actions

your care only lasts until

relieved by another first aid provider or responding EMS personnel

children more likely to experience primary or secondary cardiac arrest?

secondary

At the elementary school where you teach, one of your students tells you that another child fell off the play structure at recess . Concerned, you approach the child who fell and ask her what happened . She tells you she hit her belly on one of the bars when she fell and that it hurt a lot at first, but that it feels better now . You are concerned whether she injured herself internally . What signs do you look for?

signs of shock

how to treat impalement

stabilize object and apply pressure around but not on object

If you are choking and alone

try pressing your abdomen quickly against a rigid surface, such as falling onto the back of a chair . If one is not available, attempt abdominal thrusts on yourself .

severe abdominal pain

try to help stay in comfortable position

When someone is clearly pregnant or obese

use chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts .

You are volunteering as a first aid provider at your city's annual 10K run . Most runners have finished but a few are still trickling in . You see in the distance a runner being helped to walk, when he suddenly falls to his knees . You grab your first aid bag and run out to see if you can help . Your primary assessment shows he is very confused . His skin is sweaty, but surprisingly hot to your touch . What should you do for him?

use resources to cool and best method is to submerge in water up to chin

Electric shock can cause

ventricular fibrillation

You enter a warehouse door to get to your work area and discover one of your coworkers alone and looking very ill . After talking to him, you are unsure about what is happening, but you feel it could be serious . Should you activate EMS?

yes

If you are alone, and unable to use a mobile phone

you may need to leave to get help and return to the person as soon as you can.