EduCare Advent Care-ndar – Day eleven
Christmas can be one of the most dangerous times of the year, one clear example of this is poor Santa risking life and limb to deliver presents to all the boys and girls across the world. His reported injuries range from getting stuck in a chimney to falling off his sleigh (possibly after too much whisky? We couldn’t comment).
If you come across an injured person this Christmas, will you know how to help? On day eleven of our calendar, we are looking at three principles of First Aid assistance.
Bleeding, burns and broken bones
In first aid, there three general principles to help in many different situations.
The principles are:
- If it's hot, cool it
- If it's bleeding, stop it
- If it's broken, don't move it
Of course, incidents vary in their severity so the principle needs to be applied proportionally. Also, whenever dealing with accidents, ensure that the cause of the accident is safe.
Principle one - If it's hot, cool it
If the incident is a very severe burn (dry heat) or a scald (wet heat such as steam), you should call an ambulance first. If there is no other qualified help around, try to cool the burn down for at least 10 minutes under cool tepid, running water or soak a towel or other cloth (that doesn't give off fluffy fibres that stick to the wound). Once it has cooled sufficiently, use strips of plastic cling film and lay them loosely on the wound to protect raw, exposed skin from germs.
Clearly, if your hand gets slightly burnt on the cooker or you manage to pour a hot cup of coffee over yourself, you would not call an ambulance, but you would run your hand under a cold tap for at least 10 minutes and apply a clean dressing.
Principle two - If it's bleeding, stop it
Again, it is important to keep things in proportion. If someone has a large gash caused by a knife or other sharp instrument that is pumping blood, call an ambulance and grab any non-fibrous cloth such as a T-shirt (the bigger the better), to apply direct pressure and staunch the flow of blood. A compression bandage (a bandage wrapped very tightly) will do the same job. However, if the wound has a foreign object embedded in it such as glass or metal, do not put any pressure on it and do not remove it. Remember, what cuts going in will also cut going out. Raise the wound as high as possible to take pressure off it; pressure will cause more bleeding.
A slash wound will bleed externally and look very dramatic, but an impale wound may bleed internally and is by far the more dangerous of the two.
If on the other hand, you cut your finger whilst chopping vegetables, don't call out an ambulance, but do get something clean to hold against the cut and apply pressure to stem the blood flow. In the case of your hand, holding it above your head (or anywhere above the heart) will help it to stop bleeding.
The cut may re-open a few times, but systematically staunching the blood flow will eventually cause the blood to coagulate and form a clot.
Principle three - If it's broken, don't move it
In general, broken bones should not be moved and this is crucial in the case of a suspected spine or neck injury. If the injury is to a limb, for example an arm, it should be supported and immobilised.
Broken bones and fractures need an x-ray and hospital treatment. If the issue is with a finger, thumb or arm, once it is supported and immobilised, they could be taken to hospital by car. If it looks like it is anything more serious, for example a leg or potentially a broken back, do not move them at all and call for an ambulance. This is because the larger the bone, the more potential there is for internal bleeding and the more serious it is. For example, a break to the large thigh bone (femur) could result in a blood loss of up to four pints.
Christmas is a unique time of year, but can be confusing and distressing for people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). Come back and open tomorrow’s calendar door for news on SEND Awareness.
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