!Establish Calm and Control
When an emergency happens
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When an emergency happens, having a step-by-step approach to the problems
facing you can help you think clearly and care for the most important problems
first.
1. Take a deep breath. Emergencies can be scary. But the calmer you are, the
more useful you will be. Being calm will also comfort and help the injured
person or people around you.
2. Ask yourself: is this place safe? Move the person and yourself away from
fires, busy streets, or other dangers.
(If the person might have a neck or back injury, move him carefully so you
do not move his neck.)
3. Treat the most dangerous problems first. No matter what caused the injury,
check breathing immediately. It is the most important function needed for
life. See about difficulty breathing.
4. After breathing, check for bleeding. Heavy bleeding can kill.
Protect yourself
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Try to keep blood and body fluids off yourself when caring for people who
are bleeding. Avoid touching with bare hands anything soiled by blood.
* Wash your hands often. Also flush out any blood that gets in your eyes
or into a cut in your skin to help prevent you from getting an
infection.
* Cover your skin and eyes. Wear glasses and clean gloves if you can.
Plastic bags worn on your hands work too.
5. When the person is breathing and heavy bleeding is controlled, check the
whole body for other injuries and broken bones. Start at the head and
check every part of the body, front and back, down to the toes. Gently ask
questions, look the person over, and carefully touch the body to see if
there are hidden injuries that may be hard to see at first. It is common
to have more than one injury.
6. Try to be as gentle and comforting as you can. Injured people are often
scared and in pain. When a person calms down, this helps their
fast-beating heart and fast breathing return to normal.
Check breathing often and make sure bleeding is under control. Also check
blood pressure, if you can. An injured person may seem fine at first and then
suddenly get worse. Regularly re check these important signs until you are
sure the person is OK. Keep talking to an injured person. This will help you
see if they are confused or if their confusion gets worse.
a woman speaking to a man in a crowd while she helps an injured man.
Please keep the people back. I'll try to help him.
The people who gather after an accident should be encouraged to help. Ask
loud, assertive people to clear a space around you and the injured person.
Tell someone to go for medical help and someone else to get supplies like
cloth (for bandages), or blankets. Giving out tasks will keep people calm and
help the urgent tasks get done.
The injured person can also help herself. People can put pressure on their own
wounds to stop bleeding. This can focus the person and allows you to check for
other injuries or to care for other injured people.
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When someone needs help:
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? Ask if the person has These are signs of
pain, numbness, or ==> sprains, broken ribs or
difficulty moving. broken bones. If there
is numbness or
difficulty moving the
lower body or the whole
body, there may be a
spine injury.
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? Ask or notice if they The person may be
are having trouble ==> choking if he cannot
breathing. cough or talk.
Stabbing pain with
==> breathing may be a
broken rib.
Shortness of breath and
==> wheezing are signs of
asthma. Trouble
breathing can also be
caused by chemical
poisoning or drug
overdose.
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? Notice if they seem Many people become
confused or have trouble confused after an
speaking clearly. This ==> accident. But unclear
can help you to assess speech, losing
how badly injured they consciousness, and
are. lasting confusion can be
signs of head injury or
intoxication from drug
or alcohol use.
Slurred speech can also
==> be a sign of stroke. Is
one side of their face
or body drooping or
weak? Hospital treatment
within a few hours is
needed.
Confusion or changes in
==> consciousness can also
be a sign of a diabetic
emergency.
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? Look carefully: Is there Bruising, swelling, and
bleeding, swelling, ==> redness can be signs of
bruises, redness, or bleeding inside the
disfigured body parts? body. Watch for shock.
Compare one side of the
body to the other. For
example, if one leg
looks shorter, it may be
broken.
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? Feel gently along the If you suspect there may
head, face, neck, back, ==> be an injury to the
front, arms, and legs. head, neck, or back, see
Is there pain, numbness, the "Spine and Neck
or bones out of place? Injuries" section before
If there may be a back you move the person.
or neck injury, feel
every vertebra (the
knobs of the backbone)
from the head to the
space between the
buttocks.
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from NEW WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR ©
Hesperian Health Guides 1919 Addison St Ste 304 Berkeley CA 94704
1.510.845.1447
[email protected]
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