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# Establish Calm and Control
# When an emergency happens
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 [from bodily fluids]
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.
Wear gloves to avoid touching 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. Check the whole body for other injuries.
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.
Requesting help
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.
People can put pressure on their own wounds
# When someone needs help:
? Ask if the person has pain, numbness, or difficulty moving.
* These are signs of sprains, broken ribs or broken bones. If
there is numbness or difficulty moving the lower body or the whole
body, there may be a spine injury.
? Ask or notice if they are having trouble breathing.
* The person may be choking if he cannot 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.
? Notice if they seem confused or have trouble speaking clearly. This
can help you to assess how badly injured they are.
* Many people become confused after an accident. But unclear
speech, losing consciousness, and 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.
-----
? Look carefully: Is there bleeding, swelling, bruises, redness, or
disfigured body parts? Compare one side of the body to the other.
For example, if one leg looks shorter, it may be broken.
* Bruising, swelling, and redness can be signs of bleeding inside
the body. Watch for shock. Compare one side of the body to the
other. For example, if one leg looks shorter, it may be broken.
-----
? Feel gently along the head, face, neck, back, front, arms, and
legs. Is there pain, numbness, or bones out of place? If there may
be a back or neck injury, feel every vertebra (the knobs of the
backbone) from the head to the space between the buttocks.
* If you suspect there may be an injury to the head, neck, or back,
see the "Spine and Neck Injuries" section before you move the
person.
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