Survival Techniques

• First aid is the initial process of assessing and addressing the needs of someone experiencing medical emergencies
• Allows a "non-medical expert" to quickly determine a person's physical condition and the course of treatment
• Purpose of First Aid:

  1. To sustain life

  2. To prevent suffering

  3. To prevent secondary complications

  4. To promote speedy recovery
• Do's:

  • Use mask, gloves, head cover (if applicable) before handling the casualty
• Don'ts:

  • Prescribe medicine
  • Declare death
• Principles of First Aid (4 Cs):

  1. Call for help

  2. Calmly take charge

  3. Check the scene and the casualty

  4. Carefully apply First Aid
• First Aid Action Plan:

  1. Assess the situation

  2. Ensure safety of yourself and the casualty

  3. Assess the casualty

  4. Treat the casualty

  5. Arrange the removal of the casualty to hospital or safe area

  6. Write a report or communicate the status
• Assessing the Skills of a First Aider:

  • Observer
  • Listen
  • Feel
  • Talk
  • Touch
  • Provide
  • Build trust
• Responsibility of a First Aider:

  • To assess the situation quickly and safely and call for appropriate help
  • To identify the level of injury or the nature of illness affecting the casualty/victim
  • To give early and appropriate treatment in a sensible order of priority
  • To make and pass on a report, give further help if it's required
• DRABC:

  • Danger to yourself, to others, and to casualty
  • Response: gently "shake and shout" at the casualty
  • Airway: check if the airway is open and clear, clear any obstructions
  • Breathing: look for chest movements, listen for breathing sounds, feel for breath on your cheek, give 2 rescue breaths if not breathing
  • Circulation: check for a carotid pulse, start CPR if no pulse present
• Common injuries/situations that need immediate medical care:

  • Nose bleed: do not lean back, sit in a comfortable upright position and lean forward slightly, pinch your nostrils
• Nosebleed:

  • Sit in a comfortable upright position and lean forward slightly
  • Pinch your nose just below the bony nose bridge and above the fleshy lobes of the nostrils until the bleeding is stemmed
  • Aftercare: Once the bleeding is controlled, do not blow your nose as this might dislodge the clot and make you bleed again
• Heart Attack:

  • Even if you are not sure about the symptoms, if you suspect a heart attack at all, do not wait
  • If the person is conscious, give them a 300mg tablet of aspirin to chew
  • Main risk is that the heart will stop beating, be prepared to resuscitate if necessary
  • Early warning signs include pressure in the center of the chest, pain in shoulders, neck, or arms, chest discomfort with fainting, sweating, or nausea
  • Call an ambulance immediately
• • Do not immediately help a victim who suffered from an electrical burn without looking out if the victim is in contact with it
  • Chemical burn: remove chemical causing burn by washing the skin under cool running water for at least 20 minutes, remove all clothing or jewelry that may be contaminated by the chemical, after washing, apply cool, wet cloth on the burn to relieve the pain
• • Electrical burn: call the ambulance immediately, look out if there is any contact with the electric source, turn off the electrical source or try to move it by a non-conducting object, prevent shock by lying the child down and raising the legs with an object (e.g. pillow)
• Burns:

  • Never put ice on the burn, as it delays healing or causes extra damage
  • Do not break blisters and attempt to remove skin, as it can cause infection
  • 1st degree burn: put the burn part in cold water
  • 2nd degree burn: put cold, wet dressing on burn, cover the burned part with a loose bandage and go to the doctor
  • 3rd degree burn: leave burned clothes on the skin, if the face is burned, keep the victim sitting up, keep the airway open, evaluate burned arms, legs, and hands, keep burn higher than heart, call an ambulance
• • Give at least 5 sharp blows between the person's shoulder blades with the heel on your hand
  • Stop after each blow to check if the blockage has cleared, if not, give up to five abdominal thrusts
  • Complete blockage: if the victim is unable to make any sound at all
  • Do not use your finger to force out the item out of the victim's mouth
  • Steps in abdominal thrusts:

  1. Stand behind the person who is choking

  2. Place your arms around the waist and bend them well forward

  3. Clench your fist and place it right above the person's navel (belly button)
• Choking:

  • ASK! Are you choking?
  • If the victim is able to talk, groan, wheeze, or cough, he is partially choked
  • Do not slap the victim's back hard
  • Do not use your finger to force out the item out of the victim's mouth
  • Remain calm and encourage the victim to keep coughing to try and clear the blockage
  • Stand slightly behind the person to one side
  • Support their chest with one hand, lean the person forward so that the object blocking the airway will come out of their mouth, rather than going further down
• 4. Place your other hand on top, thrust both hands backwards into their stomach with a hard, upward movement
• For choking:

  • Place one hand on top of the other and thrust both hands backward into the victim's stomach with a hard, upward movement
  • Repeat this 5 times (1 cycle) and stop after each cycle to check if the blockage has been cleared
  • Do not perform thrusts on pregnant individuals or very large-sized adults
• For insect stings and bites:

  • Check the sting site to see if a stinger and venom sac are embedded in the skin
  • Bees are the only stinging insects that leave their stingers and venom sacs behind
  • Scrape the stinger and venom sac away with a hard object like a long fingernail, credit card, scissor edge, or knife blade
  • Reactions generally include localized pain, itching, and swelling
  • Allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) can be life-threatening
  • Wash the sting site with soap and water to prevent infection
  • Apply an ice pack over the sting site to slow absorption of the venom and relieve pain
• • Seek medical attention if necessary
• For tick bites:

  • Ticks can remain embedded for days without the victim realizing it
  • Most tick bites are harmless, but ticks can carry serious diseases
  • Symptoms usually begin 3 to 12 days after a tick bite
  • The best way to remove a tick is with fine-pointed tweezers, grabbing as closely to the skin as possible and pulling straight back with steady but gentle force
  • Wash the bite site with soap and water and apply rubbing alcohol to further disinfect the area
  • Apply an ice pack to reduce pain
  • Calamine lotion may provide relief from itching
• • Keep the area clean and watch for a rash for about one month; seek medical attention if a rash appears or for other signs like fever, muscle aches, sensitivity to bright light, and paralysis starting with leg weakness
• • Control bleeding and clean wounds to prevent infection
  • For severe wounds, clean only after bleeding has stopped
  • Remove small objects that do not flush out by irrigation with sterile tweezers
  • Apply direct pressure if bleeding restarts
  • Use roller bandages or tape dressing to the body
  • Keep dressing dry and clean, change it daily or more often if it gets wet or dirty
  • Signs of wound infection include swelling and redness around the wound, sensation of warmth, throbbing pain, fever/chills, swollen lymph nodes, and red streaks
• For open wounds:

  • Abrasion: the top layer of skin is removed with little or no blood loss (scrape)
  • Laceration: a cut skin with jagged, irregular edges caused by forceful tearing away of skin tissue
  • Incisions: smooth edges resembling a surgical or paper cut
  • Punctures: deep, narrow wounds like a stab wound from a nail or knife
  • Avulsion: flap of skin torn loose and either hanging from the body or completely removed
  • Amputation: cutting or tearing off of a body part such as a finger, toe, hand, foot, arm, or leg
  • Wear gloves if possible and expose wounds
• Tetanus (lockjaw)
• Tetanus should receive an injection within the first 72 hours
• Always wear gloves if possible
• Use a dressing large enough to extend beyond the wound's edges
• Cover the dressing with bandages
• Bandages can be used to:
• Hold a dressing in place over an open wound
• Apply direct pressure over a dressing to control bleeding
• Provide support and stability for an extremity or joint
• Bandage should be clean but not sterile
• Control the bleeding
• Treat the victim for shock
• Recover the amputated part and, whenever possible, take it with the victim
• The amputated part does not need to be cleaned