Accidental injuries are unpredictable, and mostly when they occur, you are away from your home and hospitals. For instance, on the road, in your workplace, or at someone else’s house. Every year, millions of people contract accidental injuries in the United States, especially in the busy state of Georgia, and most of them report that they were away from their homes when the injuries occurred; thus, they had to wait for help to come.
However, that is where we lack awareness. When the injuries occur, which can be mild or severe, depending on the accident, people waste their precious minutes of life waiting for assistance to arrive. In this wait, the situation can get worse.
While calling for immediate medical assistance and being in touch with an accident injury doctor is the first and foremost step after accidental injuries, we simply cannot sit idle after that and let the clock run out on us. We need to use first aid tips to help ourselves and save our lives until professional help comes.
First-aid tips can be of help anywhere anytime. If you know important tips about first aid, you can not only save your life but save someone else’s life too.
5 First Aid Tips for Accidental Injuries
A lot of people believe that injuries, where first aid helps, are minor injuries, and they can do without first aid. That’s not true at all. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that unintentional and accidental injuries are the cause of deaths of more than 30,0000 US people per year, making accidents the 4th leading cause of death in the country.
Injuries, where first aid can be used, are slipping, falling, tripping, being struck by an object or against it, road injuries; pedestrian, bicycle, and motor vehicle accidents, chemical burns, and food poisoning.
In such injuries, bleeding, burning, choking, body-aching, and loss of consciousness are common. And we are going to let you know some tips to deal with such issues.
1. First Aid for Bleeding
The thing that is most common in almost every kind of visible injury is bleeding. And if the bleeding isn’t aided or stopped, the person will pass out. The loss of blood can even result in death. Therefore, it is vital to aid and stop the bleeding before the situation gets worse.
To stop the bleeding, cover the wound at first preferably with a clean cloth. After that, apply direct pressure to stop the bleeding. Take a bandage and apply it over the covering or dressing while continuously applying pressure.
If the bleeding is due to something deeply lodged in the body, like metal or glass, don’t attempt to remove it. Being unprofessional with such a wound can make matters worse. Just wait for the help to arrive while trying to stop the blood.
2. First Aid for Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries might not be visible to everyone, but they can also be devastating and problematic, especially if the matters become worse before professional help arrives. However, it is very critical to know what to do with a victim of spinal cord injury to help them.
Spinal cord injuries involve injuries in the back and neck area, and sometimes in the head.
First of all, do not move the victim, not at all, even if their head, limbs, or body is in an unusual position. One wrong movement can worsen the condition.
Secondly, place your both hands on each side of their head to provide support and stability. That way, the head will stay in the right, supported position, and the chances of unconsciousness will remain low.
Stay in that position until the help arrives.
Spinal cord injuries, resulting in back pain or whiplash, require drugs and a lot of rest to heal, but if you are looking for a way of treatment without any drugs and surgery, contact the best chiropractor in Tucker GAcan offer.
3. First Aid for Fire or Chemical Burns
Burns vary in intensity. Some are so deep and severe that they damage your skin permanently, others don’t reach that deep and can be healed through prescribed ointments and drugs. However severe the burn is, pain is there, and first aid should be applied to make sure the victim doesn’t make matters worse in an attempt to lessen the pain.
Extreme caution is necessary when treating burns, especially if the source of the burn is unfamiliar or unknown. For instance, in road accidents, a car fluid, a chemical, or a fire, anything can burn the skin.
If the source is detected, remove the source of the burn (for example, if the burn is from a chemical, make sure the chemical stays away from the victim). Apply cool water to the burned area.
Use a dressing to loosely cover the burned area until the medical help arrives. Do not use too tight dressing; otherwise, things can get bad and more damaging.
4. First Aid for Choking
Choking usually occurs at food tables where less attention is paid to how you eat the meal and more is paid to other things, like television, cellphone, and arguments. Choking is very common. And it can easily be the reason for your death.
If you find someone choking, i.e., finding it hard to breathe because food is stuck in their windpipe, hold the person by the waist from behind and give five quick blows using your palms placed between their shoulder blades.
If that doesn’t do it, use your fist with the thumb just above the abdomen. Administer 5 quick and hard thrusts. That will hopefully unclog the windpipe.
If it doesn’t, continue providing thrusts until the help arrives.
Food poisoning is another issue that occurs at a food table. If the person poisoned is still conscious, the best way to help them is to ask them how they think they were poisoned. Convey that information on the PCC hotline.
However, if the person is not unconscious, calling the emergency number or taking them to the nearest emergency room is the best option.
5. First Aid for Unconsciousness
There can be multiple reasons behind the person’s unconsciousness. However, the cause can only be extracted when the person gets up. After calling for medical authorities, use first aid to save the person’s life.
First, check the level of responsiveness by tapping the victim’s shoulder – first lightly, then a bit harder. Do not shake them, though.
If they are face-down, turn their face up while carefully keeping their neck, head, and back in a straight line.
The unconsciousness can be because of the lack of air, so tilt their chin upwards and the head back to open the space for air.
Bleeding, traumatic head injury or a disorder can also be the reasons for unconsciousness. Check for visible injuries, use first aid for them accordingly. Then, administer necessary CPR to bring them back to breathing.
After the accident, the injuries can be visible and invisible. While first aid can be provided for visible or obvious injuries, some injuries and disorders can only be diagnosed and treated by a professional accident injury doctor. Therefore, even if you believe you are completely alright, an appointment is necessary to get an expert opinion.