First Aid

A skilled and temporary treatment given to casualties or persons suddenly taken ill before transferring to a clinic or hospital.

or

Temporary emergency treatment given to casualties or persons before being placed in the care of a doctor or removed to a hospital.

 

Qualities of a First Aider

1. He or she must be able to take charge until someone more experienced is available.
2. He or she must act quickly, calmly and methodically.

Reasons for First Aid

1. First aid is given to sustain and save lives.
2. It is to prevent the casualty’s condition from becoming worse.
3. It is to promote quick recovery.

Before Giving First Aid

1. You must be able to assess the situation.
2. You must be able to diagnose each casualty.
3. You must give immediate and accurate treatment.
4. You must listen to the complaints.
5. You must check for your safety and that of the casualty’s.
6. You must check for unconsciousness, breathing, and bleeding.

First Aid Action for

Unconscious Persons

 This type of casualty needs more extensive and thorough examination.

1. Check if there is any severe bleeding before further examination.

• Check if there is bleeding from any part of: ears, nose, throat, or mouth.

2. Check the pulse rate (normal pulse rate:

adults – from 60-80 beats per minute.

children – from 80-100 beats per minute.

babies – from 100-140 beats per minute).

Anything above or below these seems not to be normal.

3. Check for head injury.

 

After the Examination

• Act quickly and methodically.
• Ensure that there is no further danger to self and the casualty.
• In case of breathing failure, clear mucus from the airway if necessary.
• Control or arrest bleeding.
• Guard against shock.
• Give assurance to casualty.
• Position casualty in comfortable position and arrange for transfer to the nearest clinic.

Note: Do not give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.

First Aid for Person with

High Fever

1. Remove all clothing.
2. Fan casualty.
3. Pour cool water over casualty

or

Put cloth soaked in cool water on casualty’s chest or forehead then fan the casualty until fever goes down below 38^o C.

4. Give a medicine to bring down fever e.g., Paracetamol.

Note: If the fever did not go down take the person to the nearest clinic immediately.

 

First Aid for Snake Bites

           Not all snakes are poisonous. There are poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. The poisonous ones will leave two deep fang marks, while the non-poisonous ones have no deep fang marks.

If anyone is bitten by any type of snake do this:

• Tell the casualty to stay quiet and not to move the bitten part.
• Wrap the bitten area with a clean cloth to stop the spread of the poison to other parts of the body.
• To save the life of the casualty if they were bitten far from the hospital, you can make a small cut on the site of the bite and put table salt to the site; then find a way to carry the casualty to the hospital.

or

• Put ice pack on it to reduce the pain.

or

• Give paracetamol.
• Take the snake along with you when you are going to the hospital.

First Aid for Poison Victims

Poison

Poison is anything liquid, solid, or gas taken into the body in sufficient amounts to cause internal injury or loss of function of some vital organs in the body or may cause death.

First Aid for Various Poisons

1. ACID – Do not make patient vomit; give milk of magnesia.
2. KEROSINE/PETROL – Do not make patient vomit; give palm oil.
3. CAUSTIC SODA/CAUSTIC ACID – Do not make patient vomit; give milk of magnesia.
4. SEDATIVE – Make the patient vomit; give tea, coffee.
5. INSECTICIDE – Give tea coffee; give potassium per manganate.

Signs and Symptoms of Poison

1. Burned or swelling of lips and tongue.
2. Sever burning pain in the throat and stomach.
3. Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
4. Shock, mental confusion.
5. Difficult vision, sweating, jerky breathing.

First Aid for Fractures

Fractures

This is a break in the length of a bone causing the loss of the function of the bone.

 Causes of Fractures

Fractures may be caused by direct violence, accident, sharp blows or pressure on a bone, foolish activities, old age, or disease.

Signs and Symptoms of Fractures

1. There is pain and tenderness on the site.
2. Crepitus (the crackling noise made when moving the broken bone).
3. Deformity
4. Loss of function
5. There may be shock due to excessive pain or loss of blood.
6. Swelling

Simple or Compound Fractures

Simple – The bone is broken and affects or causes damage to the surrounding tissue e.g., broken wrist.

Compound – The bone is broken and affects or causes damage to the underlying tissue or muscle, part of the bone may be exposed to the surface and it is potentially infected e.g., broken thigh bone.

First Aid Procedure for Fractures

• Splint the limb to prevent more injury.
• Keep the bone in a fixed position.
• Then transfer casualty to the nearby hospital.

First Aid Procedures for Dislocations

This is a bone that came out of place at a joint. What to do?

• Try to put the bone back into place.
• Tie a bandage firmly to it so that it will not slip out again (for a few weeks).
• Avoid forceful use of the limb for the joint to heal.

First Aid for Minor Illnesses

MALARIA

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Headache, general body pain, chills, and high temperature.

TREATMENT:

• Lower the temperature.
• Give plenty cool water to drink.
• Give anti-malarial medicine.

2. COUGH

A cough is not a sickness of itself but is a sign of many different sicknesses that affect the throat or lungs.

SOME CAUSES:

Cold. Flu, worms (when passing through the lungs, measles, asthma).

TREATMENT:

• Loosen mucus, drink lots of water.
• Breath hot water vapor.
• For a sever dry cough take a syrup of mist expectorants.
• Find out what sickness is causing the cough and treat that.

3. VOMITING:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Stomach upset, a problem in the stomach or gut may be the reason for more serious illnesses such as: an infection, poisoning from spoiled food, almost any sickness with high fever or severe pain may cause vomiting; especially malaria, earache, and hepatitis.

TO CONTROL SIMPLE VOMITING:

• Give lime water.
• Give rehydration drink.
• If vomiting does not stop soon, give a vomit control medicine like Avomin or Promethazine.

4. DIARRHEA AMD DYSENTERY:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

loose or watery stools (diarrhea), mucus and blood in the stools (dysentery).

TREATMENT:

• Give rehydration drink (O.R.S.)
• Give nutritious food.

Note: For diarrhea with vomiting the person’s danger for dehydration increases. It is very important now to give the rehydration drink.

The way to prepare the rehydration drink:    In 1 liter of clean water put one level       teaspoon of salt and eight level teaspoons of sugar. Mix completely before starting to drink. Drink every five minutes.

5. PILES (HEMORRHOIDS):

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Piles or hemorrhoids are varicose veins of the anus or rectum which feel like little lumps or balls.

TREATMENT:

• Cactus juice dabbed on hemorrhoids helps shrink them.
• Eat plenty of fruit or food with a lot of fiber.
• If no improvement, seek medical advice.

6. DIABETES:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Too much sugar in the blood, too much eating and getting fat, common in adults over 40 years old, more serious in young people.

Check for these signs:

1. Always thirsty
2. Urinating often and a lot
3. Always tired
4. Weight loss

TREATMENT:

• To know if a person has diabetes go for a urine test.
• Best controlled without taking medicine but eating correctly
• Correct eating diet: whole grain, wheat bread, beans; avocados, apples, garden eggs, unripe plantain flour.
• Cactus: cut cactus into small pieces and crush them to squeeze out the liquid. Drink ½ cup of the liquid 3 times a day.

7. STOMACH ULCER:

A chronic sore in the stomach or small intestines, caused by too much acid.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Burning irritation in the stomach, mid chest pain (some mistake this for heart problems) but it could be “Heart burn”. If the pain gets worse when lying down, it is heart burn.  This heart burn leads to stomach ulcers.

Check for these signs:

1. Burning irritation
2. Sharp pain in the pit of the stomach: stomach pain.
3. Vomiting (if a severe case)

TREATMENT:

• Drink a lot of water.
• Eat regularly (not too much).
• Do not eat fatty or greasy foods.
• Do not drink anything that contains alcohol.
• Avoid food that makes pain worse.
• Aloe Vera is a good plant for treating ulcers: cut it and soak it in water over night and then drink one glass of the slimy, bitter water every two hours.
• Take antacid e.g., Cimetidine, Tagamet, Ranitidine.

8. TYPHOID FEVER:

This is an infection of the gut that affects the whole body. It is spread from feces to mouth in contaminated food and water.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Cold or flu, headache, sore throat, dry cough, high temperature, slow pulse weakness, weight loss, dehydration, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.

TREATMENT:

• Give plenty of liquids: rehydration drink.
• Give nutritious foods in liquid form if necessary.
• Give Chloramphenicol, Ampicillin or Co-trimoxazole for at least two weeks if you cannot get these give Tetracycline for two weeks.
• Have total bed rest until the fever has completely gone.
• If the person shits blood or develops signs of pneumonia, take them to a hospital.

9. COLDS AND FLU:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Common virus infection that may cause runny nose, cough, fever, and pain in the joints. It almost always goes away without medicine.

TREATMENT:

• Drink plenty of water.
• Get enough rest.
• Take paracetamol to relieve headache and fever.
• Eat oranges and other fruits containing vitamin C as a supplement.

10. ARTHRITIS:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Painful joints, in older people it cannot be cured completely.

TREATMENT:

• Place cloth soaked in hot water on the painful joints (hot compresses).
• Exercise – It is important to do simple exercises to help maintain the range of motion in the painful joints.
• Rest – If possible, avoid hard work and heavy exercises that bother the painful joints.
• Take some medicine that relieves pain e.g., Ibuprofen, Diclofenac.
• Keep yourself warm; cold encourages the arthritis pain.

Note: Not every painful joint is as a result of arthritis, but painful joints in young people and children may be a sign of other serious illnesses such as rheumatic fever, or tuberculosis.

11. RHEUMATIC FEVER:

A disease of children and young adults who have suffered from strep throat 1-3 weeks previously.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Joint pain e.g., wrists, ankles, knees, or elbows, lumps under the skin, in more serious cases weakness, and perhaps heart pain.

TREATMENT:

• Take aspirin or any other analgesic.
• Give penicillin (400,000 units, 1 tablet 4 times daily for 10 days).
• If there are no change go to a hospital.

12. MEASLES:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

High fever, cough, catarrh, and eye discharge, later the mouth becomes sore and a rash comes out on the whole body. It is a virus infection of children.

TREATMENT:

• Drink lots of water.
• Give nutritious food.
• For fever give paracetamol.
• If there is a sign of pneumonia, or severe pain in the ear give antibiotics like penicillin or co-trimoxazole.

13. PNEUMONIA:

An acute infection of the lungs. It occurs after other respiratory illnesses such as measles, cough like asthma or bronchitis.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

High fever, rapid shallow breathing with wheezing (the nostrils may spread with each breath), cough with yellow, greenish colored or slightly bloody mucus, chest pain.

TREATMENT:

• Give antibiotics like penicillin, co-trimoxazole (Septrin), or ampicillin. Ampicillin is usually the best.
• Give paracetamol to lower the temperature and reduce the pain.
• Give plenty of liquids.
• Ease the cough and loosen the mucus by giving the person plenty of water.
• Let him breathe hot water vapor.
• If the person is wheezing give an anti-asthmatic medicine like ephedrine.

14. WOUNDS:

Any injury to the body tissues – cuts (breaks in the skin and into deeper tissue). there are “infected wounds” and “non-infected wounds” (called bruises).

INFECTED WOUNDS

SIGNS OF INFECTION:

Redness, swelling, hot and painful, pus, may smell bad.

TREATMENT:

• Put hot compresses over the wound for a few minutes 3-4 times a day.
• Raise the infected part above the level of the heart.
• Give penicillin (ampicillin, ampiclox).
• Cleanse the wound with hydrogen peroxide and cover it with antibiotic ointment.

NON-INFECTED WOUNDS

SIGN OF NON-INFECTED WOUND:

Fresh cut less than 4 cm.

TREATMENT:

• Clean with soap and water.
• If necessary, stop bleeding by pressure, then apply clean or sterile dressing.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CLEAN AND STERILE DRESSINGS:

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Eusol lotion
• Methylated spirits
• Antibiotic ointment
• Gauze bandages
• Plasters
• Cotton wool

15. PERSONAL HYGIENE (CLEANLINESS):

It is very important in the prevention of many kinds of infection. Many infections and health problems are caused because of lack of cleanliness.

PROBLEMS THAT COME BECAUSE OF LACK OF CLEANLINESS:

Diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever, cholera, intestinal worms, cough, and catarrh.

PREVENTIONS:

• Wash your hands after having a bowel movement.
• Where hookworm is common, do not go barefoot.
• Bath regularly.
• Do not spit on the floor when you cough.
• Cover your mouth with your hand or a cloth when you sneeze.
• Do not allow children to have a bowel movement near the house.
• Sweep and mop the floor regularly.
• Boil and cool your water before you drink it.
• Prevent flies from touching your food by covering it.
• Wash your fruit before eating it.