BURNS
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Pour cold water over the affected area and continue to do so for at least 10 minutes.
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Remove clothing and jewellery from the area before it starts to swell. Do not try to remove clothing that is sticking to the burn.
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Cover the area with a sterile dressing or clean cling film.
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Treat for shock.
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Call an ambulance if necessary.
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Do not apply ointments or fat. Do not break blisters.
BBC WEB SITE
What is First Aid - reasons to learn first aid, your duties, training and kit
Skills Index - how to react to injuries and health emergencies
Skills Programme - activities and interactive videos to build your knowledge
Test Your Skills - take a random challenge to find out how much you know
SEIZURES
An absence seizure involves the individual appearing distant and unaware of their surroundings for a while. Help the person sit down, reassure them, and remove any sources of danger.
A seizure can be much more frightening, however, with sudden loss of consciousness, rigidity and arching of the back and convulsive movements. The aim is to reduce risk of injury. Try to ease the fall, move away possible sources of danger, keep bystanders away, and reassure the patient. It may be possible to cushion the head and loosen clothing around the neck. When convulsions cease, place the casualty in the recovery position until consciousness returns. For repeated seizures or those lasting more than 10 minutes, call an ambulance.
SHOCK
Shock is a condition associated with a wide range of injuries and medical conditions, especially where there is a serious loss of blood or body fluids. If left untreated, it can lead to unconsciousness or even death.
Recognition - Rapid pulse becoming weaker; pale, cold, clammy skin; sweating; grey-blue skin (especially inside lips); nausea; thirst; rapid, shallow breathing.
Treatment - Lay the casualty down and raise the legs. Insulate from the ground and cover for warmth. Loosen tight clothing. Treat any cause of shock, such as bleeding. Do not let the casualty smoke, eat, drink or move. Do not leave the casualty except to call an ambulance.
ST. JOHN AMBULANCE
First Aid Advice - including a facility to download information to your MP3 player.
Courses of first aid training offered by St. John Ambulance
Volunteering opportunities with St. John Ambulance and details of the work they do.
Shop at St John Ambulance.
FRACTURES
Identification - Pain, swelling, bruising, deformity, difficulty moving the injured part. In serious cases bone ends may protrude or there may be damage to internal organs.
Treatment - Support the injured part in the most comfortable position, using soft material as pads. Dress any wounds. Take the casualty to hospital or call an ambulance, as necessary.
Do not - Move injured limbs unnecessarily; allow the casualty to eat, drink or smoke.
CHOKING
Recognition - Difficulty speaking and breathing; coughing, distress. In severe cases there may be an inability to speak, cough or breath, leading to an eventual loss of consciousness.
Treatment -
Encourage the patient to cough.
Lean the patient forwards and slap firmly between the shoulder blades up
to 5 times.
Look in the mouth and remove any visible obstruction.
If choking persists, stand behind the casualty. Put one fist between the
navel and bottom of the breast bone, grasp this with your other hand and
pull inwards and upwards up to five times. Check the mouth again.
The sequence may be repeated three times, then an ambulance should be
called. Continue with back slaps and abdominal thrusts until it arrives.
RED CROSS WEB SITE
Tips for dealing with a wide variety of first aid situations involving adults, children and babies.
Courses of first aid training offered by the British Red Cross.
Volunteering opportunities
with the Red Cross and details of the work they do.
SPRAINS & STRAINS
A sprain is the overstretching or tearing of a ligament at a joint. A sprain involves overstretching or damage to muscles or the tendons that attach them to the bones. Both conditions have similar signs and symptoms and they are treated in the same way. There can be confusion between sprains, strains and fractures. If so, treat the injury as a suspected fracture.
Recognition - Pain, tenderness, swelling, bruising, difficulty moving the injured part.
Treatment - follow the
acronym RICE.
Rest
- Rest the injured part.
Ice
- Apply a cold compress
Compress
- Apply gentle, even pressure by bandaging firmly over a thick layer of
soft padding.
Elevate
- raise and support the injured part
