First Aid Essentials: Concepts and Care
Understanding First Aid: Core Concepts
What is First Aid?
First aid is the immediate and temporary care provided to injured persons or those with sudden illnesses before they receive professional medical attention. Its primary purpose is to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, and promote recovery.
Goals of First Aid
- To preserve life.
- To prevent physical complications.
- To aid in psychological recovery.
Basic Medical Terminology
Anatomy
Anatomy is the branch of biological science that deals with the normal structure and organization of the body and its parts.
Vital Signs
Vital signs are measurements of the body’s most basic functions. They are crucial for detecting or monitoring medical problems.
- Heartbeat (Pulse Rate): Measures the heart rate, which is the number of times the heart beats per minute.
Common Injuries and Conditions
Shock
Shock is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body is not receiving adequate blood flow. This can cause organ damage and, if untreated, can be fatal. It requires immediate and often multiple medical treatments.
Wounds
Wounds are injuries that can cause bleeding and infection. Applying first aid is important to prevent these complications, but the most critical step is to stop the bleeding.
Types of Wounds:
- Blunt Wounds: Caused by impact with a blunt object, often resulting in bruising or internal damage without breaking the skin.
- Cutting Wounds: Caused by sharp-edged objects, resulting in a clean cut through the skin.
- Penetrating Wounds: Caused by objects that pierce the skin and enter deeper tissues.
Types of Bleeding:
Most wounds are accompanied by blood loss, which can vary in amount.
- Slight Bleeding: Occurs from superficial wounds.
- Internal Bleeding: Occurs within internal organs or body cavities.
- Venous Bleeding: Occurs when a vein is broken, characterized by a steady flow of dark red blood.
- Capillary Bleeding: Caused by ruptured capillaries, typically a slow ooze.
- Nosebleed (Epistaxis): Loss of blood from the nose.
Burns
Burns are injuries to the skin or other tissues caused by heat (flames, hot gases, hot objects), chemicals, electricity, or radiation (e.g., sun exposure).
Degrees of Burns:
- First-Degree Burns: Affect only the outer layer of the skin, causing redness and pain.
- Second-Degree Burns: Affect both the outer and underlying layers of the skin, causing inflammation, pain, redness, and blisters (ampollas).
- Third-Degree Burns: Extend to deeper tissues, causing the skin to appear whitish, charred, or leathery. These burns may cause little or no pain due to nerve damage.
Sprains and Fractures
- Sprains: Injuries affecting the joints, specifically causing tearing or stretching of the ligaments that connect bones.
- Fractures: A broken bone.
- Complete Fracture: The bone breaks entirely through its thickness.
- Incomplete Fracture: Only a portion of the bone breaks.
Foreign Body
A foreign body is any object that is not naturally part of the body but has entered or become lodged within an organ or tissue (e.g., in the digestive system, ear, eye, nose, or skin).
Poisoning (Snakebite)
Envenomation is the term given to poisoning caused by the bite or sting of a venomous animal, such as a snake.
First Aid Procedures and Principles
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a set of practices intended to replace and restore spontaneous breathing and circulation. Resuscitation is performed when a victim has suffered a respiratory or cardiac arrest.
Dressing
A dressing is a procedure or technique involving the application of material to cover and protect a wound or injured body part.
Immobilization
Immobilization is a procedure by which a fractured or injured body part is held still to prevent movement. This helps to avoid further displacement, reduce pain, and prevent complications such as damage to nerves, muscle tissue, or blood vessels.
Asepsis and Antisepsis
- Asepsis: The condition of being free of pathogenic microorganisms that cause infections or diseases, achieved through physical and chemical means.
- Antisepsis: The use of chemicals (antiseptics) on the skin or other living tissue to eliminate or inhibit the growth of microorganisms.
First Aid Kit Essentials
Every home, workplace, and car should have a well-stocked first aid kit. It should contain necessary supplies to save lives and avoid complications from accidents. A kit should include wound care materials, bandages, and essential medications.
Safe Patient Movement
Moving injured or seriously ill victims unnecessarily after an accident can be very dangerous. When moving a patient, it is crucial to ensure that no new injuries are caused or existing ones worsened due to inadequate movement or transportation.