First Aid Guide for Common Accidents and Injuries

Posted on May 3, 2024 in Biology

Cardiocirculatory Accidents

State of Shock

Circulatory disorder caused by massive blood and fluid loss, life-threatening. Causes are: severe bleeding wounds, internal bleeding, burns, diarrhea, severe or very severe allergies. Diagnosis: rapid and weak pulse, paleness (especially in lips, earlobes, and fingernails), cold, chills, sweating, confusion, lack or impairment of consciousness, or unconsciousness. Treatment:

  • Notify Emergency Medical Services.
  • Place the person in the “shock position” (supine, horizontal, flat trunk with legs bent or elevated).
  • Wrap the person in a blanket.
  • Reassure the person.
  • Control bleeding (if any).
  • Continuously monitor the state of consciousness, breathing, and circulation.
  • If unconscious, place in the recovery position for safety.
  • In all cases, ensure emergency transfer to a medical facility.

Fainting or Syncope

Impairment of consciousness without reaching a total loss of consciousness. Usually presents no problems unless caused by head trauma. The cause is insufficient blood supply to the brain. Diagnosis: feeling of fatigue, pallor, cold sweat, followed by impairment of consciousness without reaching a total loss of consciousness. Treatment: lie down with legs elevated, move slightly, and ensure complete recovery.

Bleeding

Blood loss due to a break in the wall of blood vessels. Can be serious or even fatal. The significance of hemorrhage depends on the amount of blood lost per unit time, the duration of blood loss, and the person’s health status after the accident.

Types of Bleeding:
  • External Bleeding: arterial, venous, and capillary
  • Internal Bleeding: not visible, diagnosed by signs of shock.
  • Exteriorized Hemorrhage: blood comes out through a natural orifice but is of internal origin.

Examples of Exteriorized Hemorrhage:

  • Epistaxis (Nosebleed): compress for 5-10 minutes, sit with head bowed forward. If bleeding doesn’t stop, use gauze soaked in hydrogen peroxide. If bleeding persists for 15-20 minutes, seek hospital care.
  • Otorrhagia (Ear Bleeding): do not compress, lie on the side of the bleeding ear, seek urgent hospital care.
  • Hematemesis (Vomiting Blood): blood from the digestive system.
  • Hemoptysis (Coughing Up Blood): blood from the respiratory tract, frothy appearance.
  • Hematuria (Blood in Urine)
Treatment for External Bleeding:
  • Apply general first aid rules.
  • Elevate the bleeding area as much as possible.
  • Main objective: stop the hemorrhage as quickly as possible.
  • Order of actions: 1. Manual pressure (local) on the wound. 2. Remote manual compression. 3. Tourniquet. If a foreign object is present, apply a pressure bandage over the bleeding area.

For Internal Bleeding: focus on preventing shock.

Injuries

Effects or damage produced quickly and instantly by mechanical, physical, or chemical agents on certain body parts.

Causes: school accidents, domestic accidents, sports accidents, work accidents, traffic accidents, wars, and disasters.

Classification: mechanical, physical, and chemical injuries.

Mechanical Injuries

Soft Tissue Injuries

The impact of a mass on the body can cause two types of lesions: unbroken skin (simple contusion) or broken skin (wound contusion).

Contusion: traumatic injury to living tissue caused by a blunt object. Skin integrity remains intact.

  • 1st Degree Contusions: mild intensity, pain, and redness.
  • 2nd Degree Contusions: greater intensity, pain, bruising, and swelling.
  • 3rd Degree Contusions: very intense, tissue necrosis.

General treatment: rest, local ice, elevation, and unloading of the injured extremity. Bandage the injured area, do not massage for 48-72 hours, do not apply heat for 48 hours, do not puncture, and seek medical evaluation.

Wounds

A break in the skin with separated borders, bleeding, and pain.

The main complication is infection.

Types of wounds:

  • Severity: mild or single (erosions) and severe (other types).
  • Cause: type of agent and severity.

Clinical signs:

  • Main symptoms: pain, bleeding, and separation of edges.
  • Signs of severity: location, extent or depth of the wound, cleanliness, complications, presence of bruising, and the affected person’s condition.
Treatment for Wounds:
  • Differentiate the type of wound.
  • Expose the wound without removing clothing completely.
  • Do not clean the wound.
  • Apply gauze secured with a bandage.
  • Immobilize the area.
  • Seek hospital care.

Physical Injuries

Heat-Related Injuries
Heat Stroke

Caused by direct, intense, and prolonged sunlight on the uncovered head or uncontrolled sunbathing.

Clinical presentation:

  • Prodromal Phase: no fever, facial flushing, sweating. Treatment: move to a semi-recumbent position.
  • Status Phase: sweating disappears, fever, hot and dry skin, shock, agitation, seizures. Treatment: place in shock position, fan the person, cool the body temperature to 10-15°C, apply cold compresses, and seek hospital care.
Heat Exhaustion

Caused by excessive environmental heat, with hypothalamic thermoregulatory system failure, cessation of sweating, and vasodilation. Can occur indoors and on cloudy days with no wind. Clinical presentation: same symptoms as heat stroke, plus nosebleeds and dehydration.

Burns

Injuries resulting from physical, chemical, or biological agents that damage tissues, leading to local or general reactions. Severity is related to size and depth.

Three degrees of burns:

  • 1st Degree: erythema (redness).
  • 2nd Degree: blisters.
  • 3rd Degree: sloughing of skin.

The most serious complication is shock.

Burn severity based on extension:

  • <10% = mild
  • 10-33% = severe
  • >33% = very serious
  • >50% = almost always fatal

Chemical Injuries

Poisoning

The set of signs and symptoms that appear after exposure to a toxin. Poisoning can be acute, subacute (lasting a few weeks), or chronic (lasting months or years).

Causes: accidental, suicide attempts, drug use, or drug overdose.

Routes of entry:

  • Digestive tract
  • Respiratory tract
  • Dermal (skin)
  • Parenteral (injection)

Types of poisons:

  • Biological (animal or plant origin)
  • Toxic (alcohol and narcotics)
  • Inorganic (metals and caustics)

General objectives of treatment:

  • Antidotal action: administer an antidote if available.
  • Restore and/or maintain vital functions.
  • Keep toxic concentrations as low as possible by preventing further absorption, delaying absorption, and facilitating elimination of the poison.

Treatment for poisoning by ingestion:

  • Disposal techniques: forced vomiting (emesis) or gastric lavage.
  • Contraindications for forced vomiting: ingestion of caustics, unconsciousness, ingestion of CNS stimulants, ingestion of oil, ingestion of sharp objects, children under 6 months, unknown toxic substance, pregnancy, and seizures.
  • Interfere with poison absorption: dilute the poison or give a demulcent.
  • Demulcents: albuminous milk or water (4-6 egg whites in a liter of water or milk) are effective against acids, alkalis, and heavy metals. Milk products are contraindicated after ingestion of soluble phosphorus. If caustic substances are ingested, give milk.
Allergic Reactions

The clinical expression of an adverse reaction triggered by contact with an allergen in a susceptible person.

Develops minutes after contact with the trigger, and generally, the shorter the latency period between contact and symptom onset, the more violent and severe the reaction.

Can cause anaphylactic shock, unconsciousness, hypotension, vascular collapse, and if not treated urgently, death from cardiac arrest.

Musculoskeletal Injuries

Fractures

A break in the continuity of a bone, caused by direct trauma (impact) or indirect trauma.

  • Closed or simple fracture: skin remains intact.
  • Open fracture: broken ends of the bone pierce the skin.
  • Complicated fracture: associated with injuries to adjacent parts.
  • Fractures with or without displacement: broken ends can be aligned or displaced.

Fissure: a disruption in bone continuity, but the borders do not separate or only partially separate.

Treatment for fractures: cover with bandages, immobilize, unload the affected limb, splint, and restrain as is for transport. For elbow fractures (extension/flexion), use a splint and sling (if in flexion) to restrict movement.

Sprains

A twist or forced movement of a joint without dislocation, which can lead to ligament rupture.

Types of sprains:

  • Strain: no tearing or breaking, does not alter joint stability.
  • Partial tear: partial ligament rupture with no change in joint stability.
  • Complete tear: all fibers in the ligament are affected, the joint is unstable.

Treatment: cryotherapy (therapeutic use of cold) to reduce pain, vasoconstriction, and muscle relaxation.

Prophylaxis

Tetanus

Suffering from tetanus does not confer immunity. Vaccination is crucial for prevention.