Tag Archives: First Aid

Depending on the specific medical condition at hand, the steps you should take first to handle the situation in the most effective way.

First Aid: Treating a Stingray Injury

Posted by on February 29, 2012 Comments Off

Symptoms of a stingray injury:

  • Immediate, severe pain lasting up to 48 hours
  • Swelling/bleeding in the wound area
  • Sweating
  • Low blood pressure
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Dizziness
  • Paralysis
  • Muscle cramping
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Seizure
  • Irregular heart rhythm

Stingrays possess venomous tail spines which can result in serious injury, though fatalities caused by stingrays are quite rare.  The most infamous example of a fatal stingray injury is the one that killed “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Erwin.  Once the victim is stung, the stinger will usually break off in the wound.  This doesn’t hurt the stingray, which will regrow a new stinger in time.  Surgery may be required to remove an embedded stinger.  Swimmers and divers are most at risk of injury due to the many hours they spend in the water.

Stingrays generally avoid making aggressive attacks on people.  However, when stepped on they will frequently sting in self defense.  It’s easy for stingrays to go unseen by people due to their habit of hiding under sand and their camouflaged bodies.  As a result, most stingray injuries occur on the victims legs.  If you are wading in waters known to be home to stingrays, it’s wise to use a tool to shuffle the sand around beforehand, scaring them away.  Another option is to drop/throw some rocks into the water.  If you are already in the water and have no tools for moving the sand around your feet, shuffle your feet in the sand to let any nearby stingrays know to get out of the area.

A stingray injury can be quite painful, partly due to the physical trauma of the injury and partly due to their venom.  Pain often last for about 2 days, but is usually at its most extreme immediately after the injury takes place and for the next hour or so.

If the spine punctures the chest or abdomen of the victim, the chances of the injury being serious or fatal go up.  Note that Steve Erwin died from a stingray injury in the upper torso area. Read more »

First Aid for Minor Cuts, Scrapes, and Burns

Posted by on February 8, 2012 Comments Off

Not all injuries require a trip to the emergency room, but even minor wounds should be cared for in order to prevent infection (especially if you are out in the wilderness) or making them worse and slowing down the time it takes to heal.

Burns:

  • For first and second degree burns resulting from flame or heat, you should run some lukewarm water over the burn and wrap it up securely in a damp cloth.  Try to keep the injury elevated.  Avoid popping any resulting blisters.

Cuts and Scrapes:

  • Wash the injury with water and soap and try to keep the wound clean, watch for redness to appear around the injury, a possible sign of infection.  Wrap the injury in a piece of cloth.  If bleeding won’t stop, you will need to fashion a tourniquet.  You can improvise one with a strip of cloth or a belt.  Tighten the tourniquet the limb above the injury.

 

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First Aid for a Lightning Strike

Posted by on February 2, 2012 Comments Off

Should someone you know be struck by lightning, you should perform the following:

  • Call for emergency medical assistance for the injured person.
  • Provide appropriate first aid measures. If  the person is not breathing, perform rescue breathing. If their heart has stopped beating, provide CPR. If the injured person has both a pulse and is breathing on their own, look for other injuries.
  • Check for burns. Lightning burns two spots on the body: where the person was struck and where the electricity left the body. A lightning strike can also cause broken bones and a loss of hearing or eyesight.


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First Aid for a Broken Nose

Posted by on January 30, 2012 Comments Off

Symptoms and signs of a broken nose:

  • Bleeding from the nose
  • Bruising
  • Swelling
  • Pain
  • Tenderness
  • Difficulty breathing

Also called a nasal fracture, a broken nose is caused by physical trauma to the face, such as being punched in the face, falling, various contact sports, and other physical activities.

What to do if you think you have broken your nose:

  • Breathe through your mouth and lean forward to reduce the amount of blood draining into your throat.
  • Apply an ice pack or cold compress immediately after the injury.  Repeat four times a day for the following 1-2 days, 10 to 15 minutes each time.
  • Take an over-the-counter pain reliever
  • Elevate your head (even when sleeping) so as not to worsen swelling of the injury.
  • See a doctor for further medical care.  The doctor may let minor breaks heal on their own, prescribe treatment and medicine as necessary, and in the case of more serious fractures (such as when the nose shape is deformed by the injury), may try to realign a broken nose.  If you have difficulty breathing because of your injury, seek medical attention.

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First Aid for a Bee Sting

Posted by on January 27, 2012 Comments Off

When treating a bee sting injury:

  1. Remove the stinger as quickly as possible, delaying will only cause more venom to be released into the injury.
  2. Apply ice or a cold compress to the injury in order to reduce swelling and pain.
  3. If the bee sting sufferer is known to be allergic to bee stings or you suspect he or she is having an allergic reaction, seek emergency medical care as soon as possible.
  4. If the sufferer is known to have an allergy and he or she has an EpiPen handy in order to deal with such a situation, you can help administer the treatment.  An epinephrine autoinjector, or EpiPen, contains epinephrine, which helps treat or prevent anaphylactic shock.

Try not to scratch the sting as this can make the problem worse.  The sting will likely be painful for up to a few hours after the sting for most people.  Doctors often recommend a tetanus shot after being stung by a bee.

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First Aid Uses for Tea Bags

Posted by on December 30, 2011 Comments Off

Tea bags containing leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant, such as normal white, black, or green teas, can be useful to pack in your fist aid kit or big out bag.  They’re lightweight and take up little space.  These teas, especially black tea, contain a substance called tannins, which are the source of the their medicinal properties.  Tannins have an astringent quality, which ran reduce inflammation of bodily tissue and restricting blood vessels.

Apply a moistened tea bag for relief for the following conditions:

  • Pink eye
  • Sunburn
  • Bleeding gum tissue/wounds in the mouth/knocked out teeth
  • Snow blindness
  • Minor insect bites
  • Bruises/swelling
  • Canker sores
  • Draining a boil
  • Drying out a poison ivy/oak rash
  • Swab your feet with a damp tea bag to get rid of foot odor
  • Relieve razor burn

There are also other uses for tea bags you can consider:

  • Add the contents of used tea bags to planting soil or compost, adding nutrients
  • For tired, puffy eyes, rest two tea bags over your eyes to refresh them
  • Tea or teabags can be used to clean grime off your floors, counter surfaces, mirrors, pots and pans
  • After washing your hair, you can rinse with a cup of tea to condition it, though might not be recommended for those with light-colored hair

Featured Photo by Kate Ter Haar


Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately.

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Dangerous Reptiles: The Rattlesnake

Posted by on December 19, 2011 Comments Off

While North America may be free of many of the worlds deadliest and most poisonous animals on Earth, it does have its share of critters worth avoiding, such as rattlesnakes.  As their name suggests, rattlesnakes have a literal rattle at the end of their tails grows longer with each shedding of skin that they use to produce a rattling sound, often as a warning to perceived threats.  The rattlesnake is the top cause of snakebite injuries in North America and is responsible for a large percent of those in South America as well.  The rattlesnake is one of many species on the Americas and Asia that gets lumped into a group of snakes called “Pit Vipers.”

Rattlesnakes prefer to be left alone and don’t seek out confrontation with people.  Yet if a rattlesnake feels cornered or provoked, it will bite.  Should you encounter one, give it space and let it retreat or leave the area.

If someone is bitten by a rattlesnake, chances of survival are good with prompt medical treatment.  If the snakebite victim is treated with anti-venom within a few hours of the bite, survival is almost guaranteed.  The rattlesnake doesn’t inject its venom about 20% of the time.

For the other 80% of the time when the snake does inject venom, symptoms include:

  • Extreme pain
  • Swelling
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Sweating
  • Anxiety
  • Weakness
  • Internal bleeding
  • Eventual heart failure and death

If you or someone else is bitten by a rattlesnake:

  • Dial 911/seek immediate medical attention
  • Stay calm
  • Immobilize the bitten limb, stay quiet to help keep the poison from spreading through the body
  • Remove jewelry and restrictive clothing before swelling occurs
  • Position yourself (or the bitten party) so that the bite is at or below the level of the heart
  • Cleanse the wound, do not flush it with water.  Cover it with dry, clean dressing.
  • Apply a splint to lessen any movement of the affected area
  • Only under the condition that you are more than 1–2 hours away from a medical facility, place a lightly constricting band above the bitten spot to prevent the spread of the venom

Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Featured Photo by rioncm

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First Aid for Treating an Allergic Reaction to Urushiol (Poison Oak, Ivy, or Sumac)

Posted by on December 19, 2011 Comments Off
poison ivy toxicodendron radicans

There are two phases for treating exposure to urushiol-induced contact dermatitis (such as the result of contact with poison oak, pioson ivy, or poison sumac):

  • As soon as possible, washing the contaminating urushiol off the area of exposure
  • Later, treating any resulting pain, blistering or rash that develops.

First you should thoroughly wash exposed areas of your body with soap and cool water as soon as you can.  If you do this soon enough after exposure, you can greatly reduce the amount of urushiol that bonds inside your skin and prevent or reduce the resulting rash.

Soap is necessary, water alone is not enough to wash it off because urushiol is an oil.

Hot showers and compresses can bring some relief for the itching for a few hours.  Note that should only be done once you are sure you have removed all of the urushiol from the affected areas.

Antihistamines or hydro-cortisone cream can be applied to lessen the symptoms of a rash.  The over-the-counter oral medication Benadryl is frequently used as well.

During the healing process, leave any blisters unbroken.

Featured Photo by slodocents

Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately.

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First Aid: Splashed Chemicals in Your Eyes

Posted by on November 14, 2011 Comments Off
woman green eye

If a chemical splashes into your eye, do the following:

Flush your affected eye(s) with clean, lukewarm tap water for 15-20 minutes. Go with the most quickly available and convenient of the following approaches:

  • Get in the shower, aim a soft stream of lukewarm water on your forehead over your affected eye(s). Hold the affected eye(s) open.
  • Hold the affected eye(s) open under a gently running faucet.

After this, thoroughly wash and rinse your hands with water and soap so that there’s no chemical or soap left on your hands. Your primary goal is to get the chemical off the surface of your eye, but your next concern is removing the chemical from your hands.

Please note:

  • Do not rub your eye(s) — this can cause further damage.
  • Do not put anything except water or contact lens saline rinse in you eye, and do not use eye-drops unless emergency personnel advise you to do this.

After you have taken the steps above, seek emergency care or, if necessary, call 911 or your equivalent local emergency phone number. You should bring the chemical container or write down the name of the chemical to bring with you to the emergency department. If readily at your disposal, put on sunglasses, your eyes will be extra sensitive to light.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately. Read more »

First Aid: Contact Dermatitis

Posted by on November 11, 2011 Comments Off

Contact dermatitis, generally the result of contact with poisonous plants, can be tricky to treat without the benefits of modern medicine. The effects may last a while, can be spread by scratching, and the situation becomes more serious if the affected area makes contact with the eyes.

The primary offending toxin of these plants is usually an oil that is transmitted from the pant to the skin upon touching. This oil will also get on equipment and then infect whoever touches the equipment. Do not ever bum one of these contact poisonous plants – the smoke can be as harmful as the plant. There is increased danger of being affected when the infected overheated/sweating. The infection may either be local or possibly spread over the whole body. Symptoms usually take anywhere from a couple hours to a few days to appear.

Indicators include:

  • Burning
  • Itching
  • Reddening
  • Blisters
  • Swelling

Upon first making contact with the poisonous plant or when the first symptoms appear, you should do your best to remove the oil by washing the affected area with soap and cold water.  If you don’t have access to clean water, wipe your skin repeatedly with dirt or sand. Do not use dirt if blisters have already developed, as the dirt could tear open the blisters and lead to infection. Once you have removed the oil, dry the affected area.

Examples of poisonous plants that cause contact dermatitis:

  • Poison ivy
  • Poison oak
  • Poison sumac
  • Rengas tree
  • Trumpet vine
  • Cowhage

Self-care for Contact Dermatitis:

  • Immediately after contact with an allergen/irritant, wash the area with soap and cold water to remove, reduce or inactivate as much of the substance as you can.
  • A weak acid solution such as vinegar or lemon juice may be used to counteract the effects of contact dermatitis from any exposure to basic irritants.
  • If you develop blisters, a cold and moist compresses should be applied for about a half hour, three times a day for some pain relief.
  • Applying calamine lotion and taking a cool colloidal oatmeal bath can relieve with itching symptoms.
  • Taking an oral antihistamine like Benadryl or Ben-Allergin can also provide some relieve from itching.
  • For a milder case that covers only a smaler area, nonprescription hydrocortisone cream may be enough.
  • Avoid scratching the affected area, as this can spread the initial infection and make secondary infections.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately. Read more »