24 votes

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

You as an untrained bystander can do little to nothing. Professionally trained paramedics could (as an example) pull the leg and thus remove tension between two bone membranes (periostei) and in a ...
Narusan's user avatar
  • 6,772
11 votes
Accepted

How can CPR breathing be made less off-putting

That problem is already solved for you, at least in the US. Current guidelines issued by the American Heart Association no longer require rescue breathing. Chest compressions alone are now the ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
  • 9,743
8 votes
Accepted

Fact or Hoax : Unconventional method of saving human life from stroke?

My Grandmother died of a ischemic stroke (TIA followed by blockage) after weaning herself off of blood thinners because she didn't "need the medicine". Huge issue with his advice - the large majority ...
Mike-DHSc's user avatar
  • 1,109
7 votes
Accepted

Can a otherwise healthy person request a "do not resuscitate" order?

The MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form is an update to the non-hospital DNR, which as you saw in a previous answer has very stringent (and frankly unrealistic) requirements. ...
Nate's user avatar
  • 1,271
7 votes
Accepted

Basic CPR practice without a dummy

With a very small budget If you do not want to spend any (or very little) money on it, I recommend filling a small garbage bag with wet sand and then placing a cushion or pillow over it. I'm guessing ...
L.B.'s user avatar
  • 874
7 votes
Accepted

What is proper capacity of adult non-rebreather masks?

Ah, but they can and do. A non-rebreather (NRB) mask with 100% O2 flowing at 12-15 L/min will provide about 90% O2 concentration to an adult. This is true even for the largest adult in severe ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
  • 9,743
6 votes
Accepted

Can you cauterize a wound with gunpowder?

So this was an interesting one for me, because I never seriously tried to consider it. Most online sources that claim this say it's an "old army trick," but after reading several perspectives on ...
Atl LED's user avatar
  • 1,943
6 votes
Accepted

Can I apply dettol & adhesive bandages on dog bites?

Tetanus Vaccine If you get a tetanus shot every five years you are good to go. The recommended dose of tetanus toxoid (vaccine) is every ten years but since: In a small percentage of individuals, ...
Paola's user avatar
  • 76
6 votes

What should be done if a person is stabbed?

If the weapon is still in the wound : don't touch anything and call the appropriate emergency system (varies from country to country). Never attempt to remove any penetrating object still in situ ...
A. Bourgoin's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Why do we continue compressions after the first AED shock?

The only thing that keeps a patient in cardiac arrest alive is constant, high-quality chest compression. Cardioversion ("shocking") of a patient aims to return the heart to normal (sinus) rhythm in ...
JWC's user avatar
  • 471
5 votes

Dealing with heat strokes

For starters, make sure you or someone close by is calling for an ambulance, because you need that more advanced help started in your direction ASAP. Get the person out of the heat, into air ...
L.B.'s user avatar
  • 874
5 votes

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

So let's assume you're speaking of a large bone, like the arm (humerus, radius or ulna) or leg (femur, tibia or fibula), but not the skull, spine or pelvis. A good rule of thumb: the larger the bone, ...
D Bagnall's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Can I save road accident victims with my bare hands?

In short, the answer (regarding diseases) is yes. Anytime you deal with blood or other bodily fluid, you risk catching a variety of diseases. The risk is compounded if you are not wearing proper ...
L.B.'s user avatar
  • 874
4 votes

Why do we continue compressions after the first AED shock?

There are several studies that emphasize the importance of providing rapid and deep compressions and that CPR should resume immediately after the shock given by the AED, without the delay entailed in ...
Floyd Mitchell's user avatar
4 votes

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

It all depends on the bone that is (or might be) broken, and on the overall condition of the patient. Call an ambulance for a fractured skull, vertebra or hip. Call an ambulance for open fractures (...
user149408's user avatar
4 votes

Removing an impaled object without a doctor

According to a reputable wilderness rescue training organization, these are the guidelines taught in wilderness medicine that you should follow for impalements: Core impalement. Impalements to the ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
  • 9,743
3 votes

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

If both legs are OK and there is no way they could have a spinal injury, you may well find it is quicker to get them to hospital in your car. Drive very slowly over bumps and around corners, do not ...
Graham's user avatar
  • 139
3 votes

Put a finger in it? When is it appropriate to stop a bleed with your finger?

Putting your fingers in a wound is going to inflict severe pain on the casualty. There are ways you can apply direct pressure on an arterial wound, even if it is on the upper thigh. It is possible ...
Chris Rogers's user avatar
  • 6,164
3 votes

Is Ibuprofen Safe To Use As A Catch-All First Aid Solution

For every individual situation, one must weigh the risks vs. the benefits. If the potential or actual benefits outweigh the potential or actual risks, and the situation calls for ibuprophen, you take ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
3 votes

Safely removing a foreign object from the human body without bleeding to death?

Treating a wound at home until emergency personnel arrive: Lay flat on the ground, although head can be elevated for comfort. Leave object in wound: This is because the object acts as a plug and ...
SolarLunix's user avatar
3 votes

First aid for minor burns

Your manual is doing well despite its old age, but: Nowadays, we no longer apply ice though, just water: Do not use ice to cool a burn. Ice can cause frostbite very quickly when used on a burn ...
Shlublu's user avatar
  • 2,260
3 votes
Accepted

First aid for minor burns

Burn treatment has changed over the years. When I was in the USMC Air Wing many decades ago, I suffered some pretty bad burns on both hands by trying to push a jet engine starter (turbine engine) with ...
BillDOe's user avatar
  • 1,390
3 votes

How can CPR breathing be made less off-putting

The British came across this exact problem. CPR was seen as a tricky business, especially when it was considered complicated and might involve mouth-to-mouth. Their solution was (as Carey Gregory ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 131
2 votes

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

If you are untrained on this subject matter, the best practise is to do nothing about the fracture.* Even most certified first aiders are not trained to handle broken bones. *By nothing I don't ...
See Jian Shin's user avatar
2 votes

Rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for small wounds?

I think alcohol is better than peroxide for the reasons stated above. Nevertheless, from an evidence stand-point, there is no really strong evidence for basically any solution over the other or even ...
Gregorio Litenstein's user avatar
2 votes
Accepted

Third-degree burn - Home treatment

The skin has several tasks. Among these are: defense against outside threats like infection keeping the body temperature as constant as possible keeping the moisture inside With large second/third ...
Toon Krijthe's user avatar
2 votes

What is the correct first aid procedure for treating abdominal gunshot wounds?

What is shown continuously on television and movies is that they either die fairly quickly, or, if you apply pressure, then get the bullet out, the patient will recover. That's not the case. The ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
2 votes

How effective is a „wrong-way“ rescue blanket?

Apparently, the difference is not very severe: Die Regel: Kälteschutz: Silberseite nach innen, Sonnenschutz: Silberseite nach außen wird auch von Herstellern angegeben. Jedoch ist der Unterschied in ...
Narusan's user avatar
  • 6,772
2 votes

Can a otherwise healthy person request a "do not resuscitate" order?

If an otherwise healthy person has a do not resuscitate order and has a heart attack and the ambulance comes, will they just let him die like that? Or is do not resuscitate only applicable to ...
faustus's user avatar
  • 775
2 votes
Accepted

Disinfectant spray in first aid kit for cycling and hiking?

In Germany, first-aiders may not apply medication: Medication in general mustn't be applied by first-aiders. This also encompasses cases in which a customer in a pharmacy suffers from an asthma ...
Narusan's user avatar
  • 6,772

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