26
votes
Accepted
What should I do if someone has a seizure in front of me?
The typical scenario of a seizure is:
loss of consciousness
uncontrolled movements
recovery
The conduct to adopt during each of these phases follows:
During 1. and 2.
The person will fall on the ...
- 2,250
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 ...
- 6,722
17
votes
Accepted
Would butter on burns help or harm?
Short anwser: Never put butter, oil, etc, on a burn. This would worsen the burn.
Putting butter, oil, or anything else would trap heat and make the burn deeper. It would also make further treatment ...
- 2,250
11
votes
Accepted
First aid measures for a snake bite
These are the steps that you want to take:
If you can see the snake, be prepared to describe it. DO NOT attempt to catch it. If you can get a quick picture with a camera/cell phone, do so.
Get the ...
- 6,570
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 ...
- 9,564
10
votes
Accepted
How are ratios for one person CPR arrived at?
Note: The following is excerpted from an article written in 2005. For lay (Non trained) people, there are more updated recommendations. The following is an example of the process, not the current ...
- 6,570
9
votes
Accepted
Legal issues when using first aid techniques that require certification in foreign countries
It does differ from country to country. For example, in France (As I'm sure you are aware), if a person fails to render assistance to a person in danger then they can by held liable. This falls under ...
- 6,570
9
votes
First aid measures for a snake bite
In the case of snake bite, the protocol to apply varies slightly depending on the country. What follows is based on the guidelines provided by the National Health Service of England, the National ...
- 2,250
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 ...
- 1,099
8
votes
Accepted
Blood pressure monitoring and breast cancer
Many patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer have their axillary lymph nodes removed.
One of the main roles of the lymphatic system is to assist in draining extra-cellular fluid to the ...
- 1,680
8
votes
Accepted
Pulmonary diseases and oxygen therapy
The basic idea is that people with pulmonary diseases that involve chronic hypoventilation rely on mild hypoxia to stimulate respiration.
To understand this, consider a basic homeostatic feedback ...
- 4,355
7
votes
Is using urine to clean a wound better than non-sterile water?
It depends
Extended contact of urine on skin will cause skin irritation and eventual breakdown. On the other hand, that water may contain flesh eating bacteria.
This is a situation of a lesser of ...
- 579
7
votes
AED on infants: risks of using adult pads
Adult pads have a larger area. And they provide more energy. The higher energy is needed because most adults have more body mass than children.
Lower energy is more suitable for children. Source
I ...
- 481
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 ...
- 864
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 ...
- 9,564
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.
...
- 1,261
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 ...
- 1,846
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 ...
- 126
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, ...
- 76
6
votes
Accepted
Why not induce vomiting after accidental pills intake?
TL;DR: The only time you should induce vomiting is if the patient is showing no signs or symptoms and you are directed to by poison control or EMS dispatch.
If you have a pill overdose situation and ...
- 6,570
6
votes
Accepted
How safe are backboards?
The only studies I'm aware of come from the Emergency Medicine Journal, but other should exist for sure.
Some say it has drawbacks (discomfort, pressure sore) and that alternatives such as the vacuum ...
- 2,250
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 ...
- 471
5
votes
How are ratios for one person CPR arrived at?
In Europe we use 30/2 for adults and 15/2 for children.
For children heart problems are rare, so the focus lies on breathing (we also start with 5 breaths). With adults the focus lies on chest ...
- 481
5
votes
Accepted
My friend accidentally drank camphor water and also swallowed a piece of camphor
Call the emergency services or the anti-poisoning centre right away. Don't waste your time looking for effects on the internet.
Keep calm, and:
Tell your name, phone number, location,
Tell this is ...
- 2,250
5
votes
Accepted
First aid for a rabies dog bite
Wound cleansing is especially important when bitten, as it has been shown to remarlably reduce the risk of infections from animal bites in general, and in some animal studies, the likelihood of rabies ...
- 439
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, ...
- 51
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 ...
- 864
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 ...
- 864
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 (...
- 141
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 ...
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