Provide First Aid Flashcards
(33 cards)
What happens when your body gets too hot?
You can experience heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. These are heat-induced conditions.
What are the signs and symptoms of heat cramps?
Why does heat cramps occur?
Muscle cramps
Swelling
Dehydration -> changes in salt concentration in the blood -> K+ is needed for muscle relaxation
How do you manage heat cramps?
Take casualty to cool environment and give them cool water drink.
Apply ice pack on muscle area
Gently stretch the affected muscle
What are the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion?
Headache (d/t vasodilation which leads to drop in bp)
Nausea
Tachy and weak pulse (SNS activation)
Pale, Cool and clammy skin (SNS causes peripheral vasoconstriction so no warm arterial blood at the skin )
Weak and fatigue
How do you manage heat exhaustion?
- Cool environment and give cool water to drink
- Sponge with cold water
- Loosen tight clothing
- Get medical aid if the casualty is vomiting (more fluid loss not good) or does not recover quickly
What are the signs and symptoms of heatstroke?
This is when the casualty’s body temp is 40 degrees and more. But note that body temp = or > 38.5 is hyperthermia and considered dangerous.
- Vertigo (you feel dizzy or your surroundings start to look fuzzy. This appears when your sense of equilibrium is compromised)
- Irritable
- Flushed and dry skin
How do you manage a patient with heatstroke?
Cool environment and give them cool water or electrolyte drink if they are conscious
Remove almost all clothing
Apply ice packs or cold compress to their neck, armpits and groin
Cover body with a wet sheet and if available have a fan directed to the wet sheet to increase circulation
Call the ambulance a
What are the two categories of diabetic emergencies?
Hypoglycemia
Hyperglycaemia
What can hypoglycemia be a result of?
Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar. This means there are not enough glucose in blood.
What can cause less glucose in the blood?
- Insulin is doing its job too well in allowing excess glucose from the bloodstream into cells (overdose of insulin)
- Inadequate food intake (“I haven’t eaten for the past hours”)
-
What can hyperglycaemia be a result of?
A person with known diabetes forgetting to take their insulin
How do you manage a patient with hypoglycaemia?
Give the casualty sugary drink
Continue every 15 min until they recover
How do you manage a patient with hyperglycaemia?
Patient with a BGL greater than 7 has hyperglycaemia.
- Have the casualty administer their insulin
- Assist them if required but do not self-administer
- Give them unsweetened no sugary liquids
You have a casualty who you think is suffering a diabetic emergency, but you’re unsure if they are hypo/hyperglycaemia. What do you do?
Give the patient sugary drink in case it is a hypoglycaemia because this is more dangerous than hyperglycaemia.
What are the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia?
A patient with hypoglycemia is a drunk and sympathetic Dracula.
- Pale and tachy weak pulse
- Diaphoretic
- May appear drunk
- Appear confused or aggressive
What are the signs and symptoms of a patient with hyperglycemia?
A pt with high bgl means there is less water and more salts in the bloodstream.
- Thirsty
- Frequent urination to get rid of excess salts
- Dry skin
- Breath smells of acetone
How do you manage a patient who has fainted?
Patient who fainted, breathing but unconscious: Recovery position
Once a casualty regains consciousness:
- Lie them flat on their back with their legs raised and supported using your lap
- Loosen any tight clothing
- Ensure fresh air by opening a window. If the casualty is surrounded by people, get them to move away to allow fresh air to flow
- Go through primary survey including head-to- toe touch to look for signs of injuries
- Get a secondary survey. SAMPLE with importance on Last Meal and Drink
After they have recovered, let them rest for some minutes before moving.
Advise them to see a doctor about fainting, especially if they have a medical condition that may have caused the incident.
What are signs and symptoms of fainting?
Feeling lightheaded, dizzy or nauseated
Pale, cool and moist skin (SNS)
Numbness in fingers or toes
What are the types of fractures?
Open fracture: the bone is broken and pierces through the skin
Closed fracture
Complicated fracture: the bone is broken with associated injury to nerves or blood vessel
What damage does a fracture cause besides bones?
Muscle damage, skin damage and blood vessel damage
What are the aims of managing a fracture?
- Immobilise the injured part
- Control bleeding
- manage shock
- reduce pain
- prevent further internal and external damage including preventing a closed fracture to an open fracture
What are the priorities for managing a fracture?
Immobilization + seeking medical aid
A casualty has fractured their leg. What do you do?
- Primary survey
- Control any bleeding and cover any wounds
- Ask the casualty to keep still as possible to prevent further internal and external damage
- Check for other fractures
- Immobilize fractures with broad bandages + seek medical aid
Manage shock
What are the sign and symptoms of a fracture?
- they heard or felt the break occur or they heard a grating sound is heard or felt
- history of falling or being hit I.e History
- Deformity
- Pain and tenderness at or near the site of injury
- Swelling
- Redness
- Loss of function
Inflammation will follow a fracture so the cardinal signs of inflammation will show. Inflammation is a red hot swollen pain + loss of function
What is a dislocation and what are the priorities of managing them?
one or more bones is displaced at a joint.
Priorities: Support injured area + apply ice packs
