Basic First Aid for

Medical
Emergencies

Prequiz:
True or False?
After an accident, immediately move

the
victim to a comfortable position.
If a person is bleeding, use a

tourniquet.
Signs of a heart attack include

shortness
of breath, anxiety, and perspiration.
All burns can be treated with first aid

alone; no emergency medical attention

Help! Emergency!
Minutes could

make a difference

Business & Legal Reports, Inc. 1110

Sudden
death
occurs
when
heartbeat and breathing stops
suddenly or unexpectedly. The
major role of CPR is to provide
oxygen to the heart, brain and
other vital organs.

Two definitions aid in

understanding the role of CPR
in sudden death
CLINICAL DEATH
Means that
heartbeat and breathing have stopped. This
process is reversible when CPR and life support
measures are started during the few minutes
BIOLOGICAL DEATH Permanent cellular
damage due to lack of oxygen. Brain cells are
most sensitive to the lack of oxygen. This
process is final

Time is critical in starting CPR. If CPR is started

within 4 minutes, the victim has a good chance
of recovery.
4 minutes Brain damage begins
10 minutes Brain death certain
In adults, the most common cause of sudden
death is due to heart disease. The best way to
save lives is through PREVENTION

The risk if sudden death due to heart

disease can be reduced in 3 ways
Reduce the risk factors of developing heart

disease
Recognize the Signs and Symptoms of heart
attack and Implement ACTIONS

Risk factors for heart

disease
RISK FACTORS THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED
1. HEREDITARY
2. MALE GENDER
3. INCREASING AGE

Major factors that can be

changed or Modified
Cigarette Smoking
High blood pressure
High Blood Cholesterol

Other factors which can also be

changed or Eliminated
Diabetes Mellitus
Obesity
Lack of Physical Activity

PRUDENT LIVING
It is a lifestyle which minimize the risk of future
heart disease. This lifestyle includes the
following guidelines and recommendations:
1. Weight control
2. Physical Fitness
3. Dietary habits
4. Avoidance of cigarette smoking
5. Reduction of Blood fats
6. Control of High Blood Pressure

HYPERTENSION
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a treatable
chronic disease. People who have hypertension
have more stress placed on their circulatory
systems than people without high blood pressure.
Hypertension contributes to death from heart
disease and kidney disease. Treatment for
hypertension is available, must be kept up forever.
That blood pressure has been brought to an
acceptable level does not mean the disease has
gone away, it only means that the disease has been
brought under control, and this control must be
continued.

HOW DO PEOPLE KNOW THEY HAVE

HYPERTENSION
Hypertension has been called the the silent
killer because it gives no warning, In the early
stages of this disease, there often no symptoms.
As the disease develops, people may complain of
headaches, vision changes or problems with their
urinary output. If they would consult a physician
at this point in their disease, permanent damage
to a vital organ could be avoided. Some people
with high blood pressure do not seek help until
they have severe problems, By the time, there is
often permanent damage to their vital organs

RISK FACTORS OF HYPERTENSION

1.Have a family history of hypertension, heart
disease or kidney disease
2. Smoke cigarettes
3. Overweight
4. Used a lot of salt in your diet
5. Eat a large amount of saturated fats

CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF

HYPERTENSION
Many conditions seem to cause hypertension
and some causes are still unknown. Research
scientists are investigating diet, heredity, birth
controls, kidney infections as possible causes
of this chronic disease. An individualized
treatment plan is developed by a physician
after a thorough medical examination.
Treatment may consist of a combination of
diet, medication and exercise.

HEART ATTACK
Heart attack is a general term that describes
sudden damage to the heart. There are many
medical reasons people have heart attacks,
but they all have the same results decrease
in in the blood supply to the heart which
eventually leads to heart muscle damage and
permanent tissue death.
The word infarct means the death of tissue
due to lack of blood. The word myocardial
refers to the heart muscle.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEART

ATTACK
Chest pain that may not radiate to the arm or

jaw
Wet, clammy skin
Weak or rapid pulse
Pale color
Low blood pressure
Dyspnea
Nausea
Squeezing
Fullness

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEART

ATTACK
Tightness
Aching
Crushing
Constriction
Heaviness

Location of Pain
In the center of the chest

Duration: The Pain of a heart attack will usually

last longer than 2 minutes.

CEREBROVASCULAR
ACCIDENT
The term cerebrovascular accident has 3
important parts:
1. Cerebro : having to do with the brain
2. Vascular : having to do with the blood
vessels
3. Accident : something unpredictable and
unexpected

A CVA or stroke is the third leading cause of

death in the United States occurs when blood
supply to a part of the brain is stopped due to
a blocked blood vessel. When blood flow is
stopped, the tissue dies. Because each part of
the brain controls different function.
It is important that the result of the CVA may be
paralysis, loss of speech, or loss of vision, The
speech center of the body is on the left side,

FOUR MAIN CAUSES OF

CVA
A blood clot can form elsewhere in the body,

travel to the brain and lodge in a small vessel.

This is called embolus
A blood clot can form in the brain itself and
remain there, this is called a thrombus
Plaque can accumulate in the blood vessels
and eventually closed them
A blood vessels can burst, causing a
hemorrhage, this the most common in people
with hypertension

SIGN AND SYMPTOMS

Headache
Difficulty with speech or vision
Change in state of consciousness or orientation
Paralysis in an extremity or one side of the face
Seizure
Difficulty breathing
Unequal size of pupils
Weakness on one side of the body
Uncontrolled drooling

Emergency Procedures
Call for help
Provide ventilation if needed
If the person is conscious, assist him into a

comfortable, safe position. Position paralyzed

extremities in proper body alignment
Be sure that the person can spit out his saliva. If
he is lying down, position him on his side for
drainage
Do not give him anything to eat or drink
Remain with him and assure him that help is
coming

BODY SYSTEMS
The Respiratory System
The Circulatory System

Introduction
For the life to continue, the body requires an
adequate supply of oxygen . If a casualty is
deprived of oxygen, the brain begins to fail,
after 3 or 4 minutes without oxygen, casualty
will lose consciousness the heart &
breathing will stop death will result.

Basic life Support/BLS An emergency

procedure that consist of recognizing
respiratory or cardiac arrest or both and
the proper application of CPR to maintain
life until the victims recovers

What is CPR?
It is a sequence of techniques that can save lives

when perform correctly. CPR is the technique of

Rescue breathing in conjunction with chest
compression.
The aim of CPR is to maintain victim's breathing and
circulation until emergency aid arrives.

Purpose of CPR
To restore patients breathing
To assess patients blood circulation until it

can resume pumping blood throughout the

body
To maintain life until a victim recovers

C-P-R
Cardio Having to do with the heart
Pulmonary - Having to do with the

lungs
Resuscitation - The act of reviving a

person and returning them to

consciousness

HEALTH HAZARDS AND RISKS

DISEASE TRANSMISSION

Infectious diseases are those that can

spread from person to another through the
following ways:

DIRECT CONTACT
- Occurs when a person touches an
infected persons body fluids

INDIRECT CONTACT

-occurs when a person touches

objects that have been contaminated by
blood or body fluids of an infected
person

AIRBORNE

TRANSMISSION
- occurs when a person inhales
droplets of as an infected person
coughs and sneezes

When to Perform CPR?

No breathing
No pulse
Unconscious

STEPS IN CPR FOR ADULT

(1 RESCUER)

ADULT (One Rescuer)

1. CHECK FOR FURTHER DANGER
2. CHECK FOR A RESPONSE. Assess for

unresponsiveness. Try to wake the

casualty.
Shake
the
persons
shoulder and shout Are you okay?
If the client is unresponsive call for
help have
3. Place client in supine position over
firm flat surface
4. Check the casualty s AIRWAY

AIRWAY
5.Open clients airway by using either of the
following techniques:
Head tilt/chin lift maneuver
Jaw thrust maneuver

Headtiltchinlift
Maneuver

Jaw Thrust

BREATHING
6.While keeping the clients airway open, place
your ear over the mouth and nose while
looking towards to his feet and do the
following for 3 5 seconds
Listen for the sound of air moving
Feel for air from the clients mouth and nose
on your cheek
Look for rise and fall on the chest

7. If the client is not breathing prepare for

artificial respiration
Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation
Pinch clients nose with the thumb and index
fingers of the hand you have on clients
forehead
Take a deep breath and seal lips around the
victims mouth creating an airtight seal. Give 2
slow full breath using this sequence

1. Deliver first breath to client lasting 1 - 2

seconds
2. Break contact with clients mouth and allow
clients chest to relax
3. Take a deep breath and seal lips around
clients mouth
4. Deliver a second breath to clients for 1 2 seconds
5. Break contact with clients mouth and allow
clients chest to relax

8. Observe for rise and fall of chest wall with

each respiration. If the lungs do not inflate
after the first two rescue breaths, reposition
head and neck for visible airway obstruction
such as vomitus food, loose dentures and the
like

CIRCULATION
10. Assess for presence of pulse for 5 10
seconds . For adult palpate the carotid pulse
by placing your index and middle fingers in
the groove between the windpipe and the
muscle next to it on your side of the clients
neck.

11. If client is pulselessness begin chest

compression
a. Kneel alongside the casualty in a position
that will allow you to comfortably applied
vertical pressure during compression
b. Locate the sternum with middle finger and
place index next to it.
c.Put the heel of your other hand on
clients sternum next to your index finger.
d. Take your fingers off the notch and put
that hand directly on top of your other hand so
that hands are parallel

e. Lock elbows, maintain arms straight and

shoulders directly over hands on victims
sternum
f. Using the weight of your upper body
compress chest 1 - 2 inches

Give 30 compression at a rate of 80 100

compressions per minute. Count One and
Two and Three and up to 30 up to 5 cycles
Press down on the number and release on
the word and. Do not change your hand
position during compressions.
ii. Ventilate lungs with two slow rescue breath
iii. Reassess victim after four complete cycles
( 30 compressions 2 ventilation each cycles.
Every 2 minutes check for breathing and
pulse. If you detect a pulse but no breathing,
give 10 12 rescue breath per minute
i.

And check pulse. If you still dont detect a

pulse, continue CPR in cycles of 30
compressions and two rescue breaths,
beginning with breath.

When Can I Stop CPR?

Victim survive
Trained help arrives
Cardiac arrest longer than 30 minutes

How to place in recovery position

BURNS
The skin has an important role to play in the

fluid and temperature regulation of the body.

If enough skin area is injured, the ability to
maintain that control can be lost. The skin
also acts as a protective barrier against the
bacteriaandvirusesthat inhabit the world
outside the body.
Theanatomyof the skin is complex, and there
are many structures within the layers of the
skin. There are three layers:

Epidermis, the outer layer of the skin

Dermis, made up ofcollagenand elastic fibers

and where nerves, blood vessels, sweat

glands, and hair follicles reside.
Hypodermis orsubcutaneous tissue, where
larger blood vessels and nerves are located.
This is the layer of tissue that is most
important in temperature regulation.
The amount of damage that a burn can cause
depends upon its location, its depth, and how
muchbody surface areathat it involves.

How are burns classified?

Afirst degree burnissuperficialand causes local
inflammation of the skin. Sunburns often are
categorized as first degree burns. The inflammation
is characterized by pain, redness, and a mild amount
of swelling. The skin may be very tender to touch.
Second degree burnsare deeper and in addition
to the pain, redness and inflammation, there is also
blistering of the skin.
Third degree burnsare deeper still, involving all
layers of the skin, in effect killing that area of skin.
Because the nerves and blood vessels are damaged,
third degree burns appear white and leathery and
tend to be relatively painless.

Burns are not static and may mature. Over a few hours

a first degree burn may involve deeper structures and

become second degree. Think of sunburnthat blisters
the next day. Similarly, second degree burns may
evolve into third degree burns.
Regardless of the type of burn, inflammation and fluid
accumulation in and around the wound occur.
Moreover, it should be noted that the skin is the body's
first defense against infection by microorganisms. A
burn is also a break in the skin, and the risk of infection
exists both at the site of the injury and potentially
throughout the body.
Only the epidermis has the ability toregenerateitself.
Burns that extend deeper may cause permanent injury
andscarringand not allow the skin in that area to
return to normal function.

What is the significance of the

amount of body area burned?
In addition to the depth of the burn, the total

area of the burn is significant. Burns are

measured as a percentage of total body area
affected. The"rule of nines"is often used,
though this measurement is adjusted for
infants and children. This calculation is based
upon the fact that the surface area of the
following parts of an adult body each
correspond to approximately 9% of total (and
the total body area of 100% is achieved):

Head = 9%
Chest (front) = 9%
Abdomen (front) = 9%
Upper/mid/low back and buttocks = 18%
Each arm = 9%
Each palm = 1%
Groin = 1%
Each leg = 18% total (front = 9%, back = 9%)

As an example, if legs (18% x 2 = 36%), the

groin (1%) and the front chest and abdomen

were burned, this would involve 55% of the
body.

Only second andthird degree burnareas are added

together to measure total body burn area. While first

degree burns are painful, the skin integrity is intact
and it is able to do its job with fluid and temperature
maintenance.
If more than15%-20% of the body is involved in a
burn, significant fluid may be lost. Shockmay occur if
inadequate fluid is not provided intravenously.
As the percentage of burn surface area increases, the
risk of death increases as well. Patients with burns
involving less than 20% of their body should do well,
but those with burns involving greater than 50%
have a significantmortalityrisk, depending upon a
variety of factors, including underlying medical
conditions and age.

How important is the location

of a burn?

Burn location is an important consideration.

If the burn involves the face, nose, mouth or neck, there is a risk that

there will be enough inflammation and swelling to obstruct theairway

and cause breathing problems.
If there are circumferential burns to the chest, as the burn progresses,
the tissue involved may not allow enough motion of the chest wall to
allow adequate breathing to occur. If circumferential burns occur to arms,
legs, fingers, or toes, the same constriction may not allow blood flow and
put the survival of the extremity at risk. Burns to areas of the body with
flexioncreases, like the palm of the hand, the back of the knee, the face,
and the groin may need specialized care. As the burn matures, the skin
may scar and shorten, preventing full range of motion of the body area.

What about electrical burns?

Electrical burns may cause serious injury that

is not readily apparent. Often the entry and

exit points for the electrical shock may not be
easily found.
Electricity flows more easily through tissues in
the body that are designed to deal with
electricity. Nerves and muscles are "wired" for
this task and often are damaged. If significant
muscle damage occurs, muscle fibers and
chemicals can be released into the
bloodstream causingelectrolyte disturbances
andkidney failure.

What about chemical burns?

Burns can also occur when chemicals are spilled

onto the body and generate a reaction that

creates heat. Chemical burns may be classified by
their pH or acidity.
Acids are those with pH less than 7 and include
common household compounds likeacetic acid,
hydrochloric acid, or sulfuric acid.
Bases or alkali compounds have a pH greater than
Ammoniais a common alkali found in the home.

First aid for burns

For major burns (second and third degree

burns)
Remove the victim from the burning area,
remembering not to put the rescuer in danger.
Remove any burning material from the patient.
Call 911 or activate the emergency response system
in your area if needed.
Once the victim is in a safe place, keep them warm
and still. Try to wrap the injured areas in a clean
sheet if available. DO NOT use cold water on the
victim; this may drop the body temperature and
causehypothermia.

Burns of the face, hands, and feet should always be

considered a significant injury (although this may exclude

sunburn.
For minor burns (first degree burns or second degree
burns involving a small area of the body)
Gently clean the wound with lukewarm water.
Though butter has been used as a home remedy, it should
NOT be used on any burn.
Rings, bracelets, and other potentially constricting articles
should be removed (edema, or swelling from inflammation
may occur and the item may cut into the skin).
The burn may be dressed with a topical antibiotic ointment
like Bacitracin or Neosporin.
If there is concern that the burn is deeper and may be
second or third degree in nature, medical care should be
accessed.
Tetanus immunization should be updated if needed.

For electrical burns

Victims of electrical burns should always seek

medical care.

For chemical burns

Identify the chemical that was involved.
Contact thePoison Control Centerin your area

or your local hospital's Emergency Department.

You will be automatically linked to the nearest
poison control center. Many chemical burns
may be treated with local wound care. Some
chemicals can cause life- and limb-threatening
injuries and need emergent intervention.
Victims with chemical burns to their eyes should
always seek emergency care.