Do it safely or not at all | There is always time to do right
There are several things you can do to help prevent colds:
A chemical burn is irritation and destruction of human tissue caused by exposure to a chemical, usually by direct contact with the chemical or its fumes. Chemical burns can occur in the home, at work or school, or as a result of accident or assault. Although few people in the United States die after contact with chemicals in the home, many substances common in both living and storage areas can do serious harm.
Many chemical burns occur accidentally through misuse of products such as those for hair, skin, and nail care. Although injuries do occur at home, the risk of sustaining a chemical burn is much greater in the workplace, especially in businesses and manufacturing plants that use large quantities of chemicals.
Most chemical burns are caused by either strong acids or strong bases (for example, hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide). Acids damage and kill cells by coagulating cells while bases liquefy cells. Prolonged exposure can severely damage human tissues and, if the patient survives, leads to scarring and disability. Other chemicals like oxidants and certain metals may also produce similar chemical burns. Limiting the time of exposure to any of these chemicals can greatly reduce their damaging effects.
Most chemicals that cause burns are either strong acids or bases. A glance at the medical information on the labels of dangerous chemicals usually confirms the expected toxicity. Common sense precautions and consumer education can reduce the risk of injury. A variety of common household products that may cause chemical burns are as follows:
All chemical burns should be considered potential medical emergencies.
Most chemical burns occur on the face, eyes, hands, arms, and legs. Usually a chemical burn will be relatively small and will require only outpatient treatment. Chemical burns can be deceiving, however. Some agents can cause deep tissue damage that is not not readily apparent when people first look at it.
Tissue damage from chemical burns depends on several factors.
In severe cases, a person may develop any of the following symptoms:
Once all immediate danger has passed and the person has completed basic first aid (removed from the chemical source, contaminated clothing removed, and, if skin or eyes involved, extensive rinsing with water in most situations), a doctor, if immediately available, should review the injury and the chemical involved to make sure the patient needs no further emergency treatment. If a potential problem remains, the doctor can arrange appropriate treatment or will direct the patient to go to a hospital’s Emergency Department.
Emergency personnel are trained to assess the extent of a chemical burn, begin treatment, and transport victims to the most appropriate hospital.
Emergency officials also may determine the need for more involved decontamination of both the patient and the accident site prior to going to the hospital. It is possible that the patient needs further decontamination before arriving at the hospital. As much of the following information as possible needs to be related to the call dispatcher:
Most people with minor chemical burns do not need to be admitted. Most can go home after arranging follow-up care with a doctor. Patients with major chemical burns however, need to be admitted to a hospital. Ingestion or inhalation of chemical burns may need to be admitted for observation, depending on the potential severity of tissue damage.
Begin basic first aid. Immediately call emergency number if a person has a severe injury, any shortness of breath,chest pain, dizziness, or other symptoms throughout the body. If are aiding an injured person with these symptoms, lay the person down and immediately call emergency number. Protect yourself and make sure that you are not exposing yourself to the same chemical.
Chemical burn of the skin
Chemical burn of the eye
The treatment of animal bites, after initial inspection, irrigation, debridement, and possibly closure depends on many factors, the doctor’s experience, preference, and the type of wound and location of the wound.
Thoroughly clean the wound by washing with soap and tap water as soon as possible. Never use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on a wound. While hydrogen peroxide was used for years, medical studies have shown that it is harmful to a wound and slows or inhibits the healing process. A light scrubbing should occur during the wash. Then put a clean and dry bandage over the area. This treatment should not replace proper evaluation by a doctor.
Depending on the status of the bite wound, local wound care varies.
If the wound was sutured on the first visit, then the wound should be kept clean and dry. Showers are permitted, but the area should be dried by patting it softly to avoid disrupting the sutures. No baths or submersion of a sutured wound should occur until the stitches are removed and the patient it told it is allowed.
If the wound was left open, then the doctor may recommend daily soaks or other treatments.
When the patient is discharged from the emergency department or leaves the doctor’s office, they should receive instructions on how to care for the bite wound.
Most doctors will recommend a reevaluation of bites in 48 hours to look for infection.
If the wound was sutured (stitches), the doctor will tell the patient when the stitches will need to be removed.
A burn is damage to the skin or underlying tissue caused by heat. There are 3 levels of severity; 1st (Superficial), 2nd (Partial thickness), 3rd (Full thickness).
There are three levels of burns:
Minor burns are:
Major burns include:
You can have more than one type of burn at a time.
Causes of burns from most to least common are:
Burns can be the result of:
This list is not all-inclusive.
You can also burn your airways if you breathe in smoke, steam, super heated air, or chemical fumes in poorly ventilated areas.
Burn symptoms can include:
If you have burned your airways, you may have:
If it’s not clear what level of care is needed, try to judge the extent of tissue damage, based on the following burn categories:
A first-degree burn is the least serious type, involving only the outer layer of skin. It may cause:
You can usually treat a first-degree burn as a minor burn. If it involves much of the hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks or a major joint, seek emergency medical attention.
A second-degree burn is more serious. It may cause:
If the second-degree burn is no larger than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter, treat it as a minor burn. If the burned area is larger or covers the hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks or a major joint, treat it as a major burn and get medical help immediately.
The most serious burns involve all layers of the skin and underlying fat. Muscle and even bone may be affected. Burned areas may be charred black or white. The person may experience:
- Which part of the body is affected, e.g. face, neck.
- The amount of the body that is burnt, e.g. only finger tip or entire arm.
Before giving first aid, it is important to determine what type of burn the person has. If you aren’t sure, treat it as a major burn. Serious burns need immediate medical care.Call your local emergency number
Call emergency medical help for major burns. Until an emergency unit arrives, take these actions:
Severe burns need immediate medical care. This can help prevent scarring, disability, and deformity.
Burns on the face, hands, feet, and genitals can be particularly serious.
Children under age 4 and adults over age 60 have a higher chance of complications and death from severe burns because their skin tends to be thinner than in other age groups.
Call your local emergency number if:
For minor burns, call your doctor if you still have pain after 48 hours.
Call immediately if signs of infection develop. These signs include:
Also call immediately if symptoms of dehydration occur with a burn:
To help prevent burns:
A fracture is a break or crack in a bone that can be caused by an accident, fall, or blow. Symptoms include a snapping sound as bone breaks, bone protruding from skin, detectable deformity of bone, abnormal movement of bone, grating sensation during movement, pain and tenderness, difficulty in moving or using the affected part, swelling, and discoloration.
A sprain refers to stretched or torn tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels around a joint and can be caused by an accident, fall, or blow. Symptoms of a sprain include pain, tenderness, swelling, and discoloration in the joint area.
A muscle strain refers to stretched or torn muscle. It can be caused by excessive physical effort or improper posture during activity. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, and possibly swelling in the affected area.
It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a fracture and a sprain or strain until an X-ray has been performed. If you cannot tell, treat it as a fracture.
A Green stick Fracture is when the bone only cracks, and does not fully break. Because these do not break the skin, they should be treated as a Single Fracture. These fractures can be determined by using x-rays.
A Bending Fracture occurs in children only. In this case the bone bends but does not actually break.
A Single Fracture is when the bone breaks in one place, and does not pierce the skin.
A Compound Fracture is when the bone has broken into two pieces
A Commuted Fracture is when the bone is broken in more than two places or crushed.
An Open or Compound Fracture is when the bone has actually punctured the skin and is visible. These breaks are very severe and have a high risk on infection. DO NOT try to set these breaks yourself, instead get professional medical help immediately.
1. SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. Call for EMS, or transport victim to emergency room after immobilizing affected area. Wait for EMS and DO NOT attempt to transport victim if you suspect head, back, or neck injury; if there’s a visible deformity of bone; or if the victim cannot be splinted or transported without causing more pain.
2. Suspect back or neck injury if victim is unconscious or has head injury, neck pain, or tingling in arms or legs. If neck or back injury suspected, DO NOT move victim unless necessary to save victim’s life.
3. Immobilize and support affected bone in position found. DO NOT try to push protruding bone back into body or let victim move or use affected area.
4. Control any bleeding through direct pressure, but DO NOT elevate affected area.
5. If bone is protruding, cover with clean cloth once bleeding is controlled.
6. Observe for shock . DO NOT give victim anything to eat or drink.
7. Immobilize injured area, and, if no open wound present, apply ice pack wrapped in clean cloth.
Apply ice pack to affected area and cover with cloth.
Immobilizing Fractured Bone:
Use belts or neckties to bind splint to arm but do not bind on top of the break.
-Use board, rolled newspaper or magazines, broomstick, or rolled blanket for splint.
-Wrap splint in cloth or towels for padding.
-Bind splint to limb using neckties, cloth, belts, or rope. DO NOT bind directly over break.
3.Recheck often for sensation, warmth, and coloring. If fingers or toes turn blue or swell, loosen binding.
4.For arm or shoulder injury, place splinted arm in sling, with hand above elbow level. Bind arm to victim’s body by wrapping towel or cloth over sling and around upper arm and chest; tie towel or cloth under victim’s opposite arm.
Create a sling for arm injuries using whatever cloth you can find.
(i) Rest the injured body part and the entire casualty.
(ii) Immobilize the injured body part.
(iii) Cold compress over the injury to reduce swelling.
(iv) Elevate the injured body part if it can be done without causing further injury.
The main purpose of a splint is to keep an injured body part immobilized (e.g. a broken leg). It should only be done if paramedics are going to take a long time arriving, or if you have to move the person. Never move or try to realign the injured body part. Always splint in the position found.
Splinting the lower leg using a rigid splint.
Splinting and slinging an injured forearm.
Splinting materials include splints, padding and bandages. Ensure that splints are long enough to immobilize the joint above and below the suspected fracture.
Before beginning first aid for fractures gather whatever splinting materials are available.
Splints may be improvised from such items as boards, poles, sticks, tree limbs, rolled magazines, rolled newspapers, or cardboard. If nothing is available for a splint, the person’s chest can be used to immobilize a fractured arm and the uninjured leg can be used to immobilize, to some extent, the fractured leg.
Padding may be improvised from such items as a jacket, blanket, poncho or soft leafy vegetation. Put padding between the splint and the limb. Place extra padding at bony or sensitive areas.
Bandages may be improvised from belts or strips torn from clothing, towels or blankets. Narrow materials such as wire or cord should not be used to secure a splint in place.