FIRST AID

First aid is the immediate treatment given to the victim of trauma or sudden illness before medical help
is made available .

OBJECTIVES :

1) To preserve life
2) To prevent further injury and deterioration of the condition of the patient .
3) To relieve pain .
4) To make medical care available at the earliest.

QUALITIES :

1) A good observer .
2) Self confident and able to remain calm under stress .
3) Able to lead ,to control crowd and take help from onlookers
4) Knowledgeable enough to recognize injuries which need to be treated first
5) Tactful enough to deal with anxious relatives .
6) Able to understand his own limitations and avoid assuring the relatives or declaring the
patient dead .
7) Skilled in application of methods of First aid .

PRINCIPLES OF FIRST AID :

1) Reach the site of accident as early as possible .

2) Do not waste time asking unnecessary questions.

3) Find out the cause of the injury .

4) Separate the causative agent from the patient or the patient from the agent .e.g. falling masonry
,fire ,electrical live wire ,poisonous insects etc.

5) Find out whether the patient is dead or alive ,conscious or unconscious .

6) Determine the priority of first aid measures to be adopted e.g. Restoration of cardiac function
,restoration of breathing ,stop bleeding from the site of injury etc.in that order

7) Arrange for medical aid .

8) Keep a record of the patient and details of the event .

9) Keep the patient warm and comfortable as far as possible .

10) Improve rather than wait for specific equipment .

11) If the patient is conscious ,reassure him.

SCOPE OF FIRST AID :

1) PULSE RATE :

Pulse is not felt if the patient is dead or if his heart has stopped beating ,though it may start
working with external cardiac message .
If the pulse is very weak and external cardiac message .
If the pulse is very weak and rapid ,it indicates severe bleeding ,concealed or revealed .
A good volume pulse at normal rate 60-70 / minutes is reassuring .

2) BREATHING : Absent ,slow or fast .Gasping is serious and requires treatment urgently .
3) PALLOR : Pallor or the degree of whiteness of the tongues ,conjunctiva and nails indicates the
severity of bleeding .
4) BLUENESS OF TONGUE AND LIPS : indicates lack of oxygen .
5) BLEEDING : From injured area of the body ,ears ,nose ,mouth etc.
6) Fractures
7) Burns
8) Smell of poison ,stains of poison on skin and clothing .
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY :

The first aider needs to know the structure of the human body and its function ,so that he can
understand and treat its abnormalities in an emergency .

The framework of the body is as follows :

1) Skull : The seven bones of the vault of the skull and fourteen bones of the face are firmely
united and incapable of movement .
The bone of the lower jaw –the mandibles---however can move up and down as well as from
side to side .

2) Backbone or the vertebral column : It is composed of 33 small bones called vertebrae .7 cervical
,12 Thoracic ,5 in lumber ,5 fused in sacrum and 4 fused in vestigial tail .

3) Ribs : There are 12 ribs attached to the thoracic vertebrae at the back.

4) Sternum : It is flat bone with 3 parts fused together ,forming the front part of the thoracic cage .

5) Collar bone or clavicle :It extends from the sternum to the shoulder .

6) Scapula : A thin and flat bones and the hand has 19 bones ,

7) Hip bone or innominate bone : Each hip bone is made of three bones __ilium ,ischium and pubic
bone .

8) Lower limb bones : The femur ,two long bones in the leg ___tibia and fibula ,7 small bones in the
ankle and 19 bones in the foot .

The bones are covered over with muscles. The muscles are attached to two bones and cross
over joints ,so that when the muscles contract ,movement is produced at the joints by bringing
the bones together .

FIRST AID KIT:

Gauze dressing 5 and 10 cm square in individual sterile packages.

Rolls of gauze bandages 5 and 8 cm wide
Adhesive bandages in assorted size.
Roll of absorbent cotton
Adhesive tape
Mild antiseptic
Scissors, tweezers ,safety pins
Tube of petroleum jelly
Folded sheet for making slings and bandages
Paper and pencil
Tongue depressor
Airway
Splints Thermometer
Rubber catheter, tourniquet
Mackintosh
Match box

DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS:

Dettol
Savlon
Potassium Permanganate
Spirit
Boric acid
Iodine
Iodoform
Povidone Iodine
Acriflavine
Nitrofurazone
Hydrogen peroxide
Silver Nitrate
Gentian violet
Carbolic acid