SAFETY IN THE HOME AND FIRST AID

- It is essential to ensure safety in the home at all times

- Taking safety measures in the home help to avoid occurrence of common accidents
What is an accident?
- Accident is unexpected event which may cause injury to persons and damage to property
Common causes of accidents at home
- Spills uneven floors - Exhaustion
- Haste - Absent mindedness
- Carelessness - Faulty equipment
- Poorly lit rooms - Loose rugs and carpets
- Untidiness
Common accidents in the home
- Burns - Suffocation - Fainting
- Scalds - Choking - Nose bleeding
- Cuts - Foreign body in the eye - Drowning
- Bruises - Foreign body in the ear - Bites & stings
- Fractures - Foreign body in the nose - Snake bites
- Sprains - Shock - poisoning

FIRST AID

• It is the first help given to an injured person or someone taken ill suddenly before he/she
is taken to a health center, clinic or hospital
Objectives for first Aid

• Save life
• Prevent injury from becoming worse
• Help recovery
• Present the injured toa medical practitioner for treatment
Rules for First Aid
A first aider must act in the following manners: -

• Be calm
• Take control or give help to another first aider in control
• Keep crowds away
• Prevent injury. Do not move injured person unless necessary
• Keep casualty warm
 • Cover all wounds to prevent infection
• Reassure the casualty
• Be firm
• Get a description of what happened from those around and the casualty if able to
communicate
• Send those around for help using clear sentence. Like “ring for the ambulance”, “call the
police” etc.
• Accompany casualty to the clinic or hospital if possible

FIRST AID KIT

This is collection of materials in a container that can be used to treat casualties in an occurrence
of an accident,
It is important to note the following about the first aid Kit
i. Every home should have a place to keep medicines, it may be a cupboard, an
empty tin, box or any safe container.
ii. First aid kit should be stored away from reach of children (especially at home)
iii. First aid kit is useful for emergencies and should be available in all institutions,
offices, factories, homes, cars, and any other establishment where one is likely to
have an accident
iv. A first aid kit should be kept where it can be reached quickly in case of an
emergency
v. It should be clearly labelled for easy recognition
vi. It should be kept clean and tight at all times
vii. It should be updated frequently

Contents of a first Aid Kit and its function

Sno Content Function(s)

i. Cotton wool For cleaning wounds
ii. Bandages For dressing wounds and also making slings in case of a
fracture
iii. Adhesive dressing For covering minor cuts (wounds)
iv. Disposable gloves For protection from infection when dressing wounds
v. Small pair of scissors For cutting bandages
vi. Tweezers Holding cotton wool when cleaning or applying medicine on
wounds
vii. Petroleum jelly Applying on minor cuts to sooth the skin from pain
viii. Ointment For massaging in case of swelling eg. deep heat, Robb, kaluma
etc.
ix. Surgical blades For cutting bandages and shaving areas affected by injury
 x. Clinical thermometer For taking body temperature of the victim
xi. Pain killer / Relievers Relieve pain
xii. Clean drinking water For swallowing pain killers
Rehydrating
Cleaning wounds
xiii. Triangular slings To support a fractured limb to immobilize it
xiv. Dissecting forceps For removing thorns or small pieces of steel wool from a cut or
wound
xv. Whistles
xvi. Notebook and pen

MEDICINES
Medicine is any substance that’s is taken to relieve pain or cure an illness

Basic instruction on using medicines

- Manufacturer of medicine normally write instructions on the packaging or on a separate
sheet of paper
- On the other hand, the doctors who prescribe the medicine to their patient give them the
same instructions
- These instructions include the following: -
▪ Dosage
▪ Frequency
▪ Duration
▪ Storage
▪ Instructions for use
▪ Caution/precaution
▪ Remedy
I. Dosage
- This is the amount of medicine recommended to be taken at any one time. This depends
on the age of the patient

II. Frequency
- This is the intervals at which medicine should be taken
- It can also be described as “how often the medicine should be taken” eg. Once, twice or
thrice a day
- It may or may not specify the time in relation to meals
- Example: a doctor may write on medicine package: 2 X 3
Dosage Frequency
This means Two tablets Three times a day

III. Duration
This refers to “how long the medicine should be taken before it is discontinued” eg. 5 days,
7days etc.
IV. Storage
This refers how to keep the medicine eg.
▪ Away from children
▪ Keep in a cool dry place
▪ Keep in a refrigerator
▪ Keep away from direct sunlight
V. Instructions for use
This refers how to handle the medicine in the process of use eg.
▪ Shake well before use
▪ Tightly cork before storage
▪ For external use only
▪ Gaggle and don’t swallow
▪ Mix with (specific) amount of water and shake well in case of powder medicine
etc.
VI. Caution/precaution
This refers to the possible effects after taking the medicine and appropriate remedy eg
▪ Drowsiness (as effect)
▪ Don’t drive (as remedy after taking the medicine)
▪ Do not operate machines (as remedy after taking the medicine)

Misuse and abuse of medicine

Difference between misuse and abuse of medicine
Misuse Abuse
Deviating from the basic instructions Using Medicine for reasons other than
regarding the use of Medicine treatment
Examples
Giving your medicine to someone in the belief Receiving (taking) someone else’s medicine in
that you have similar illness belief that you have same illness
Overdose Taking medicine to induce sleep
Underdose Taking medicine to procure abortion
Continuing to take medicine after the duration Continuing to take medicine after the duration
given by the doctor given by the doctor until you become
dependent/addicted to it
Using expired medicine Taking medicine to commit suicide
Taking poorly stored medicine Taking medicine to commit homicide to kill
someone else
Failure to complete dosage as prescribed Using medicine to get intoxicated

NB: Outside Medicine, drug abuse can also be used to describe the use of substances that are
classified as hard illegal and controlled drugs for non-medicinal reasons

Examples of hard drugs/substances:

- Khat
- Cigarettes
- Alcohol
- Petrol
- Cobbler’s glue
- Marijuana
- Bhang | Cannabis sativa
 - Cocaine
- Heroin
Effects of taking hard drugs:
- Constipation
- Sleep disorders
- Lung cancer
- Liver disease
- Mental confusion
- Antisocial behaviors
- death