First aid and triage

First Aid:
First aid refers to the provision of immediate or
initial care for an illness or injury before
treatment from health care facilitator.
It is usually performed by non-expert but trained
personnel to sick or injured person until
definitive medical treatment can be accessed.
 Principles of first aid:
1)make sure the air way is clear/open, place the
victim in an appropriate position.
2)donot let the crowd gather around the victim as
he/she needs fresh air.
3)be calm, quick and methodological assess and
note all major injuries and wounds and give first
aid accordingly without loosing time and
patience.
4)if breathing stops immediately give artificial
respiration.
5)if there is bleeding try to stop immediately.
6)prevent shock and arrange for transportation to
health care facility.
7)victim should be sent to a hospital or doctor by
quickest means of transport. Never send the
victim alone.
8)always inform the police about the serious
accidents.
9)remove any foreign bodies which can easily be
removed or wiped out.
10)keep the victim warm and donot move him
unnecessarily. Let him lie down in a comfortable
position.
11)loosen tight clothing.

12)handle the victim gently in order to prevent

harm.
13)support large wounds and fracture pain by
using splint or slings made by any cloths.
First aid kit:
 air way , breathing , circulation:
pocket mask, face shield , naso pharyngeal
airway.

 trauma /injuries:
adhesive bandages, saline ,soap, antiseptic
solutions, butterfly closure strips, adhesive
tapes, hemostatic agents.
 personal protective measures
gloves, goggles, mask, apron.

 instruments and equipments :

trauma shears , scissors, tweezers , lighters ,
alcohol pads, irrigation syringe , torch ,
thermometer, space blanket.
 Medications
Aspirin , epinephrine to treat anaphylactic
shock, codeine, paracetamol, charcoal.

 topical medications
neomycin, povidone-iodine , hydrocortisone.
The purposes of first aid are as follows:
1)To save a life or keep casualty alive through
ABCDE.
 A-airway
 B-breathing
 C-circulation
 D-Deformity
 E-environment
2)to prevent further injury and worsen the
condition.
3)to preserve vitality and resistance to infection.
4)to promote recovery.
5)to relieve pain and make comfort.
6)to arrange for easy transportation to seek
medical /health care facility.
7)to provide re-assurance and comfort to the
casualty.
8)to prevent disability.
The steps of first aid are as follows:
1.assessment of the situation:
-be calm and quiet
-help the victim until a doctor or more qualified
person arrives.
-ensure safety,
-make use of volunteers.
2.assessment of victim:

 with the help of eyes,ears, smell and touch,

one can diagnose the condition of the patient
more properly.

 Look for ABCDE and also vital signs , colour

for any cyanosis, level of consiousness.
3.give immediate and appropriate treatment
4.refer the victim to the nearest doctor,
hospital,home as needed.
Triage
Triage refers to the process of determining the
priority of the patient’s treatment based on
severity of their condition.

 A process for sorting injured people into groups

based on their need for or likely benefit from
immediate medical treatment.
 It is mainly used in hospital emergency rooms on
battle fields, and at disaster sites when limited
medical resources must be allocated.
 Purposes:

-to set out priority for evacuation of victim.

-to assess the victim who are life threatening
condition.
-to expedite the care of non critical cases.
 Color coding of triage:

 According to the hospital’s policy, cases are

classified . Mainly 4 categories are used to
identify basic need of therapeutic intervention
and the colour codes are red , yellow, green and
black.
1.Red color: All the life threatening patient , who
need immediate intervention , fall in this
category, like acute cardio-pulmonary
insufficiency, severe hemorrhage, chest injuries,
internal bleeding, liver injuries, spleen rupture.
2.yellow color: all patient for whom treatment can
wait for within 5-60 min fall in this category.

Those patient require does monitoring and

immediate intravenous infusion. Eg-abdominal
wounds, open joint or bone injuries, less severe
burn.
3.green color: In this category, the patients whose
treatment can be delayed for 4-6 hours, who
needs minor treatment are included.

It includes the cases as follows:

 i)simple fracture
 ii)minor wound and burns
 4.black color: No need for medical care,
gasping case, brain and intestine hanging out ,
death cases etc.