Volume 2 Issue 11
Safety Matters
November 2010
November: First Aid You Can Use
First aid tips generally focus on emergency situations and procedures. It’s all
about how to react when blood is spurting, parts are missing or breathing has
stopped.
their noses) or from trauma. When adults
get nosebleeds, it could be an indicator of
a more severe medical problem. Follow
these tips when you or someone you know
gets a bloody nose:
That’s all good information, but the best
first aid tips focus on the more mundane
injuries we encounter on a day to day
basis. You know, the stuff most likely to
happen at the company picnic or Junior’s
birthday party.
• Lean forward. Don’t try to protect your
favorite shirt by leaning back. The
blood needs to go somewhere, and
it could go down your throat. If the
victim leans back, blood could get in
a windpipe (blocking an airway) or go
into the stomach (irritating the stomach
lining and causing the victim to vomit).
Stopping a Bloody Nose
Bloody noses (epistaxis) are uncomfortable
and scary-looking, but usually not
dangerous. Kids get nosebleeds more
often than adults, typically either from
irritating the nasal membrane (picking
First Aid
Familiarize yourself with your first aid kits at
your home and workplace. Knowing the supplies you have will facilitate treatment.
• Pinch the victim’s nose just below
the bony bridge. Your fingers should
be on the soft tissue as well as the
bone. If there is still blood flowing,
adjust your grip. There should not be
visible bleeding while you are holding
the nose. Blood vessels that supply
the nasal membrane can be pinched
against the bony bridge (the hard part)
to slow blood flow and create a clot.
Hold the nose for at least five minutes.
Do not let go to check bleeding until the
five minutes is up.
• After five minutes, release the
pressure to see if the bleeding has
stopped. If not, repeat pinch for 10
minutes. Remember: don’t let go to
check bleeding until the 10 minutes is
up. Repeat for another 10 minutes if
In This Issue:
First Aid You Can Use
Stopping a Blood Nose
n
1
Tending to a Cut
n
2
Treating a Sprain
n
2
Removing a Splinter
n
3
5 Reasons to Dial 911
n
3
2010 CPR Guidelines
n
4
necessary.
• If a bloody nose doesn’t stop after a
second or third try, it’s time to see a
doctor. If at any time, the victim feels
lightheaded, dizzy, or weak, call 911.
If left uncontrolled, bloody noses can
lead to shock.
Additional Tips
• Placing ice or a chemical cold pack
over the bridge of the nose can
constrict the blood vessels and help
stop bleeding. Use this in addition to
pressure.
• After the bleeding is controlled, do
not let the victim blow his or her nose.
Blowing the nose will release the clots
and encourage bleeding to start again.
1
Safety Matters
• Most bloody noses are the result of dry
nasal membranes or trauma. However,
some nosebleeds occur spontaneously
and may indicate more serious medical
problems. Contact a physician if the
victim is suffering from frequent or
hard-to-control bloody noses-- it could
be a sign of brain injury.
Tending to a Cut
Small cuts or punctures happen frequently, but
that doesn’t mean you need to be running to
the hospital. If you have a minor cut, consider
the following steps:
▪▪ Stop bleeding. Minor cuts that are
oozing a little blood usually don’t
require any bleeding control. Simply
apply pressure to the cut until bleeding
ceases.
▪▪ Clean your cut. If your cut is minor,
rinse the cut under running water, then
wash with soap. Antibacterial soap is
not necessary, but try not to use soap
products with lots of perfumes -- they
might sting.
▪▪ Use Antibiotic ointment (optional).
Antibiotic ointment, such as Neosporin,
is not necessary for the vast majority
of minor cuts. However, if you’ll be out
Not Another Paper Cut
Even with seemingly insignificant injuries, it is
important to follow a safety routine. Don’t let a
small injury turn into a big problem!
in the dirt and grime it may not be a
bad idea. Never squeeze ointment
directly on the cut. You don’t want to
contaminate the container. Instead,
put the ointment on a Q-tip or other
clean, disposable surface.
▪▪ Apply a bandage. Adhesive bandages
protect the cut from contamination.
They aren’t necessary unless the
cut has the potential for getting dirty.
When applying an adhesive bandage,
never touch the pad. Peel off one side
of the protective covering and attach it
to the finger, then wrap the bandage
around, removing the other protective
covering as you go.
Additional Tips
▪▪ If the bleeding is heavy, bright red
or spurting, then you must constrict
blood flow. To do this, you must plug
the laceration. Blood needs to clot in
order to start the healing process and
stop bleeding; blood will not coagulate
when it’s flowing.
▪▪ Put pressure directly on the wound.
If you have some type of gauze, use
it. Gauze pads hold the blood on the
wound and help the components of
the blood to stick together, promoting
clotting. If you don’t have gauze,
terrycloth towels work almost as well. If
the gauze or towel soaks through with
blood, add another layer.
▪▪ Never take off the gauze. Peeling blood
soaked gauze off a wound removes
vital clotting agents and encourages
bleeding to resume.
Treating a Sprain
The symptoms of a sprain are almost
exactly the same as that of a broken bone.
Sprained or Broken?
It is often hard to tell the difference between
a sprain or break, but treatmeant is virutally
the same. If a sprain hasn’t improved over a
couple days, see your doctor.
When in doubt, sprains should be treated
the same as broken bones. The most
common symptoms are: pain, swelling,
bruising, inability to move or inability to
bear weight on the joint.
It is not necessary to have all of the
symptoms of a sprain in order for the
joint to be injured. If you suspect a sprain,
consider the following:
▪▪ Do not call 911 for a sprain. It is
suggested you visit a doctor for a
sprained joint if it causes severe pain
or if the victim is unable to put any
weight on it. If it looks different than
an uninjured joint (other than being
swollen), is numb or is a repeated
injury, also seek medical advice.
▪▪ Use the RICE method to treat the
sprain. Rest the sprained joint by
not placing weight on it. Use a cane
or crutch on the uninjured side to
lean away from the injury. Ice the
sprain with an ice pack. Compress
2
Safety Matters
the sprain with an elastic bandage or
wrap. Elevate the sprain above the
level of the heart as often as possible
during the first 48 hours. As always, if
the pain persists for longer than a few
days, consult your doctor.
Removing a Splinter
Splinters can become infected if left under
the skin too long. Look for signs of infection
before trying to remove a splinter. Signs of
infection include: redness, swelling, pus
draining from the wound or severe pain,
even without movement.
If the splinter has become infected, see
a doctor for removal. The chances of
a splinter becoming infected depends
on what the splinter is: organic material
(animal spines or plant thorns) are more
likely to cause infection or toxic reaction.
▪▪ Wash your hands thoroughly before
attempting to remove the splinter.
▪▪ Before trying more invasive methods,
squeeze the splinter from both sides
and the bottom of the splinter to try
and work it back the way it came.
▪▪ Clean a needle and a pair of tweezers
with povidone-iodine solution. Do not
use isopropyl alcohol unless that’s all
you have available. Povidone-iodine is
much more effective at killing bacteria
than isopropyl alcohol.
▪▪ Wash the wound and surrounding
area with soap and warm water. A little
povidone-iodine solution on the wound
is also not a bad idea.
▪▪ Use the needle to open up the skin
above the splinter enough to grab the
splinter with the tweezers and remove
it. If the needle doesn’t work, a pair of
nail clippers can be used on the skin.
Remember to clean the nail clippers
with povidone-iodine solution.
▪▪ Grasp the end of the splinter with the
tweezers and back it out of the skin.
▪▪ Wash the wound with warm water and
soap.
Additional Tips
▪▪ Usually, the pain of a splinter is more
irritable than anything. However, if the
area is very tender, try a bee-sting
swab to dull the pain.
▪▪ Splinters under a fingernail (subungal
splinters) may present a bigger
problem. If the tip of the splinter cannot
be reached with tweezers, you may
want to go see a doctor. A doctor will
be able to snip away the nail and pull
the splinter out. Your other option is
to keep the area clean and wait until
natural nail growth pushes the splinter
out. Watch the area closely for signs
of infection.
▪▪ Make sure the victim is up to date on
tetanus vaccination. If not - have the
doctor remove the splinter when going
in to get the vaccination.
▪▪ Finally, splinters will work out of the
skin naturally and may not need to be
removed. There’s no need to hurry wait until the proper cleanliness can
be achieved to remove splinters.
5 Reasons to Dial 911
Instinctively, we know to call 911 when
someone breaks into our home or if we
smell smoke. But do you know when to
call 911 for a medical condition?
Medical conditions are harder to judge
Always be Safe, Not Sorry
While most every day injuries don’t require
emergency assistance, it is important to
know when to call for help.
than accidents. Sometimes they seem to
come on slowly, and before you know it,
it’s an emergency. Medical conditions can
be subtle, but they could still be as lifethreatening as a gunshot wound. While
many minor injuries don’t require a trip to
the emergency room, it’s important to know
when a trip to the doctor is necessary.
▪▪ Sudden Loss of Consciousness.
The sudden loss of consciousness
(passing out) can be either no big deal
or the end of a life. At one end of the
spectrum, some people pass out from
the sight of blood -- and that’s not life
threatening. On the other hand, death
-- cardiac arrest -- usually starts with
unconsciousness.
▪▪ Chest Pain. Chest pain is one
of the most overlooked medical
emergencies. Many believe that
it’s nothing more than heartburn or
muscle soreness. In reality, chest pain
is the most common symptom of a
heart attack and may only stop when
a heart attack becomes cardiac arrest.
▪▪ Weakness On One Side. Strokes can
either be sudden and completely scary
3
Safety Matters
2010 CPR Guidelines
The focus for CPR is on good quality
chest compressions. After a review of the
available research published over a 5 year
period, the American Heart Association
released its 2010 CPR Guidelines. Here
are the differences between the 2005 and
the 2010 CPR Guidelines:
Updated CPR Guidelines
A lot of changes have been implemented to
the standard CPR practices. Take a second to
familiarize yourself with new guidelines.
or subtle and not clearly dangerous.
Most people know to call 911 when
they can’t talk or they’re drooling and
can’t stop, but weakness on one side
and not the other is often explained as
nothing more than a pinched nerve.
If the leg and the arm on one side go
numb or weak together - especially if
the other side is fine - it’s time to call
911.
▪▪ Shortness of Breath. Trouble breathing
is the symptom that comes with almost
anything. The causes of shortness of
breath can be anything from a heart
attack, a blood clot in the lungs, a
collapsed lung, anaphylactic shock
and more.
▪▪ Seizure. Seizures can be from chronic
conditions, like epilepsy, or they can
be from new damage to the brain or
things that affect the brain, like low
blood sugar or heat stroke. If the victim
has never had a seizure before - or you
don’t know if he or she has call 911.
▪▪ A-B-C is for babies; now it’s C-A-B!
It used to be follow your ABC’s: airway,
breathing and chest compressions.
Now, Compressions come first, only
then do you focus on Airway and
Breathing. The only exception to
the rule will be newborn babies, but
everyone else -- whether it’s infant
CPR, child CPR or adult CPR -- will get
chest compressions before you worry
about the airway.
▪▪ Why did CPR change from A-B-C to
C-A-B? No more looking, listening and
feeling. The key to saving a cardiac
arrest victim is action, not assessment.
Call 911 the moment you realize the
victim won’t wake up and doesn’t
seem to be breathing right.
▪▪ Trust your gut. If you have to hold your
cheek over the victim’s mouth and
carefully try to detect a puff of air, it’s
a pretty good bet she’s not breathing
very well, if at all.
▪▪ Push a little harder. How deep you
should push on the chest has changed
for adult CPR. It was 1 1/2 to 2 inches,
but now the Heart Association wants
you to push at least 2 inches deep on
the chest.
▪▪ Push a little faster. AHA changed the
wording here, too. Instead of pushing
on the chest at about 100 compressions
per minute, AHA wants you to push at
least 100 compressions per minute.
At that rate, 30 compressions should
take you 18 seconds.
Besides the changes under the 2010 CPR
Guidelines, AHA continues to emphasize
some important points:
▪▪ Hands Only CPR. This is technically
a change from the 2005 Guidelines,
but AHA endorsed this form of CPR
in 2008. The Heart Association still
wants untrained lay rescuers to do
Hands Only CPR on adult victims who
collapse in front of them.
▪▪ Recognize sudden cardiac arrest.
CPR is the only treatment for sudden
cardiac arrest and AHA wants you to
notice when it happens.
▪▪ Don’t stop pushing. Every interruption
in chest compressions interrupts blood
flow to the brain, which leads to brain
death if the blood flow stops too long.
It takes several chest compressions to
get blood moving again. AHA wants
you to keep pushing as long as you
can. Push until the AED is in place and
ready to analyze the heart. When it is
time to do mouth to mouth, do it quick
and get right back on the chest.
Remember, most injuries don’t require a
trip to the emergency room. However, it’s
important to know when you or someone
else needs immediate medical assistance. If it’s unclear whether you should
call 911, always play it safe. n
Source: firstaid.about.com
4