A Camp Fantastic Med Staff Guide to First Aid
Contents
Introduction
1
Introduction
Common Steps
1
Welcome to Camp Fantastic!
Allergic Reactions
2
Animal and Human Bites
2
We are so excited that you are going to be a part of our “Fantastic” Med Staff
this summer!
Snakebites
2
Insects, Bees, and Spiders
3
Ticks
3
Bleeding and Shock
3
Bleeding from the Nose
3
Bleeding from the Mouth
4
Puncture Wounds
4
Internal Bleeding
4
Choking
4
Head, Neck, and Spine
5
No matter what the specific
circumstance, there are a few steps
that are common to every emergency.
Broken Bones and Sprains
5
1. Make sure the scene is safe.
Small Burns
5
Heat-Related Emergencies
5
Fainting
6
Seizures
6
CPR
6
Using an AED
6
Thunder/Lightning
7
Our med staff is made up of nurses and physicians from medical institutions
throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. We have representation
from a wide array of specialties - we are a very diverse group!
We encourage you to browse through this first aid manual to review the basic
first aid practices associated with a variety of common situations you may
encounter during the week of camp.
See you in August! How How!
Steps Common to Every Emergency
You must not put yourself in danger
while trying to help others. Make
sure the scene is safe for both
yourself and the victim.
2. Wear protective equipment.
Wear gloves, eye protection, and
use a mask when giving breaths.
3. Call for help.
If you are alone with the victim,
yell for help while you start to
check them out. If no one
answers and immediate care is
not needed, leave the victim for
a moment to call for help and get
the first aid kit. Otherwise, send
someone else to do it.
Page 2 of 7
Camp Fantastic
Basic First Aid
Allergic Reactions
FYI
In addition to environmental
allergies and those
associated with
medications, allergies at
camp include: animal hair,
especially that from cats,
Many of the allergic reactions that you
encounter at camp will be mild; however, it
is important to remember that a mild
reaction can become severe within minutes.
Signs of a mild allergic reaction include:
Stuffy nose and sneezing
Itching of the skin and eyes
Raised red rash on the skin (hives)
Signs of a severe allergic reaction include:
Trouble breathing
Swelling of the tongue and face
Fainting
rabbits, and guinea pigs;
common foods including
honeydew, cantaloupe, and
raspberries; as well as
insect stings or bites,
especially bee stings.
If a child is suffering from a severe reaction:
1. If the child responds and has an epi
pen, help them to get it. If they
cannot self-administer the
injection, help them to do so.
2. If the victim stops responding,
begin CPR.
Epinephrine injections should be given in the
side of the thigh. Follow these procedures
for administering the injection:
1. Take off the safety cap.
2. Hold the pen in your fist without
touching either end- be cautious of
the needle.
3. Press the tip of the pen hard
against the side of the victims
thigh, about halfway between the
hip and knee. You can give the
injection directly into the skin or
through clothing.
4. Hold the pen in place for several
seconds. (Some of the medication
will remain in the pen afterwards.)
5. Rub the injection spot for several
seconds.
6. Dispose of the pen properly.
7. Document the time of the injection.
8. Stay with the victim.
If possible, try to save a sample of what
caused the reaction.
Animal and Human Bites
Most bites of this nature are minor.
However, if a bite breaks the skin it
becomes more dangerous due to the germs
that may cause infection.
IMPORTANT: Stay away from any
animal that is acting strangely.
Animals with rabies can bite again.
Follow these steps when giving first aid to a
child with an animal or human bite:
1. Clean the wound with copious
amounts of running water and soap.
This irrigation has been shown to
prevent rabies from animal bites
2. Stop any bleeding with pressure.
3. If there is a bruise or swelling,
apply an ice bag wrapped in a towel
for up to 20 minutes.
Assume an animal has rabies if it:
Attacks without being provoked
Behaves in an unusual manner
Is a skunk, raccoon, fox, bat, or
other wild animal
You are not sure
Snakebites
If possible, try to identify the snake to
determine if it is poisonous. Poisonous
snakebites are indicated by:
Progressive pain at the bite area
Swelling of the bite area
Nausea, vomiting, sweating, and
weakness
Coral snakes are ringed with
narrow yellow and wider black
and red stripes. On a Coral
snake, the red rings touch the
yellow, whereas on the nonpoisonous snakes they do not.
When treating a snake bite, DO NOT:
Apply cold or ice
Apply suction
Cut the wound
Wrap the wound tightly
Use local electric shock
Follow these steps to treat snakebites:
1. Ask the victim to be still and calm.
2. Tell the victim not to move the part
of the body that was bitten.
3. Gently wash the bite area with
running water and soap.
4. Only if the child was bitten by a
coral snake: apply mild pressure by
wrapping a bandage comfortably
tight. You should be able to fit a
finger under the bandage along its
entire length.
Camp Fantastic
Basic First Aid
Page 3 of 7
Insect, Bee, and Spider Bites and Stings
Usually bites and stings cause only mild pain,
itching, and swelling at the site. However,
some can be more serious and even fatal if:
The child has an allergic reaction
Poison is injected into the child
Signs that a child was bitten by a poisonous
spider:
Severe pain at the site
Muscle cramps
Headache
Fever
Vomiting
Breathing problems
Seizures
Unresponsiveness
Ticks
Ticks are found on wild animals and in
wooded areas, so it is very likely they will be
at camp!
Follow these steps to correctly remove a tick
as soon as possible:
6. Grab the tick by its mouth or head
as close to the skin as possible with
tweezers. Avoid pinching it.
If the child was stung by a bee,
Look for the stinger and scrape it
away using something with a dull
edge
DO NOT pull the stinger out with
tweezers or your fingers
DO NOT squeeze the venom sac
When giving first aid to a child with an
insect or spider bite or sting, follow these
steps:
1. Wash the bite or sting area with
running water and soap.
2. Put an ice bag wrapped in a towel
over the bite or sting area.
3. Watch the child for at least 30
minutes for signs of a bad allergic
reaction (see above).
7.
8.
Lift the tick straight out without
twisting or squeezing its body. If
you lift the tick until the child’s
skin tents and wait for several
seconds, the tick may let go.
Wash the bite with running water
and soap.
When removing ticks,
never use the following
aids:
Petroleum jelly
Fingernail polish
Rubbing alcohol
Hot matches
Gasoline
Bleeding and Shock
Bleeding can be very frightening for young
children and often causes them to panic.
Remember:
Remain calm
Most bleeding stops with pressure
Bleeding often looks worse than it is
Common signs of shock include:
Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
Having pale or grayish skin
Acting restless, agitated, or
confused
Being cold and clammy to the touch
Take the following actions to stop bleeding
that you can see:
1. Put firm pressure on the wound
with a large clean dressing using
the flat part of your fingers or the
palm of your hand.
2. If the bleeding does not stop, add a
second dressing and press harder.
Do not remove the first dressing.
3. Check for signs of shock.
If the child is in shock, follow these steps
when administering first aid:
1. Help the child lie on their back.
2. If there is no leg injury or pain,
raise the child’s legs just above the
level of the heart
3. Continue to apply pressure to stop
the bleeding.
4. Cover the child to keep them warm.
Bleeding from the Nose
When treating a nosebleed:
1. Press both sides of the child’s
nostrils while they sit and lean
forward.
2. Place constant pressure on both
sides of the nostrils for a few
minutes until the bleeding stops.
3. If bleeding continues, press harder.
DO NOT:
Have the child lean their head
back.
Use and icepack on the nose or
forehead.
Press on the bridge of the nose
between the eyes.
When dealing with
emergencies involving
bleeding, make sure
to always wear
protective equipment.
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Camp Fantastic
Basic FirstAid
Aid
APage
Camp
Nurse’s Guide to First
Bleeding from the Mouth
DO NOT
hold the tooth
by the root,
hold it only by
the crown.
DO NOT
try to reinsert
the tooth.
Follow these steps when treating bleeding
from the mouth:
1. If the bleeding is from the tongue,
lip, or cheek (or another area you
can easily reach), press on the area
with sterile gauze or a clean cloth.
2. If bleeding is deep in the mouth and
you can’t reach it easily, roll the
child onto their side.
3. Check for signs of shock.
4. Watch the child’s breathing. Be
ready to start CPF if needed.
Children with a mouth injury may have
broken, loose, or knocked-out teeth. Follow
these steps if the child has a tooth injury:
5. Check their mouth for missing,
loose, or broken teeth.
6. If the tooth is loose, ask the child
to bite down on a piece of gauze to
keep it in place.
7. If the tooth is chipped, gently
clean the injured area.
8. If the tooth is lost, rinse the tooth
in water and put it in a cup of milk.
Apply pressure with gauze to stop
bleeding at the empty tooth socket
Puncture Wounds
.
With this type of injury, it is important to
remember not to remove the object that has
caused the wound. Doing so may actually
cause more damage to the victim.
Follow these steps to treat this injury:
1. Stop any bleeding you can see.
2. Try to keep the child from moving.
3. Check for signs of shock
Internal Bleeding
It is often difficult to identify internal
bleeding because there are very few
symptoms associated with it. Children
suffering from internal bleeding may
experience any of the following after an
injury:
Pain in the chest or abdomen
Shortness of breath
Coughed-up or vomited blood
Signs of shock without bleeding you
can see
If you suspect a child may be bleeding
internally, follow these steps:
1. Have the victim lie down and keep
still.
2. Check for signs of shock.
3. If the victim stops responding, start
the steps of CPR.
Choking
The universal choking sign:
the victim holds his neck with
one or both hands.
Whether in the cafeteria during meals or
while snacking during cooking class, children
can easily choke while eating.
1.
2.
Some common signs to look out for include:
Cessation of breathing
Coughing producing little or no
sound
Inability to cry
High-pitched, noisy breathing
Bluish lips or skin
Making the universal choking sign
3.
If you observe any of the above,
immediately take the following actions to
administer the Heimlich maneuver:
5. Ask the child if they’re choking. If
they nod, say you’re going to help.
6. Kneel or stand firmly behind the
child and wrap your arms around
them.
4.
Make a fist with one hand.
Put the thumb side of your fist
above the navel, but below the
breastbone.
Grasp the fist with your other hand
and give quick upward thrusts into
their abdomen.
Give thrusts until the object is
forced out or until they stop
responding.
If the object cannot be removed from the
airway, the child will stop responding. If this
happens, follow these steps:
1. Lower the victim to the ground.
2. Start CPR.
3. Open the child’s mouth wide every
time you give breaths and look for
the object. If you see it, remove it
with your fingers. If not, keep
giving CPR until help arrives.
Camp Fantastic
Basic First Aid
Head, Neck, and Spine Injuries
If a child experiences an injury from falling
from a height, diving into a swimming pool,
or falling off a bicycle or motorcycle, you
should suspect a head injury. Signs of head
injuries include:
Unresponsiveness or moaning
Sleepiness or confusion
Vomiting
Complaining of a headache
Difficulty seeing
Difficulty walking or moving any
part of the body
Seizures
Follow these steps when treating a victim
with a possible head, neck, or spine injury:
1. Hold the neck so that the head and
neck do not move, bend, or twist.
2. Only turn the victim over if they are
in danger or vomiting. If you must
turn them, only do so while you
support the head, neck and body in
a straight line. This requires two
people.
3. If the victim does not respond, start
CPR.
Broken Bones and Sprains
If you suspect a child has a broken bone or a
joint sprain, take the following actions to
treat it:
1. Check for signs of shock.
2. Don’t try to straighten or move any
injured part that is bent, deformed,
or possibly broken.
3. Cover any open wound with a clean
dressing.
4.
5.
Put a plastic bag filled with ice on
the injured area with a towel
between the ice bag and the skin
for up to 20 minutes.
Raise the injured body part if doing
so does not cause the child more
pain.
Small Burns
Small burns are generally caused by heat.
For example: contact with fire, a hot
surface, a hot liquid or even steam. If a
child is suffering from this type of burn,
follow these steps:
1. Cool the burn area immediately
with cold, but not ice cold, water.
If possible, hold the area under
running water
2. You may cover the burn with a dry,
nonstick sterile or clean dressing.
DO NOT
Put ointment or any medicine on a
burn.
Break any blisters that form after
the burn.
Heat-Related Emergencies
Heat-related emergencies must be identified
early before they progress to more lifethreatening conditions, such as heatstroke.
The signs of heat-related emergency are
similar to the flu and include:
Muscle cramps
Sweating
Headache
Nausea
Weakness
Dizziness
Symptoms of heatstroke include:
Confusion or strange behavior
Vomiting
Inability to drink
Red, hot, and dry skin (cessation of
sweating)
Shallow breathing, seizures, or
unresponsiveness
If a child is suffering from a heat-related
emergency or heatstroke:
1. Move them to a cool or shady area.
2. Loosed or remove tight clothing.
3. Encourage them to drink water or an
electrolyte-carbohydrate drink.
4. Sponge or spray them with cold (not ice
cold) water and fan them.
5. Stretching, icing, and massaging the
painful muscles can be helpful.
6. Continue to cool them until normal
behavior is restored.
Page 5 of 7
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Camp Fantastic
Basic FirstAid
Aid
APage
Camp
Nurse’s Guide to First
Fainting
Fainting occurs when a child stops responding for
less than a minute and then seems fine. This often
occurs if the child:
Has been standing in place for a long time
without moving
Has been squatting or bending down and
suddenly stands up
Receives bad news
If the child is dizzy, but still responds have them lie
flat on the floor until the dizziness goes away. Once
they are no longer dizzy, help them to sit up very
slowly and briefly remain sitting before standing.
If the child faints, but then begins to respond:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have them lie flat on the floor until the
dizziness goes away.
If they remain dizzy, raise their legs just above
heart level.
If the child fell prior to fainting, check for any
injuries related to it.
Once they are no longer dizzy, help them to sit
up very slowly and briefly remain sitting
before standing.
.
Seizures
It is not
unusual for
the child to be
confused or
fall asleep
after
suffering from
a seizure.
Seizures can be caused by a variety of things:
Epilepsy
Head injuries
Low blood sugar
Heat-related injury
Poisons
A child who is having a seizure may:
Loose muscle control
Fall to the ground
Have jerking movements of the arms and legs
Stop responding
Most seizures stop within a few minutes. During a
seizure you should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ensure an open airway for the victim
Protect the victim from injury by moving
furniture and other objects out of their way
and placing a pad or towel under their head.
After the seizure is over, check to see if they
are breathing. If not, begin CPR.
If you do not suspect that they have a head,
neck, or spine injury, roll the child onto their
side.
Stay with them until they start responding.
CPR
An adult
victim is
anyone over
the age of 8,
while a child is
between 1 and
8 years of age.
Follow these steps to perform CPR on anyone over one year
of age:
1. Make sure the victim is lying on their back on a
firm, flat surface.
2. Kneel at the victim’s side. Tap and shout to see if
they respond.
3. Check to see if the victim is breathing normally.
4. If there is no normal breathing, activate the
emergency response system and get AED.
Healthcare providers check pulse. If pulse
present, begin rescue breathing. If no pulse,
begin cycles of 30 compressions and then 2
breaths. (Note: for child, use 30:2 compression
breath ration for single provider and 15:2 for 2
HCP rescuers.
5. When AED arrives, check to see if there is a
shockable rhythm.
6. If there is a shockable rhythm, give 1 shock and
resume CPR for 2 minutes, repeat.
7. If no shockable rhythm, resume CPR for 2 minutes,
check rhythm every two minutes
8. Keeps giving sets of 30 compression and 2 breaths,
the ALS providers take over, or victim starts to
move.
To correctly give compressions:
For an adult, put the heel of one hand on
the center of the chest between the
nipples. Put the heel of the other on top of
the first. For a child, use only one hand.
Depth of compressions: at least 2 inches for
an adult, and 2 inches or 1/3 the depth of
the chest for a child.
Push at a rate of at least 100 compressions
per minute.
Allow complete chest recoil after each
compression
Minimize interruptions to chest
compressions
To correctly give breaths:
Position the airway using either head-tilt,
chin-lift or chin-lift, jaw-thrust for
suspected c-spine injury.
Give each rescue breaths over 1 second.
Give sufficient volume to produce visiable
chest rise.
Give about 8-10 breaths per minutes for
rescue breathing.
Camp Fantastic
Basic First Aid
Page 7 of 7
Using and AED
For adult victims, start CPR right away and
use the AED as soon as it is available. For
child victims, perform 5 sets of 30
compression and 2 breaths before using the
AED.
It is important to note that some AEDs can
deliver a smaller shock dose for children. In
such cases, use this smaller dose for children
ages 1 to 8 years of age along with the
special AED pads made for children.
3.
4.
5.
Allow the AED to check the heart
rhythm. Make sure no one touches
the victim.
Push the SHOCK button if the AED
tells you to do so. If the AED does
not tell you to give a shock, follow
the AED visual and audible prompts.
If a shock is delivered, start CPR
right afterwards.
When attaching AED pads:
The following instructions apply to most
AEDs
1. Turn the AED on by pressing the
button or opening the lid.
2. Attach the AED pads.
1.
Open the package and peel away
the plastic backing.
2.
Attach the sticky side of the pads
directly to the victim’s bare chest.
The picture on the pad will show
you where to put it.
Thunder and Lightning Safety Awareness
“When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”
Facts about thunderstorms and lightning
Thunderstorms may occur singly, in
clusters, or in lines.
Thunderstorms typically produce heavy
rain for a brief period, anywhere from 30
minutes to an hour.
Warm, humid conditions are highly
favorable for thunderstorm development.
Lighting often strikes outside the
perimeter of a heavy rain storm and may
occur as far as 10 miles away from
rainfall.
Lightning safety tips
1. Postpone outdoor activities if
thunderstorms are likely to occur.
2. Watch for signs of storm such as
lightning strikes, darkening skies and
increasing wind.
3. Wait 30 minutes after the storm
passes to resume outdoor activities.
4. There is no place outside that is safe
in or near a thunderstorm, so always,
always seek indoor shelter as soon as
possible.
If a thunderstorm does occur:
1. Go immediately inside a safe building.
2. If you cannot reach a safe building, avoid
high ground, water, tall isolated trees,
metal objects and structures.
3. DO NOT touch materials or surfaces that
can conduct electricity.
4. Stay off corded phones, computers, and
other electrical equipment that puts you
in direct contact with electricity.
5. Stay away from windows and doors.
6. DO NOT lie on concrete floors or lean
against concrete walls as electrical
currents may travel along these areas.
7. If you feel your hair stand on end during a
storm, it may indicate that lightning is
about to strike
Squat low to the ground on the
balls of your feet
Place hands over your ears
Position your head between your
knees
Signs and symptoms of a lightning strike
victim
Cardiac or respiratory arrest
Ruptured organs, burns, or paralysis
Broken bones, fractured skull, or
brain injury
Eye injury, ruptured eardrum, or
hearing loss
Shortness of breath and difficulty
breathing
If lightning does strike a victim
1. Move the victim to a protected
location
2. Maintain an open airway to allow
breathing
3. Control bleeding and perform CPR as
needed
4. Remember, a lightning strike victim
DOES NOT hold an electrical charge!
Remember!
Make yourself the
smallest possible target
and minimize your
contact with the ground.
DO NOT lie flat on the
ground!
This first aid guide was adapted from the American Heart Association’s Heartsaver First Aid with CPR & AED manual.