Wednesday, July 20, 2011

First aid myths


MYTH 1 :
The best thing to put on a burn is butter.
According to the survey, nearly one in five parents with young children would treat a child
with a large burn by applying things such as butter, ice or margarine.
'Putting butter or margarine on a burn is absolutely useless.And once the person gets to
Casualty, the substance will have to be removed, which could be painful.
Nor should ice be used, as this can produce a cold burn on top of the hot burn.
FACT:
Place the burned area under cold water for ten minutes to reduce pain and distress and
possibly give a better cosmetic result. Then wrap it in cling film, to reduce the risk of
infection, and allow the area to continue cooling. This also helps reduce the discomfort
caused by contact with the air


MYTH 2 :
Treat a nosebleed by tilting the head back and pinching the nose.
Tilting the head back will encourage the blood to run down the back of the throat and
possibly into the stomach, inducing vomiting. Some people also say you should place a cold
object on the base of the neck but this is an old wives' tale.
FACT:
Sit the person down, reassure them and pinch the tip rather than the hard bit of the nose.
Discourage them from coughing or swallowing until the bleeding stops. It may be helpful

 to place a bowl on the floor to catch any dripping blood

It’s even better to lay the person on their side in the recovery position, preferably on the
floor. If they become unconscious, you should check regularly that they are still breathing.


MYTH 3 :

Remove an object embedded in a wound as soon as possible.
The object in the wound could be blocking further blood loss, so if you pull it out you
could be dealing with a major hemorrhage.
FACT:
The aim is to build a ‘bridge’ over the object while keeping pressure on the wound. Apply
padding to either side of the object, then bandage over without pressing on it. Call for an
ambulance.
MYTH 4 :
If you give the kiss of life, you should see immediate results.
FACT:
Cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) includes mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest
compressions.
'People rarely respond immediately to CPR, However, this does not mean you are not
possibly helping to save their life.'
The first few minutes are critical. CPR helps to keep the key organs alive until the
ambulance turns up, so you should not give up.'
With adults, you should give two mouth-to-mouth ventilations followed by 15 chest
compressions. Continue until the ambulance arrives or the person shows obvious signs of
recovery. The procedure is different for a child and needs to be fully understood before
practicing

This post was written by: mohammed

mohammed is a professional blogger. Follow him on Twitter

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