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Kelowna First Aid

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Kelowna First Aid

kelowna first aid

An electrical burn may appear minor or not show on the skin at all, but the damage can extend deep into the tissues beneath your skin. If a strong electrical current passes through your body, internal damage, such as a heart rhythm disturbance or cardiac arrest, can occur. Sometimes the jolt associated with the electrical burn can cause you to be thrown or to fall, resulting in fractures or other associated injuries. ( Kelowna First Aid )

Call 911 or your local emergency number for assistance if the person who has been burned is in pain, is confused, or is experiencing changes in his or her breathing, heartbeat or consciousness.

Kelowna First aid

1. Look first. Don’t touch. The person may still be in contact with the electrical source. Touching the person may pass the current through you. Kelowna First Aid
2. Turn off the source of electricity if possible. If not, move the source away from both you and the injured person using a dry, nonconducting object made of cardboard, plastic or wood.
3. Check for signs of circulation (breathing, coughing or movement). If absent, begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately. Kelowna First Aid
4. Prevent shock. Lay the person down with the head slightly lower than the trunk, if possible, and the legs elevated. ( Kelowna First Aid )Kelowna First Aid
5. Cover the affected areas. If the person is breathing, cover any burned areas with a sterile gauze bandage, if available, or a clean cloth. Don’t use a blanket or towel, because loose fibers can stick to the burns. ( Kelowna First Aid )

Kelowna First Aid

The BVM consists of a flexible air chamber, about the size of a rugby ball, attached to a face mask via a shutter valve. When the air chamber or “bag” is squeezed, the device forces air through into the patient’s lungs; when the bag is released, it self-inflates, drawing in ambient air or a low pressure oxygen flow supplied from a regulated cylinder, while the patient’s lungs deflate to the air through the one way valve. ( Kelowna First Aid )

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Bag and valve combinations can also be attached to an alternate airway adjunct, such as an endotracheal tube or larengeal mask airway. Often a small HME filter (Heat & Moisture exchanger, or humidifying / bacterial filter) is used. ( Kelowna First Aid )

A bag valve mask can be used without being attached to an oxygen tank to provide air to the patient, often called “room air” in the U.S. Supplemental oxygen increases the partial pressure of oxygen inhaled, helping to increase perfusion in the patient.

Most devices also have a reservoir which can fill with oxygen while the patient is exhaling (a process which happens passively), in order to increase the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to the patient to nearly 100%.

Kelowna First Aid Courses – 250.878.6690

Bag valve masks come in different sizes to fit infants, children, and adults.

Most types of the device are disposable and therefore single use, while others are designed to be cleaned and reuse

Kelowna First Aid Courses – 250.878.6690

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First Aid Minor Wounds

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First Aid

One of the first matters to address with minor wounds is cleansing the wound.^[3,8] Cleansing is important for incisions that are caused by sharp objects, such as knives or broken glass. However, it is even more critical in abrasion injuries, in which the skin’s outer layers have been scraped away by abrasion against a rough object, such as when elbows and arms scrape against pavement during a skateboard fall. If the abrasion occurred on a surface that contains loose materials, the wound is likely to be contaminated with gravel, dirt, grass, and other foreign substances. Each foreign object remaining may serve as a source of infection and should be removed.

The wound can be washed with tap water under enough pressure to thoroughly cleanse the wound of foreign materials. Wound Wash Saline is a pressurized sterile 0.9% sodium chloride product that can accomplish this cleansing for minor wounds.

With good asthma control, your child should not miss school and should be able to participate fully in school activities including sports.

Regular, clear communication with the school can help your child maintain good asthma control. You can help to prevent asthma problems at school by talking to your child’s teachers and by making sure you child has proper asthma treatment.

Meet with your child’s teachers each year before classes start

• Give teachers a copy of your child’s asthma action plan and explain what it says.
• List and explain your child’s asthma triggers and why it’s important to avoid them. (Some common triggers in the classroom include furry animals, dust, mould and strong smells.)
• Show teachers your child’s asthma medicines and how to use them properly – make sure the medicines are well labelled.
• Make sure the teachers know which medicine is the rescue medicine that helps in an asthma emergency (usually the blue inhaler).
• Ask about the school’s rules about asthma medicines – stress the importance of allowing your child to carry his medicines with him at all times.
• Ask about policies for field trips – with a bit of extra planning most trips should be safe.
• Offer to arrange an information session with a Certified Asthma Educator or Certified Respiratory Educator.
• Make sure your child’s teachers know what to do in an emergency and whom to contact

What to do in an asthma attack Sit child down, with her back straight. Give child 2 puffs of her rescue medicine. It’s usually in a blue puffer (for example, Ventolin®). If the child’s breathing is not getting easier, call 911 or your local emergency number. Keep giving child puffs of her rescue medicine until the ambulance arrives. Call the child’s parents or emergency contact person.

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Written by Helen Marshall, pharmacist

Many people using metered dose inhalers (MDIs) find them hard to use. This is because it can be difficult to coordinate breathing in and pressing the inhaler at the same time. A spacer is a device designed to make an MDI easier to use, thus delivering more medicine directly into the lungs where it is needed. This makes the medicine more effective and reduces the side effects that may occur from inhaling the medicine into the mouth or throat.

A spacer device is a large plastic container, usually in two halves that click together. At one end is a mouthpiece and at the other end is a hole for inserting the mouthpiece of an MDI.

The dose from your inhaler is sprayed into the spacer, from where it can be inhaled without needing to coordinate breathing and pushing down the inhaler canister. It is particularly useful for babies and small children who do not have this coordination. Paediatric spacers have a small mask that fits onto the mouthpiece of the spacer and is placed over the child’s nose and mouth.

There are several brands of spacer device available and they are all different (including Volumatic, Nebuhaler and Aerochamber). Each spacer device fits different inhalers and so it is important to get the right spacer device that fits your inhaler. The inhaler mouthpiece must fit snugly into the spacer hole. Spacers are available on prescription.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends that spacer devices are used for children with chronic asthma. For children aged under five years they recommend that a spacer (with a facemask if necessary) is used with a metered dose inhaler for administering both inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids. For children aged 5 to 15 years they recommend that inhaled corticosteroids are administered in this way.

How to use adult spacers

1. Sit up straight, or stand up, and lift the chin to open the airways.
2. Remove the cap from the mouthpiece of the inhaler and shake the inhaler vigorously.
3. If you haven’t used the inhaler for a week or more, or it is the first time you have used the inhaler, spray it into the air before using it to check that it works.
4. Insert the inhaler mouthpiece into the hole in the end of the spacer (the inhaler should fit snugly and without difficulty – see below).
5. Take some deep breaths and then put your teeth around the spacer mouthpiece (not in front of it and do not bite it), and seal your lips around the spacer mouthpiece, holding it between your lips.
6. Press down on the canister in the inhaler to spray one puff of medicine into the spacer.
7. Breathe in slowly and deeply, then hold your breath for 10 seconds or as long as is comfortably possible.
8. Breathe out, then breathe in deeply again through the mouthpiece of the spacer and hold your breath. It is best to take two deep-held breaths from the spacer for each puff from your inhaler. However, if you find it difficult to take deep breaths, breathing in and out of the mouthpiece several times is just as good.
9. If you need another dose, wait 30 seconds, shake your inhaler again then repeat steps 4 to 8.
10. Don’t spray more than one puff at a time into the spacer. This makes the droplets in the mist stick together and to the sides of the spacer, so you actually breathe in a smaller dose.

How to use paediatric spacers

1. Remove the cap from the mouthpiece of the inhaler and shake the inhaler vigorously.
2. If the inhaler has not been used for a week or more, or it is the first time the child has used the inhaler, spray it into the air before it is used to check that it is working.
3. Attach the mask to the mouthpiece of the spacer.
4. Insert the inhaler mouthpiece into the hole in the end of the spacer (the inhaler should fit snugly and without difficulty – see below).
5. Place the mask over the child’s nose and mouth so that it makes a seal with the face.
6. Press down on the inhaler canister to spray one puff of medicine into the spacer.
7. Hold the mask in place and allow the child to breathe in and out slowly for five breaths.
8. If you need to give another dose, wait 30 seconds, shake the inhaler again then repeat steps 4 to 7.
9. Don’t spray more than one puff at a time into the spacer. This makes the droplets in the mist stick together and to the sides of the spacer, so the child actually breathes in a smaller dose.
10. Using a mask and spacer with a baby can sometimes be tricky. Reassure the baby by cradling them in your arms or on your knee. Gently stroke the baby’s face with the mask so that they get used to it. Talk to the baby and smile – the baby will sense if you are anxious. You can hold the mask over the baby’s nose and mouth to give them a dose while they are sleeping, and babies will also breathe in the medicine while they are crying.

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Apply direct pressure to stop the bleeding.

Once the wound has stopped bleeding cover it with a bandage that will not stick to the injury.

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Valuable information can be gained from looking a victim’s pupils. For this purpose, first aid kits should have a penlight or small torch in them.

Ideally, the pupils of the eye should be equal and reactive to light, usually written down as PEARL.

To check this, ask the victim to look straight at you with both eyes. Look to see if both pupils are the same size and shape (be sensitive to those who may be blind in one eye, or may even have a glass eye, although they will usually tell you).

To check if they are reactive, take the penlight, and ask the victim to look at your nose. Briefly (5 seconds or so) shield their eye with your hand from the light source where they are (sunlight, room lighting etc.), and then turn on the penlight, positioning it off to the side of their head. Move the penlight in over their eye quickly, and watch to see the size change. A normal reaction would be the pupil getting smaller quickly as the light is shone in to it. Repeat on the other eye.

If both pupils are the same, and both react, note this on your form as PEARL, or else note down what you did, or did not see.

The circulatory system distributes blood to all parts of the body, carrying oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.  If the circulatory system fails, and insufficient oxygen reaches the tissues, the medical condition known as shock occurs.  If the condition is not treated quickly, the vital organs can fail, ultimately causing death.  Shock is made worse by fear and pain.

Causes of Shock

Shock can develop when the heart pump fails to work properly, causing a reduction in the pressure of the circulating blood.  The most common cause of this type of shock is a heart attack.

Shock can develop as a result of a reduction in the volume of fluid circulating around the body.  The most common examples of this are external or internal bleeding, or loss of other bodily fluids through severe diarrhoea, vomiting, or burns.  The blood supply is diverted from the surface to the core of the body.  The main symptoms and signs of shock relate to such redistribution of the circulation.

Recognition of Shock

Initially, a flow of adrenaline causes:

• A rapid pulse.
• Pale, grey skin, especially inside the lips.  If pressure is applied to a fingernail or earlobe, it will not regain its colour immediately.
• Sweating, and cold, clammy skin (sweat does not evaporate).

As shock develops, there may be:

• Weakness and giddiness.
• Nausea, and sometimes vomiting.
• Thirst.
• Rapid, shallow breathing.
• A weak, ‘thready’ pulse.  When the pulse at the wrist disappears, fluid loss may equal half the blood volume.

As the oxygen supply to the brain weakens:

• The casualty may become restless, anxious and aggressive.
• The casualty may yawn and gasp for air (‘air hunger’).
• The casualty will eventually become unconscious.
• Finally, the heart will stop.

Treatment of Shock

DO NOT let the casualty move unnecessarily, eat, drink, or smoke.

DO NOT leave the casualty unattended.  Reassure the casualty constantly.

• Treat any cause of shock which can be remedied (such as external bleeding).
• Lay the casualty down, keeping the head low.
• Raise and support the casualty’s legs (be careful if suspecting a fracture).
• Loosen tight clothing, braces, straps or belts, in order to reduce constriction at the neck, chest and waist.
• Insulate the casualty from cold, both above and below.  Contact the emergency service.
• Check and record breathing, pulse and level of response.  Be prepared to resuscitate the casualty if nec

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If an injury needs a splint, apply the splint first, and then apply the sling.

Always check the person’s skin color and pulse (circulation) after the injured body part has been immobilized. If the area becomes cool, turns pale or blue, or if the patient develops numbness or tingling, loosen the splint and bandage.

Care for all wounds first before applying a splint or sling. If bone is visible in the injured site, call your local emergency number (such as 911) or local hospital for further advice.

HOW TO MAKE A SLING

1. You’ll need a piece of cloth that is about 5 feet wide at the base and at least 3 feet long on the sides. (If the sling is for a child, you can use a smaller size.)
2. Cut a triangle out of a piece of this cloth.
3. If you don’t have scissors handy, fold a large square piece of cloth diagonally into a triangle.
4. Place the person’s elbow at the top point of the triangle, and the wrist midway along the triangle’s bottom edge. Bring the two free points up around the front and back of the same (or opposite) shoulder, and pin or tie securely together. Adjust the height of the knot so that the elbow is bent at a right angle.
5. If you do not have material or scissors to make a triangle sling, you can make one using a coat or a shirt. Apply the sling in much the same manner as shown in the pictures “Creating a Sling” associated with this article.
6. You can also make a sling using a belt, rope, vine, or sheet.
7. If the injured arm should be kept still, tie the sling to the body with another piece of cloth wrapped around the chest and tied on the uninjured side.
8. Occasionally check for tightness, and adjust the sling as necessary.

Do NOT try to realign an injured body part unless the skin looks pale or blue or there is no pulse.

Seek medical help if the person has a dislocation, broken bone, or severe bleeding. Also seek professional medical help if you cannot completely immobilize the injury at the scene by yourself.

Safety is the best way to avoid broken bones caused by falling. Some diseases make bones break more easily, so use caution when assisting a person with fragile bones.

Avoid activities that strain the muscles or bones for long periods of time as these can cause weakness and falls. Also, use appropriate caution when walking on slippery or uneven surfaces.