Combat Life Saving Flashcards
What are some common causes of hemorrhagic shock?
loss of whole blood, internal hemorrhage, or an extreme loss of plasma due to severe burns
What are some things you can do to help treat for shock? (these things can also be done to help prevent shock)
Elevate the casualty’s feet higher than the level of the heart.
Loosen clothing if it’s binding.
Prevent chilling or overheating.
Calm the casualty.
DO NOT give them any food or drink and turn their head to the side if they are unconscious in order to prevent choking if they vomit.
What’s an abrasion?
loss of a portion of the epidermis and part of the dermis from it being rubbed or scraped across a hard surface.
What’s a laceration?
a cut produced by glass, metal, or any other object that may leave a jagged wound on the skin surface and cut through the subcutaneous tissue, the underlying muscles, associated nerves, and blood vessels
What’s an incision?
similar to a laceration, except that the wound will be somewhat “cleaner”, having no jagged edges
What is a contusion?
characterized by swelling and pain, caused by the blood leaking into the wound causing black and blue marks (AKA a bruise)
What is a hematoma?
serious amounts of tissue are damaged (to include underlying blood vessels) a lump may develop rapidly…AKA a blood tumor
What are two types of wounds?
closed and open
What is a result from a stab with a knife, nail, ice pick, splinter, gunshot injury or any other pointed object?
A puncture wound
What is an avulsion?
an injury in which the whole piece of skin with varying portions of tissue or muscle is either torn loose completely or left hanging as a flap (de-gloving)
What is characterized by the separation of either digits or limbs from the victim’s body?
An amputation
What are special wounds?
avulsions, crushing wounds, and amputations
What is tension pneumothorax?
Air pressure within the chest cavity built up to such a degree that the collapsed lung is pressed firmly against the uninjured lung and heart, interfering both with the ventilation of the good lung and with heart action (burp the seal)
What are the 3 types of bleeding?
arterial, venous, and capillary
What is bright red blood and pumps out in distinct spurts?
Arterial Bleeding
What is a steady flow of dark red or maroon-colored blood?
Venous Bleeding
What is slow oozing blood, usually from minor wounds?
Capillary Bleeding
Do you remove a dressing once it is soaked through?
No, you simply place another one on top of that IOT not interfere with normal coagulation and the probability of contamination
What are some signs or symptoms of shock?
Sweaty but cool skin Pale skin Restlessness, nervousness Thirst Loss of blood (internal or external) Confusion or loss of awareness Faster than normal breathing rate Blotchy or bluish skin (especially around the mouth and lips) Nausea and vomiting
What is it called when the body loses 20% of it’s blood?
Hemorrhagic shock
How many liters does the average adult body contain?
5 liters
How long does it take the body to bleed out?
60-120 seconds
What is a location where the main artery to the injury site lies near the surface of the skin and directly over a bone?
a pressure point
What are the three most effective pressure points?
brachial (arm)
femoral (upper thigh)
carotid (neck)
the temporal is another pressure point though
What is QuickClot?
It speeds coagulation of blood by causing a chemical reaction that rapidly absorbs liquid from the blood by creating hydrogen bonds that quickly generate intense heat.
What is HemCon?
a firm 4x4 bandage dressing that is sterile and individually packaged that also causes a chemical reaction to induce blood clotting but does not extract hydration
What are the degrees of burns?
First, Second, and Third
What degree are burns limited to the most superficial layer of the epidermis and result only in reddening of the skin?
1st Degree burns
What are partial-thickness burns that cause damage into but not through the dermas and characteristically result in blisters forming on the skin?
2nd degree burns
What is a full thickness burn that destroys the skin down to the subcutaneous fat?
3rd degree burn (Life threatening)
What determines the seriousness of the burn injuries?
Not so much the type of the burn but the location and the amount of skin surface that was burned
What are the types of burns?
Thermal, Electrical, Chemical, Radiation/Laser
What burn is caused by contact with fire, hot objects, hot liquids, gases, or nuclear blast or fireball?
Thermal burn (most frequent type in combat)
What burn is caused by contact with electrical wires, current, or lightning?
Electrical burn
What burn is caused by contact with wet or dry chemicals or white phosphorus?
Chemical burn
What is combat gauze?
an advanced haemostatic agent combined with the simplicity of gauze
What is a fracture?
the sudden breaking of a bone or a break in a bone
What are the 2 types of fractures?
closed and open
What are the symptoms of a fracture?
loss of movement, pain with acute tenderness over the site, swelling and bruising, deformity or possible shortening, unnatural mobility, or crepitus or grating that is heard when the ends of the bone rub together
How long is the spinal cord?
an average of 44 cm
How do you mark a casualty that has a tourniquet?
T, time, date on the forehead
If a casualty is vomiting something that looks like coffee grounds…what does that mean?
internal bleeding
Do you extract impaled objects?
No, it is important to not extract them and to immobilize the object so that it will not cause further damage.
What is a crushing wound?
contusion that is more severe, the underlying skeletal support is also damaged. May or may not be characterized by open skin
How many pressure points are there throughout the body?
22
What are the common mistakes of using a tourniquet?
not using one when you should
using one when not appropriate
putting it too close to the wound (should be 2-4 inches above the wound…AKA between the wound and the heart)
not applied tightly enough
What is a smooth, glistening, thin tissue that lines the abdominal cavity?
peritoneum
