First Aid Flashcards
Keys to successful first aid include…
- DON’T PANIC!
- well stocked first aid kit
When assessing a injury situation, look at…
- bleeding
- vital signs
- behavior (breathing rapidly?)
Arteries will ______, while veins will ______
Spurt with heartbeat and be bright red; flow steadily and be dark red
Extent of wounds:
- Bump or abrasion
- Simple cut to skin
- Torn skin
- Layers involved
When assessing a wound, look for _______ and dangerous wound _______
Excessive swelling; locations (joints, eyes)
Wounds: you should call a vet when a wound has…
- gaping skin edges
- directly over a joint
- lameness is present
- excessive bleeding
- wound appears deep, swollen, or has drainage
When a wound involves a joint, you should look for…
Look for synovial fluid, clear with yellow tint, and viscous (Sticky! Will “string”)
What to do until a vet arrives:
- keep the horse calm (can bring in a pasture buddy) and in a safe location
- stop the bleeding (feet and head are highly vascular)
- keep the wound clean
- possibly wrap the wound (if on a leg)
To stop bleeding you can…
Apply pressure by hand, or use a pressure bandage (only if you know how!)
To clean a wound you can…
cold hose the wound to clean and reduce swelling
You should cold hose a wound for _______
15-20 minutes
Bleeding can be beneficial, because it…
naturally flushes a wound
To clean a wound with little bleeding, you can…
use an antiseptic scrub or a dilute solution
When using a dilute solution to clean a wound the solution color should be a…
“weak-tea” color
An antiseptic wound flush should be ___ parts antiseptic to _____ parts water
1; 10
The solution that can be diluted and used directly on wounds (that are not near eyes) is…
Chlorhexidine gluconate
The solution that is used on equipment and CANNOT be used on wounds is….
Chlorhexidine diacetate
Regarding eye injuries, you should…
- Always call the vet regardles of how serious you may think it is
- look for squinting, swelling, and weeping
- look for whitish/blueish tinge to cornea
- look for visible foreign bodies
- look for lacerations to eyelid
When applying first aid to eye injuries, you should…
- rinse the eye with saline to clean debris
- ice or cold compress to reduce swelling
With eye injuries you should NOT…
administer ointments before talking to your vet, as ointments with steroids administered improperly can do severe damage.
