Module 1 Flashcards
First Aid
-Initial care when advanced care procedures are not readily available
-Intended to
~Preserve life
~Alleviate suffering
~Prevent further illness or injury
~Promote recovery
-Can be initiated by anyone in any situation
First Aid Provider
- Recognize, assess, and prioritize the need for first aid
- Provide appropriate first aid care
- Recognize limitations
- Seek professional medical assistance when necessary
Recognizing an Emergency
-Can be unexpected and confusing
-Get quick sense of what occurred, or is occurring
-Look for important clues
~Location
~Body Position
~Sick or injured
~Is it safe (for you)
Recognizing an Emergency
-Questions to ask about the emergency
- Does the person appear to be unconscious?
- If you suspect an injury, how do you think it happened?
Personal Safety
- DON’T BECOME A PATIENT
- Pause
- Look for hazards
- Consider hidden dangers
- If not safe, don’t go in
- If it becomes unsafe, get out
Deciding to Help
-You might hesitate because you
~Feel like the problem is too big for you to handle alone
-Fear making things worse
-Think you don’t have a lot of medical knowledge
-Think there are others around who might take charge
Deciding to Help
-If it is safe to do so, take action
- You will likely feel stressed
- Take a deep breath, slow down
- Put what you learn in this program to work
- Your actions can help to protect or save a life
Protecting Yourself
-You can be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious body fluids
~Risk of contracting a disease is very low
~Wise to take simple measures to avoid exposure
~Other things to look for
*Weapons
*Needles
Infectious Bloodborne Diseases
-Hepatitis B
~There is a vaccine
-Hepatitis C
-HIV, the virus that causes AIDS
-Exposure can occur through
~Direct contact with open wound or sore
~Absorption through membranes of mouth, nose, and eyes
~A skin puncture with a contaminated object
-Immediately report any exposure to your supervisor
-Follow written exposure control plan for additional care and advice
Standard Precautions
- Reducing exposure lowers the chance of infection
- This set of protective practices is used whether or not an infection is suspected
- To be effective, your approach is the same for everyone, regardless of relationship or age
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
-Protective barriers worn to prevent exposure to infectious diseases ~Disposable gloves *Make sure readily available *Always use them *Inspect for damage or tears *Always remove gloves carefully **Use soap/water or a sanitizer to clean hands and exposed skin ~Face shields *Prevent mouth, nose, and eye exposure
Legal Considerations
-Consent
~Everyone has the right to refuse medical treatment
~If responsive, ask if the person wants help before providing care
~Some exceptions… but not at the First Aid level
-Expressed/Informed Consent
~When someone agrees to help after you explain what you would like to do
-Implied Consent
~If unresponsive assume a person would agree to be helped
-Abandonment
~Remain with person until someone with equal or greater emergency medical training takes over
~If alone, may need to leave to get help
~Return to person as soon as you can
~Leave if the scene becomes unsafe
Good Samaritan Law
-These laws help protect anyone who
~Voluntarily provides assistance, without expecting or accepting compensation
~Is reasonable and prudent
~Does not provide care beyond training received
~Is not grossly negligent, or careless, in delivering emergency care
-Laws vary from state to state but common sense is always appropriate
~Activate EMS or an occupational emergency action plan (EAP)
~If the scene is unsafe, do not enter
~Ask a responsive person for permission before giving care
~Never attempt skills that exceed your training
~Don’t stop until someone with equal or greater training relieves you
Calling for Help
-Emergency medical services (EMS) is a prehospital emergency medical response system developed within a community
~Uses specialized communication equipment to gather information and dispatch resources to
*Respond directly to emergency scenes
*Provide advanced medical care
*Transport ill or injured people to a hospital
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
-To activate EMS call an emergency number, such as 911, when
~Immediate threats to life are present
~Significant mechanism of injury has occurred
~Warning signs of serious illness exist
~Severity of person’s condition uncertain
-Dispatcher will guide you through call and guide you in care
~Will ask for basic information
*Type of emergency
*Location
*Care being provided
~Answer clearly and concisely
~Resources will be notified to respond while you are no the line
~With mobile phone, activate EMS and use speaker to listen and provide care simultaneously
Emergency Action Plans (EAP)
-Step-by-step procedures on hw to report and respond to emergencies
~EAPs account for worksite layout, size, and features
~Activating an EAP my be
*Dialing 911
*Notifying centralized communications person
*Activating in-house emergency team
~Know how to report and respond to emergencies at work
~Develop EAP for your home and review it with household
Poison Help Line
-Poison control centers offer free, confidential medical advice 24/7 through the national Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222
-Primary resources for
~Poisoning information
~Care for suspected poisonings
Emergency Moves
-If necessary to move someone, the most effective move is a drag
~Pill in direction of long axis of body
~Never pull on person’s head or a person’s body sideways
~Use your legs, not your back
~Keep person as close to your body as possible
~Avoid twisting
~Consider the person’s weight
~Know your physical ability and respect your limitations
-Extremity Drag
~Grasp and pull on the ankles or forearms
-Blanket Drag
~Roll the person onto a blanket and drag the blanket
Respiratory System
-Primary Purpose
~Bring oxygen into the body
~Remove carbon dioxide (waste)
-Airway
~The passageway by which air is moved in and out of the body
-Respiration
`the process by which oxygen and carbon dioxide are moved in and out of the blood stream
Ventilation
-Boyle’s Law
-Pulmonary Ventilation
~The physical process by which air is moved in and out of the lung
-Inspiration (Inhalation)
~As volume increase, pressure decreases
~A decrease in pressure draws air into the lungs
~ACTIVE PROCESS
-Expiration (Exhalation)
~As volume decreases, pressure increases
~An increase in pressure drives air out of the lungs
~PASSIVE PROCESS
The Upper Airway
-Air enters through the nose and mouth
~Nasal airway humidifies/warms the air entering the airway
-Passage ways meet at the back of the throat
~Pharynx
-Air passes down through the glottis into the trachea (windpipe)
~Epiglottis is a “flap” that folds over the glottis to prevent food/liquids from entering the lungs
The Lower Airway
–Air passes through the trachea into the right and left bronchi
-The bronchi branch into smaller passageways called the bronchioles
~Like branches of a tree
-Bronchioles get smaller and smaller until they end at very small air sacs called the alveoli
The Lower Airway
-Alveoli
-Tiny air sacs that have a thin, single cellular membrane
-Alveoli increase the surface area within the lung to allow for gas exchange
-600 million alveoli in the lungs
~Creates 70 square meters of surface area
~About the size of a tennis court
Gas Exchange (Respiration)
-Due to differences in concentration, gasses move between the blood stream (pulmonary capillaries) and the alveoli
~Oxygen moves from the alveoli into the bloodstream
~Carbon dioxide moves from the bloodstream into the alveoli
The Cardiovascular System
-Primary Purpose ~Moves oxygen to the tissues to be used for metabolism ~Removes carbon dioxide from the tissue -3 Components ~The heart (pumps) ~Blood (fluid) ~The blood vessels (pipes)
The Heart
-A muscle that pumps blood throughout the body
~The electrical system of the heart stimulates the muscle to contract in a coordinated manner
~During contraction (systole), blood is forced out of the heart and throughout the body
~During relaxation (diastole), the heart fills with blood to prepare for the next contraction
The Blood
- A fluid that contains red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, and platelets
- Plasma is the LIQUID PORTION that contains clotting factors, nutrients, and electrolytes
- Red blood cells are the OXYGEN-CARRYING COMPONENT of blood
The Blood Vessels
- Pipes that transport blood throughout the body
- Arteries are high-pressure vessels that carry blood away from the heart
- Capillaries are tiny vessels that allow for gas exchange to take place
- Veins are low-pressure vessels that carry blood back to the heart
Coronary Arteries
- Supply blood to the heart muscle
- Circulation to the heart muscle happens when the heart relaxes
Tissue Perfusion
- Occurs within the capillaries
- Nutrients and waste are exchanged between the tissue and the bloodstream
- The brain and the heart are the most sensitive to decreases in perfusion
Why is Carbon Dioxide so important?
-Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a by-product (waste) of metabolism
-Excess CO2 will react with water and create an acid
-The body wants to be at a specific pH range
~7.35 to 7.45
~Acidosis due to too much CO2 can impair bodily functions and be harmful
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)
-Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) can happen with little or no warning
~Individual abruptly becomes unresponsive and collapses
*Abnormal gasping can occur
*Breathing may stop
~Likely cause is disruption to heart’s electrical system
*Electrical pulses become disorganized
*Ventricle fibrillation occurs
*Blood flow with oxygen it carries stops
*Brain damage occurs rapidly
*Quickly leads to death
AHA Statistics on SCA
-In the US ~356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually ~Survival to hospital admission is around 29% *39.5% if in public places *27.5% at home *18.2% at nursing home ~Survival to hospital discharge *10.8% ~Large regional variation in survival *DUE TO LAYPERSON CPR
What happens during SCA
-In adults, SCA most commonly occurs from a diseased heart
~90-95% have underlying coronary artery disease
~Risk factors include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes
-Reduced blood flow to be heart muscle due to build up in the coronary arteries starves the muscle of oxygen
~Irritates the heart muscle
-Irritated heart muscle starts to dysfunction
-Electrical activity is no longer coordinated
~Cardiac Dysrhythmia or Arrhythmia
-Heart no longer contracts in a coordinated manner
~The heart stops or arrests
-Blood is no longer effectively circulated throughout the body
-If circulation stops, brain damage occurs within minutes
~Brain damage begins in 4-6 minutes
~Brain damage irreversible in 8-10 minutes
*Circulation must be restored within 4-6 minutes
-Medical professionals cannot get there fast enough to start treatment and prevent brain damage
-Laypersons (you) must act in order to make a difference
-If the heart stops due to Coronary Artery Disease, the blood stream usually still has a reserve of oxygen
~In this case, lack of oxygen is not the immediate problem! It is a lack of blood flow to the heart muscle and to the brain that is the problem
~This is true for MOST adult Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
-CPR is the immediate treatment for a suspected cardiac arrest
~Allows a bystander to restore limited oxygen to the brain through
*Chest compressions
*Rescue breaths
~CPR alone is not enough
Early Defibrillation
-The most effective way to end fibrillation is defibrillation
~Shock is sent through heart to stop ventricular fibrillation, allowing normal activity to return
~Success dependent on how quickly defibrillation occurs
*Each minute in cardiac arrest chance of survival declines by ~10%
*After as few as 10 minutes, survival is unlikely
*Time from recognition of arrest to EMS arrival usually longer than 10 minutes
Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
-A small, portable, computerized device that is simple to operate
~Open lid or push power button
~Provides voice instructions to guide attachment and use automatically
*Analyzes heart rhythm
*Determines if shock is needed
*Charges itself to ready to defibrillate
*Operator pushes button to deliver shock when prompted by AED
Chain of Survival
-The greatest change of survival exists when all the links are strong
~Early recognition of cardiac arrest and activation of EMS
~Immediate CPR with high-quality chest compressions
~Rapid defibrillation to the heart
~Effective basic and advanced EMS care and transport
~Effective post-cardiac arrest care at a hospital
Secondary Cardiac Arrest
-Hazardous breathing conditions in a confined space, drowning, and drug overdoses can result in secondary cardiac arrest
~Without oxygen, heart weakens until signs of life become difficult or impossible to assess
~Immediate CPR, with effective rescue breaths, may be only chance to restore them
Opioid Overdose
-Opioids, taken in excess, can depress and stop breathing
~Naloxone
*Temporarily reverses life-threatening effects of opioids
*Easily administered with autoinjector device or aerosol sprayed into nose
*Becoming more readily available to lay providers
*Laws regarding administration of naloxone vary by city and state; know the laws in your area