siezures, diabetes, stroke, brain emergencies and environmental emergencies Flashcards
What is Syncope?
Syncope is known as a simple faint
What actions should you take when a person is about to faint but is still responding?
- help them lie flat on the floor
-don’t let them get up quickly - put their head between their knees if they are sitting
- if they are lying down, have them cross their leg over the other and squeeze their legs
- call 911 if their condition worsens or they become unresponsive
What actions should you take when a person has fainted and is unresponsive?
- make sure they are on their back
- make sure they are breathing and have no injuries
if they stay unconscious for longer than 1 minute, call 911 - do not move their head or neck
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that affects the levels of sugar in the blood. too much or too little sugar can be a big issue. some people take insulin to maintain their sugar levels.
What are the signs of low blood sugar in someone with diabetes?
- irritable or confused
- hungry or weak
-sleepy
-sweaty
what actions should you take when someone is showing signs of low blood sugar?
- If they can swallow, have them eat or drink something with sugar such as glucose tablets, orange juice, or soft candy.
-if they cannot sit up or swallow, call 911 immediately and wait for help to arrive
What is a stroke?
Strokes occur when blood stops flowing to a part of the brain. this can happen if a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or leaks.
What are the warning signs of a stroke?
B: balance, sudden loss of balance or coordination
E: eyes, sudden vison changes
F: face drooping
A: arm weakness
S: speech difficulty
T: time to call 911
What actions should you take when someone is showing signs of a stroke?
- Call 911, get an AED if you can
- note the time that the stroke symptoms appeared
- do not leave them alone
- begin CPR if the victim goes unconscious or starts gasping for air .
What is an Ischemic Stroke?
Clot or blockage of perfusion to an area of the brain
What is a Hemorrhagic stroke?
Bleed of the cerebral artery
What is an aneurysm?
Weakening of the blood vessels
Thrombus
A thrombus is a blood clot that forms within a blood vessel. If a thrombus breaks free and travels through the bloodstream, it has become an embolus
Embolus
An embolus is a particle or mass (often a blood clot) that TRAVELS through the bloodstream. An embolus can get stuck in a blood vessel and block it, which causes organ damage. When organ damage is caused by an embolus, doctors will often say that an embolic event has occurred.
what are some potential causes of blood clots?
Smoking, drinking, obesity, age, drugs, diabetes etc..
What is TIA?
Transient Ischemic Attack, aka a mini-stroke, is a decrease in perfusion to the brain.
What is CVA?
Cerebral vascular accident, aka Stroke
Siezure
an abnormal electrical activity in the brain, and are often caused by a medical condition called epilepsy.
What are some signs of a seizure?
Loose muscle control, falling to the ground, not responding, jerking movements of the arms legs, and sometimes other parts of the body. Not all seizures look like this, other people may become unresponsive and have a glassy eyed stare.
What are the actions you should take when somebody around you begins to have a seizure?
Move furniture or other objects out of the way, play something soft underneath the victim’s head, never ever hold the person down or put something in their mouth.
What are some actions you should take after a person has had a seizure?
Quickly check to see if the person is responsive in breathing, and stay with the person until help arrives, if they are having trouble breathing because of vomit or fluids roll them onto their side. If they are unresponsive and are not breathing, begin C P R.
What is the #1 risk factor of strokes?
1 risk factor is increased blood pressure (hypertension)
What are a few types of common seizures?
- Tonic-Clonic Seizure aka Grand Mal - Aura, Tonic-Clonic, Postictal State ( For the Tonic Clonic seizure move obstacles away from the patient, place padding under their head, and save their dignity, They may lose control of their bowels or urine during a seizure, cover their groin area to save their dignity.)
- Absence of seizure aka. Petite Mal - staring off into space.
- Febrile - in Infants due to increase in temperatures.
What are the critical seizures?
- 1st seizure
- preg mama
- seizure that stops, then starts again, into another seizure
- seizures in water
- injury due to seizure or seizure from injury