Basic First Aid Advice
You should make sure you are familiar with basic first aid procedures in case you are ever in the position where you or someone near you gets injured. By knowing how to take care of certain minor injuries you can take control of the situation and make sure the wound is well-cared for until the injured party can get in to an urgent care facility for professional treatment. The article below will educate you on basic first aid techniques.
Treating cuts
If someone cuts themselves and the cut is not severe, then you want to clean the cut, treat the pain and protect the wound. Use water to rinse larger pieces of dirt out of the cut and they use peroxide to clean the wound thoroughly. Once it is cleaned, then you want to cover it with a band aid or a piece of sterile gauze so it isn't exposed to germs. Once the wound is taken care of then the injured person can take an over-the-counter pain reliever.
If someone cuts themselves deeply, then you want to worry more about getting the bleeding under control than anything else. Put a clean piece of gauze, or a larger clean rag if necessary, directly on the wound and apply pressure to it. If the bleeding is still hard to control, you want to tie something directly above the wound to get the bleeding to slow down. Make sure you don't give them a pain reliever that contains aspirin because aspirin thins the blood and will make the situation worse.
Treating burns
If someone burns themselves then you want to cool the burned area. You will do this by putting the affected area under cool water. Make sure the water is just cool and not too cold. Keep the burned area under water until some of the pain has subsided. Take a sterile non-stick bandage and put it on the burned area to protect it from germs. An over-the-counter pain reliever can be taken to help with the pain. Burns should be treated professionally right away because there is a serious risk of infection.
Treating sprains
If someone sprains a limb then you want to immobilize it so it doesn't get injured more. You can do this by wrapping the limb with an ace bandage wrap. The wrap needs to be tight enough to help keep the area from moving, but loose enough that the blood circulation won't be affected. They should also keep the sprained area elevated to help with swelling and an ice pack should be put on it to also help with the swelling, as well as with the pain. A pain reliever is also advisable to help control the pain.
As soon as you can get the injured party in for treatment, you should do so. If the injury is very serious or life threatening, then you should get them to a hospital immediately. Otherwise, you should take them to an urgent care physician where they can be treated.
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