Real-Life Communication
You've enrolled in a weekend course in preliminary first aid to learn
how to help others and to see if you might like to continue your training
to become a paramedic. In the course, you learn how to tie makeshift splints
and slings. You watch videos on how to apply pressure and ice and how to elevate
wounds. It's an extensive course and it makes you feel more confident about
having to respond to an emergency.
During the course, you're asked to
read through an extensive manual on emergency treatment. The following paragraphs
are excerpts from the manual. When an emergency happens, you won't have a
manual next to you, so you need to know first aid information by heart. Read
the following passage:
Objects Embedded in an Eye
Treat
all eye injuries as potentially serious. Don't remove the embedded object,
and don't let the person rub or press on the eye. Don't try to remove contact
lenses. Seek medical attention immediately.
If the embedded object is
small, have the person close their eyes. Cover both eyes with sterile or clean
cloth pads, and bandage or tape them loosely in place. If the embedded object
is large and prevents the eye from closing, take a paper cup or make a paper
cone large enough to cover the embedded object without touching it. Set the
cone over the eye and tape it into place. Cover the other eye with a clean
cloth pad and tape it loosely in place.
For all embedded objects, keep
the person flat on their back while on the way to the nearest emergency room.
Remember: any extra pressure can cause further damage to the eye. Bandage
or tape over the eye must be loose. Since the eyes move together, both must
be covered to prevent movement of the injured eye.
Heat Stroke
Heat
stroke and heat exhaustion are treated differently. Heat stroke is a medical
emergency and requires immediate medical attention and transport to the hospital.
Heat exhaustion is less serious. These are the signs for heat stroke: Body
temperature is above 102. Skin is red and hot. The person isn't sweating,
but they are confused, unconscious, fainting or having convulsions.
Move
the person to a cool place. Seek medical attention immediately. Spray the
person with a hose, sponge with cold water or throw a pail of water on her
while massaging the extremities and torso. Check the temperature every 10
minutes. If it falls below 102, you can stop the cooling procedure. Keep the
person cool by using an air conditioner or fan while waiting for help or getting
to the emergency room.
Heat Exhaustion
The body temperature
is above 98.6 but below 102. The skin is pale and clammy. The person is sweating
heavily, and is often dizzy, faint, tired, weak or nauseous. The person can
also complain of a headache and muscle cramps.
Move the person to a
cool place (with fans or air conditioning). Have them lie on their back and
elevate legs. Loosen the clothing, and cool gently with wet cloths or a fan.
Add one teaspoon of salt to a quart of cool water and have the person sip
it slowly over half an hour. Repeat with a second glass. Stop giving liquid
if the person vomits. If heat cramps occur, massage the cramped muscles firmly.
Seek medical help if the symptoms continue for more than an hour or if they
worsen during treatment.
Now, use what you read above to
figure out what you would do in the following scenarios:
Part A
On
your way home from the first aid class, you walk through the park. A crowd
of people has gathered around an injured man. Here is your first chance to
use your first aid. You don't have your manual with you, so you will have
to remember what to do to help this man. Don't look at the above passage when
trying to come up with a solution.
You rush over to the crowd of people
to see what's the matter. A man is pressing his eye. Blood is running down
his cheeks. No one seems to know what to do.
The man lifts his hand
off his eye and begins to pull the shard from his eye. You must take charge
of the situation. "He's wearing contacts," one woman screams. "You've got
to get those out right away." What do you do in this situation?
Part
B
A month later, you meet your friend at the beach. It's a blazing
hot day, so you decide to go back home to sit indoors. You tell her that you'll
meet her before supper. You return to the beach hours later to find that your
friend has stayed out all day in the hot sun.
You wave as you walk closer
to where she is sitting, but she looks confused. You see that she is sweating
profusely and even though she's been in the sun all day, she looks pale. "Oh
it's you," she says. "I don't feel so well -- my leg is all cramped up."
She
certainly doesn't look well. You quickly ask yourself, "Does she have heat
stroke or heat exhaustion?" What do you do in this situation?