Make Use of your First Aid Kit.

MAKE USE OF YOUR FIRST AID KIT. (2)

You have read information we shared with you about how a family can be prepared in case of an accident or disaster. Allow us to help you get ready to act responsibly in case of an accident caused by a knife or a fire.
When we think of a knife wound we can think of many things from kitchen knives you are working with preparing your dinner, or something a little more severe, an accidental knife wound while you are doing some whittling or working in your workshop or while camping. Other knife wounds may be caused by a fall or somebody gets impaled. What you do need to worry about first of all is make sure you wear gloves. You want to keep that wound as clean as possible as well as keep body fluids off you. Let's pretend for a second that Anny, your 12 year old daughter has a knife wound. Somebody has cut her accidentally at your camp site. First thing to remember is, you have to stop the bleeding that is most important. Let us say that the knife caught her in the shoulder and she has a one inch laceration. An important thing you want to do is to apply direct pressure as best you can to slow the bleeding. You also have to remember not to remove or pull the knife out. Put something around it to bulk it up, tape it down because if you remove the knife you actually cause more bleeding and more harm.
Once we do that we can wrap it, make sure the bandage and gauze you are using will stay in place. You also might need to lay Anny down and try to make her feel comfortable. You must then activate the 911 system. Hopefully if you can reach them and upon arrival, they will give Anny a tetanus shot and continue helping her with their first aid procedures.
Now, we're going to talk a little bit about how to treat burns. We're talking thermal or heat burns today.
There are several different levels of thermal burns. They are referred to by degree, namely first, second and third degree.
First being minor, picking up a hot frying pan. Second, showing blisters and open skin, third degree being a very deep burn to your skin. First degree burns, are very minor as far as a health risk goes. When administering to burn victims, you must wear plastic gloves.
The biggest conce
is to know and understand that the burn victim will be in pain and discomfort.
For kids and the elderly you want to make sure you cool the area, something as simple as putting some water on a cloth or using an ice pack. Put the ice pack in a towel and place it on the burned area to help cool it down. This procedure usually does a pretty good job of taking most of the pain away.
For your deeper burns such as second degree, that's when you notice blistering. If you notice blisters on the skin do not pop the blisters as that may cause infection as well as prolong the healing process. If you have second-degree or blisters on a large portion of your skin, you try to keep the whole area cool. Don't attempt to remove any burnt skin, leave that the decision to the paramedics or medical specialists.
Fire burns around the face, the nose, the mouth could actually affect the airway and breathing down the road, so you definitely want to call 911 and explain the situation. During severe circumstance when 911and paramedics as well are not responding, continue to keep the burn victim cool and offer some painkillers from your first aid kit.
Our members have familiarized themselves through courses and professional individuals to offer advice to those facing family members who are victims of deep cuts, knife wounds and fire burns. We are not doctors, but learned to give first aid to individuals before professionals arrive on the scene. Browse our website for additional information and guidelines