First Aid Action

Hello, I'm Bur Reynolds. The scenes you're about to see were not staged. They actually happened. And what's even more unbelievable, the people survived. [music] [music] Okay. [music] They not only survived, but they're well and enjoying themselves. I hope because the people on the scene knew what to do. They knew first aid. But most accidents don't happen at big sporting events. They can happen at an intersection. They usually strike exactly when and where you're not expecting them. A moment's fatigue, a distraction, a little bad luck. It can happen on the job. Accidents are common around the house, in the bathroom, at an outdoor barbecue. An accident can turn pleasure into disaster, enjoyment into grave danger. [music] [music] If someone stops breathing, they're not going to start again without help. Brain damage and death follow quickly. If a victim isn't breathing, your first job is to get air into the lungs. Best method is mouthto-mouth resuscitation. This is a simulated drowning. Polly, would you go out just a little wave and simulate drowning? Take a nice breath. Allan, would you slide in the water, roll her over so her face is clear of the water. Just roll her over gently. Get the hair out of the face. All right, Hal, would you come out? We have an expert here. Tilt the victim's head back so that the chin is pointing upward. This prevents the tongue from falling back and blocking the throat. Pinch the nose shut or press your cheek against it. Take a deep breath. Cover the mouth with your mouth. Seal your lips around the victims and blow. Mouth to mouth is done in practically any situation. Give a lot of air at a rate of breath every 5 seconds, 12 a minute. A few puffs of air here. Watch the victim's chest to see if it rises. Stop blowing when the chest expands. Turn your head to the side and listen for the breath coming out and watch the chest to see if it falls. If we have a blanket or towel, cover the victim. Shock will be present after a drowning or any other type of accident. Now that we have something, put the blanket, pillow, or whatever we have underneath the shoulder so that the head will tilt back a little bit more. Now, as you go into it, tilt the head, pinch the nose, take a nice deep breath, blow into the victim's lungs about once every 5 seconds for a complete cycle. Whenever you take a breath, your body uses only some of the oxygen in the air. The rest will save the victim's life. Giving air to a victim. Sometimes it takes but just a few puffs when they start breathing on their own. What about the other kind of artificial respiration? the old kind where you pumped on the arms and pressed on the back and all that. Mouth to mouth is far and away the best method. If there's a jaw injury, you can blow through the nose. Can you do it through a handkerchief or something? Sure. But the important thing is to get air into the victim's lungs. The important thing is to save a life. Two flags are up. The yellow and the green. Here it goes. The green. Go to turn three for the first lap of this race. Just requesting help controls. Four, five, six, seven, eight cars. The driver of the burning car is out. There's an ambulance on the way. Nine cars. The other cars are coming through very slow. Is the race closed? Is there a red flag? The race has been called in the first lap. It is under a red flag on the backstretch. All the cars are being flagged to a stop on the far side of the course on the backstretch. There undoubtedly will be a restart. Turn three. Are there injuries down there? This man is in shock. He doesn't seem to be injured, but his body system is closing in on itself in reaction to the accident. His vital processes are slowing down abnormally. If he isn't treated, he may die. Shock can occur whenever the body has been subjected to serious strain. We have to assume our drowning victim may go into shock. The symptoms of shock are cold, clammy skin and dilation of the pupils. They become very large. The pulse beats very rapidly but very faintly. If you can't find it in the wrist, feel for it in one of the corateed arteries. The treatment for shock is to keep the victim lying down, ward off chill, and then get expert help. Most accidents happen somewhere near a telephone. So, every home phone should have emergency numbers on or near it. If the numbers aren't there, call the operator. Tell her it's an emergency. Be ready to describe what happened, how many people are involved, and where you're calling from. And above all, and this may sound obvious, but it could save a life. Don't hang up until the person you're talking to hangs up. You may have left something out, like where the accident happened. Be sure the people on the other end have all the information they need and that they're on the way before you break the connection. An injured victim can bleed to death in minutes. Learn to stop bleeding the arm. The safest and fastest method is direct pressure. Using one of three methods to control the bleeding. The first method that Joy is using is direct pressure over the wound to see if we can stop the bleeding. If this doesn't stop the bleeding along with elevation, then we would have to use a pad on top of this also a pressure bandage. If you can get a piece of cloth, use it. If the cloth becomes blood soaked and bleeding continues, put on another cloth without removing the first one. Stop the bleeding here. Learn how to apply a simple pressure bandage. Still doesn't stop the bleeding. If direct pressure doesn't stop the bleeding, press the supplying artery against the bone at the pressure point. This stops the flow of blood throughout the limb. Use the whole flat surface of the inside of the fingers, not just the fingertips. You can learn to find the pressure point quickly and exactly how to apply pressure for leg wounds. The pressure point is on the femoral artery. Any bleeding in the lower leg or upper leg that cannot be controlled by direct pressure or any other method. One way to go is with a direct pressure point here where the leg joins the body. Leaning on it, locking your elbow straight will control all the bleeding in the lower part of the leg. Along with that, we can cover and treat for shock at the same time. How about a tourniquet where you use a stick and bandage to cut off the blood? Tourniquets usually aren't needed. When you do use one, you have to assume you're saving a life at the risk of a limb. A tourniquet can save a life, but you have to learn exactly how and when to use it. After serious bleeding, always treat the victim for shock, even if the symptoms haven't appeared, and then get expert help. For mild burns, firstderee burns, all you have to do is put the burn in cold water or apply claws rung out in cold water. The red dots would be for blisters, which would be secondderee burn. More destruction of tissue. Put it down in the water. Hold it there for quite some time. It will ease the pain. The second degree burn should be bathed in cold water for an hour or two. Then apply clean cloths which have been rung out in ice water. Take it out. Now we'll just put it here on the pad. Just blot it gently so that we don't break. Dry by blotting gently, not rubbing. Do not use any ointments or sprays. If you can elevate the burned area. If the burned area is extensive or very deep, do not apply cold water. happens. Don't remove any clothing from around the wound. Cover the burn with clean or better yet sterile dressing. Here, all we're going to do with this is cover it with a sterile dry dressing. Hold it on there. If you don't have a sterile dressing, freshly laundered bed sheets or other household linen help. Polyethylene plastic bag, the kind cleaners use, can also serve as a covering. Tape will hold it. Remember, with thirdderee burns, we do have much deeper tissue destruction. So that uh we don't put it in water. We cover with a dry sterile dressing. Keep it dry. shock will be present. So, let's lie down. Take your time and we'll just make you comfortable much easier. Okay? Just take your time. Lie down. All right. Make it a little more comfortable. Just elevate the arm. Feel a little better. Watch out for the onset of shock and get expert help. How can you be sure whether it's a secondderee burn or a thirdderee burn? How can you remember all of this? You can't just from a film. You do learn these things thoroughly when you take a first aid course, but even this film can show you basic principles, some basic dos and don'ts. [cheering] A bone breaking accident can occur anywhere. Heat. Heat. If you suspect a broken bone, try not to move the victim. The symptoms include pain, difficulty moving the limb, stay hit by a car, any swelling or extreme tenderness. Is that the only place? All right, just lie down and be still. We'll take care. I'll do all the work here. You just relax. Al, you want to go get the uh splints and all? I just take your time. As always, call for expert help and keep an eye out for the onset of shock. If you move the victim, for safety sake, apply a splint. You are not setting the bone. You're just keeping it from moving. The splint should be long enough to extend well past the break. And there should be some padding between the splint itself and the skin. Do not allow the victim to move an injured limb. And never let anyone test a possible broken leg by trying to walk on it. The goal of splinting is to keep broken bone ends from moving, thereby minimizing injury. Again, the best thing is to try to avoid moving the victim at all. Nothing really. Splitting is something you must learn under expert supervision and then practice carefully. Feel? Yeah. Just lie still. Help is on the way. What about liability? What if you help someone, then they sue you later because they say you made them worse? In first aid training, you learn your limits. You learn what you can do, what you can't. And knowing that, you can help without fear. [music] [music] Accidents [music] [music] aren't the only [music] thing that can strike without warning. [music] [music] Sudden illness can be devastating and strike anywhere, anytime, but it's often associated with overexertion. If you're not used to vigorous exercise, take it easy. Try to spread your physical activity out over the week as a whole instead of just on the weekends. Is this heat stroke, heat exhaustion? or a heart attack. Heart attack, for instance, is usually indicated by severe pain under the breast bone or along the left side together with a shortness of breath. If heart attack does strike, make sure the victim is breathing, help him get support for whatever position he finds comfortable. Ask or look for any special medication he might be carrying for this emergency. Call for expert help. And remember this, sudden illness is terrifying to its victim. Stay calm. Reassure him. You'll help him by not exciting him and by taking quiet action without alarm. The average home is filled with poisons, common substances which can be deadly, particularly in the hands and mouths of children. A young child often doesn't discriminate between poison and food. Keep poisons out of a child's reach. But if a poisoning does occur, do you know what action to take? No. What do you do? It depends on the poison. Do give the victim a little water or milk. Find out what poison they've taken and if you can, how much. Look for directions on the label. What exactly is this substance and what to do if poisoned by it? Get expert help as soon as possible. And as always, watch out for shock. You know, life can be sweet. Why don't you help someone live to enjoy it? Learn and practice mouthto-mouth resuscitation. Tilt the victim's head back to be sure his tongue isn't blocking his throat. Close off the nose and try to maintain a rate of breath every 5 seconds. Be sure there is a good seal between your mouth and the victims. For a child, you can cover the mouth and the nose with your mouth. Use a little less volume and increase the rate to a breath every 3 seconds. Learn how to stop bleeding by direct pressure and by the use of pressure points. Know how to recognize shock, when to expect it, how to treat it. Learn about first, second, and third degree burns and how to deal with them. Learn what to do about a fracture and what not to do. Be able to recognize sudden illness. You're not a doctor, but certain symptoms call for immediate treatment. Practice and training will help you stay calm in an emergency so you can help others. Even aspirin can be lethal to a child who has eaten a handful. Learn how to handle poisoning. Keep emergency phone numbers handy. Stay calm when calling for help. A healthy body, strength, vigor, and the ability to enjoy life are [music] blessings. Accident, injury, or illness can change a life. [music] The person giving first aid deals with the whole situation. [music] He knows what not to do as well as what to do. He knows too that his first aid knowledge and skill [music] can mean the difference between life and death, between temporary and permanent disability, and between rapid recovery and long hospitalization. When an accident does occur or sudden illness strikes, it's too late to prepare. So, learn first aid while you have a chance. You might save a life.