1. The objective of transportation is to enable the victim to reach the destination without deterioration of his condition.
2. Do not move a severely injured or ill person unless there is immediate danger to his life or skilled help is not available. That is because moving a casualty may result in aggravation of his or her injury or condition.
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□ BEE AND WASP BITES
Bee and wasps are the most harmful amongst all insects. Their stings have poison in small quantity. Some people could be very sensitive to this poison and develop severe reaction to it. The condition is diagnosed by the following features.
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Our body has some in-built mechanisms to help it adapt to changes in the environmental temperature. However when the changes are extreme and last for long durations, the protective mechanisms may fail, and the person may suffer from illness. The following factors increase risk of adverse effects of extremes of temperature change on the human body.
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If there are multiple casualties, as in a disaster, first aid has to be administered to a large number of victims. In such cases, the ambulance service has to be very good for rapid and efficient transfer to a hospital. The process of triage is used to sort patients according to priority for care and transport. Accordingly the patients are placed in three categories as shown in the following table. Every ambulance and rescue unit should carry tags that can be used during triage phase of disaster operation.
There are about 3000 species of snakes, of which only 250-300 are poisonous. Snakes commonly found in our country are king cobra, common cobra, common krait, common striped krait, pit viper and Russell’s viper. Most of the snakes are harmless. Remember, all snake bites are not fatal. Generally people die from fear and not the venom. Most snakes bite only if provoked. Even the bite of a poisonous snake is not always dangerous, because when the snake bites in defense, little or no venom is injected.
□ SCORPION BITE
Generally scorpions can be seen in the moist dark places and in rainy season in villages, farms, and jungles. They are not seriously poisonous. But sometimes person hypersensitive to its poison can develop serious reaction and may even become unconscious. The condition is diagnosed by the following features.
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□ DOG BITE
A person may be bitten by a domestic dog or a stray dog. A domestic dog may or may not be immunized against rabies. If it is immunized, there is no risk of rabies in the victim. If it is not immunized, it can contract rabies from a rabid dog, and then its bite is dangerous.
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STING OF JELLYFISH
The effects vary from slight local reaction to large wheals, severe pain and sometimes swift death.
FACIAL FRACTURES
These include fractures of the nose, cheekbones or jaw. The airway may be obstructed by loose teeth, blood and saliva, or displaced, swollen or lacerated tissue. Absence or depression of cough reflex may result in aspiration of regurgitated stomach contents into lungs causing asphyxia. Bleeding may be profuse. Fracture of the lower jaw is diagnosed by the following features.
The objectives of first-aid are :
1. Apply cold pads or ice in a polythene bag — these soothe the pain.
2. Rest the affected part.
3. Make the patient comfortable.
4. Prevent further damage.
5. Get medical aid at the earliest.