Every family or survival group needs a medic, and at any point in time, he or she could encounter a life-threatening medical emergency. In normal times, the goal is to get emergency services on the scene and the victim to a modern medical facility as quickly as possible. When bother hits, however, the family medic becomes the end of the line and must act quickly to stop a tragedy.
The classic example of a medical emergency would be when a person collapses. This can happen for various reasons, including life-threatening cardiac events like heart attacks, airway obstructions that prevent air passage, head trauma and even simple fainting episodes.
CARDIAC EVENTS
A heart attack is caused by a blockage in blood flow to a portion of the heart. It’s also known as a “myocardial infarction.” A heart attack may be mild or severe, depending on the amount of heart muscle that loses oxygenation. Common symptoms are chest, left arm and jaw pain or tightness, along with shortness of breath and light headedness.
What To Do: Immediately have the victim chew an adult aspirin or four baby aspirins, as well as any cardiac medications like nitroglycerin that they could have stockpiled. Loosen any tight clothing. Place the person in the “W” position, semi-recumbent at regarding seventy five degrees with the knees bent. Keep the victim as calm as possible to decrease more strain on the victim’s ailing heart.
If a person collapses and there’s no pulse, begin CPR instantly. If you aren’t trained in CPR, you must begin chest compressions by placing the heel of your hand, palm down, over the lower half of the breastbone at the level of the nipple. Place your other hand on top and interlace your fingers. Keeping yourself positioned directly above your hands (arms straight), press downward in such a fashion that the breastbone (also called the sternum) is compressed about two inches. Allow the chest to recoil completely and repeat at a rate of at least one hundred per minute. Try this till help arrives or a pulse returns. If you’re certified in CPR, add rescue breaths.
AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION
When a foreign object, sometimes food, goes down the wrong method, it will cause an airway obstruction. As a result, the victim can’t breathe. the lack of oxygen intake can soon cause unconsciousness and death if fast action isn’t taken. This event is easily identified due to the universal response of becoming agitated and pointing towards or grabbing the throat.
What To Do: Perform the heimlich maneuver. Drag the victim and make a fist with your right hand. Place your fist above the belly button and below the breastbone. Then wrap your left arm around the patient and grasp the fist with your left hand. Ensure your arms are positioned just under the rib cage. With a forceful upward motion, thrust your fist abruptly into the abdomen.
If your patient loses consciousness and you’re unable to dislodge the obstruction, place the victim flat on their back and straddle them across the hips. Open their mouth and ensure that the object can’t be removed manually. If not, give many upward abdominal thrusts with the heels of your palms locked one above the other. Check the oral cavity again. You may have partially dislodged the foreign object.
HEAD INJURIES
A person could collapse as a result of trauma to the skull, inflicting loss of consciousness. The most common injury, a concussion, occurs when the brain is shaken due to the force of the blow. A victim of a concussion may seem dazed, behave strangely and may not keep in mind the events immediately prior to the injury. Although you may note a painful bump on the head or bleeding from a scalp laceration, neither is important for a head injury to be dangerous.
What To Do: Stop any bleeding with direct pressure. Apply ice packs for twenty or half-hour every two hours to areas of swelling. Offer acetaminophen for pain but avoid aspirin or ibuprofen, which can increase the risk of hemorrhage. Observe the patient closely for forty eight hours. difficulty waking, worsening mental status or headache, vomiting and slurred speech are all signs that might indicate intracranial bleeding. Watch for bruising around the eyes and ears. this could be a sign for a life-threatening skull fracture.
It will be a challenge for a medic to deal with many of these issues in austere settings. With knowledge and supplies, however, many emergencies can be dealt with successfully.
