Conscious and Unconscious Casualties
Use all your senses to obtain maximum information and diagnose the casualty – look, speak, listen, feel and smell.
If the casualty is conscious:
- look and size up the problem as you approach;
- ask him if he has pain and where it is;
- examine that part first;
- ask him if he thinks there is anything else wrong;
- examine the casualty carefully in a regular and methodical manner by running your hands gently but firmly over all parts of the body. Start at the head and neck, then check the spine and trunk; the upper limbs, the lower limbs.
- handle injured parts gently but firmly;
- make sure there are no other injuries present, which may be masked by pain, by checking for tenderness and bleeding;
Always compare abnormal parts with the normal side. The First Aider need only remove enough of the casualty’s clothing to expose the injuries and treat them. Then check:
- count the pulse – noting its strength and rhythm;
- colour of skin, the nail beds and the inside of the eyelids;
- the nature of the breathing – listen to it: smell the breath;
- the temperature of the body – whether hot or cold to the touch.
If the casualty is unconscious the task is much more difficult and a thorough detailed examination is necessary. So you must:
- note if breathing is present: if absent, immediately commence artificial respiration;
- examine over and under the casualty for dampness which might indicate bleeding. Stop any serious bleeding before proceeding further with the examination;
- bear in mind the possibility of internal bleeding;
- establish the cause of unconsciousness by examining the:
- breathing – rate and depth;
- pulse — rate and character;
- face and skin – colour, temperature and condition;
- pupils of the eyes;
- head for injury;
- ears, eyes, nose and mouth for blood and other signs;
- whole body for signs of injury.
Post Tags: abnormal parts, bleeding, breathing, conscious casualty, diagnose casualty, imjuries, injured parts, obtain information, pulse, remove clothing, temperature, unconscious casualty
This entry was posted on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 6:14 pm and is filed under First Aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.