4DIJMS-VOL-8,ISSUE-1-2017 ISSN No: 2250-0669

4D International Journal of Management and Science

ISSN No: 2250-0669

Vol. 8, Issue1, 2017

IMPACTUAL STUDY OF FIRST AID IN HOME

Dr. PRABHAKISHORE*

ABSTRACT

Millions of people are hurt or killed from injuries every year because adequate and timely assistance is not provided. Effectively, first aid reduces deaths, injuries and impact during disasters and daily emergencies. In its most basic form, First Aid is the initial assistance given to a victim of injury or illness.Basic First Aid knowledge is comprised of relatively simple techniques and procedures that can be performed with limited equipment and is typically carried out until professional medical assistance arrives.Accidents will always happen despite any measure of preventative procedure and care. Because of this, individuals who are properly trained and with the correct equipment are a huge help in ensuring better safety for everyone. Without proper First Aid, a simple injury could become severe and in some cases fatalities can occur as a result of lack of immediate medical treatment. First Aid does not just promote faster recovery it helps save lives. This paper is aimed at analyzing importance of first aids at the domestic level and equip family members to prevent fatality of any injury or sickness before reaching a hospital and doctor .

Key words: Victim of Injury ,Medical assistance., Faster recovery, prevent fatality

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*Former AP at Ganga Devi College ( Magadh University )

INTRODUCTION

Millions of people are hurt or killed from injuries every year because adequate and timely assistance is not provided. Effectively, first aid reduces deaths, injuries and impact during disasters and daily emergencies. It provides an immediate response to an emergency, taking life saving measures until professional help arrives. Simple first aid skills, and the confidence to use them, can save lives and everyone, if properly trained, has the potential to save lives.

History and trend

The term “first aid” is now an accepted part of everyday language, and there is no doubt that it encompasses the help and assistance given to sick and injured people, but where did the term “first aid” originate and who were the original “first aiders”.

Prehistoric man, by necessity developed methods to treat the illnesses and injuries that befell him. It probably didn’t take long for them to realize in most cases that plugging an open wound would eventually stop bleeding, or by lashing a tree branch to a broken leg would allow the casualty to hobble around and would help healing.

The first recordedhistory of first aiddates to 1099, when a religious order of knights trained to administer medical treatment was formed. The Order of St John –to which the modern day St John Ambulance organization traces its roots- specialized in the treatment of battlefield injuries during the crusades and are the first recorded example of people trained to administer first aid.

In 1792, the French Army Surgeon General, formed the first official army medical corps. People were trained and equipped for working away from the field hospitals. Their task was to administer first aid on the battlefield and where necessary remove the casualty to the field hospital by carrying them or on carts.

During the 1860’s the first Geneva Convention and the International Red Cross came into being to protect and deal with sick and injured soldiers on the battlefield. Both resulted from the work begun by Henry Dunant, a Swiss man, who had witnessed soldiers of both sides, being left to die with horrific injuries during the Battle of Solferino in 1859. A short time later, an army surgeon first came up with the idea of training civilians in what was termed “pre-medical treatment”.

The late 1800’s saw drastic changes with the formations of what we now know as the modern day British Red Cross (1870) and St John Ambulance (1877). In 1878, the term “first aid” first appeared in Britain and is thought to be derived from “first treatment” and “National Aid”. Thus the history of first aid was born.

Surgeon Major Peter Shepherd and a Doctor Coleman ran the first public first aid course at Woolwich Presbyterian Church, London in January 1878. Dr. James Cantile later published Shepherds lesson notes from that course as First Aid To The Injured. It wasn’t long before St John Ambulance was running other public courses in cities throughout Britain.

Britain’s first official ambulance crews were trained for use in the mines and on the railways. The attendants were trained in the most basic first aid and equipped with handcarts, although a vast improvement on the facilities previously available, they were little more than a transport service. As late as 1897 saw the formation of London’s first full time ambulance service which was set up by the Metropolitan Asylums Board.

During the First and Second World Wars, the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance joined forces to form the Joint War Organization and played a major role in support of the medical services, both on the battlefields abroad and in Britain.

The National Health Service Act of 1946 – which came into effect in 1948, laid down a statutory requirement for ambulances to be made available for callout by anyone who needed them, which is the NHS ambulance service, as we know it today.

Modern day first aid training stems from the early work of the Red Cross and St John Ambulance, and in principle has changed little since the early 1900’s, although, looking back through early training manuals reveals some practices, which today are rather amusing.

100 years after the first public first aid course, when training classes are made up of both male and female students, you would encounter problems if you attempted to enforce single sex classes, but, in 1908 it was accepted as the norm and “Mixed classes of men and women are on no account permitted” was printed in the front of training manuals. Further examination reveals the course to be divided into 5 lectures, lectures 1 to 4 are standard for male and female, whereas there is a lecture 5 for males dealing with the stretchers, carrying and the transporting of patients, whilst the female lecture 5 deals with preparation for the arrival of casualties, bed preparation, removal of clothing and preparations for surgeons.

An early treatment of hysteria, declares the patient will usually be a young girl…and suggests:

  1. Avoid sympathy with the patient, and speak firmly to her.
  2. Threaten her with cold-water douche, and if she persists in her “fit”, sprinkle her with cold water.
  3. Apply a mustard leaf at the back of the neck.

Modern day pre hospital treatment of the sick and injured, has in recent years advanced at an unprecedented rate due to the latest medical research and equipment such as AED’s and high tech ambulances, but the basic aim of first aid today is exactly the same as that of the 11th century medical knights.

To provide help to a injured or suddenly ill person.Now that we’ve covered the history of first aid-come in and learn the skills that could save a live – first aid continues to evolve as we learn new things.

TRENDS
One hundred and fifty years ago, a battle in northern Italy sparked an idea that has since changed the world. On 24 June 1859, Henry Dunant, a young Geneva businessman, witnessed horrifying suffering and agony following the battle of Solferino. He mobilized the civilian population, mainly women and girls, to care for the wounded irrespective of their role in the conflict. He secured them with the necessary materials and supplies and helped in the establishment of temporary hospitals. His book “A memory of Solferino” inspired the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863. Today, the need for humanitarian action is still as vital as it was in 1859.

Providing first aid services to injured people was one of the first services provided by the Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers for over 100 years. Now, almost all 187 Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) National Societies (NS) have first aid as their core activity. Aware that task-shifting (a process of delegation whereby tasks are moved, where appropriate, to less specialized persons) has become a very important process to address health challenges in the last few years, RCRC National Societies are the major first aid educator and provider in the world.

Today, there is a growing interest of private and public sectors alike in ensuring that their respective employees and the population at large receive first aid training. Due to the awareness on the importance of first aid techniques knowledge in reducing the consequences of any type of accident, special attention is increasingly paid to first aid and prevention. The first witness of an accident plays an essential role in the survival chain. The general public should be encouraged to learnfirst aidsince they are often the first present on the spot and thus the first link in any survival chain (pre-hospital care).

The importance of First Aid is hard to overestimate.

  1. It allows those trained with the potentially life saving ability to assist an injured or ill person during a variety of emergency situations. In situations such as someone ingests a harmful substance, suffers from a heart attack, a seizure or stroke, is involved in a motor vehicle accident or is caught in a natural disaster, a person trained and knowledgeable in even the very basics of First Aid can be of extreme importance in assisting the injured person(s) until emergency responders arrive. The more people that are First Aid trained and knowledgeable the more the community as a whole benefits.
  2. Knowledge in First Aid benefits the individuals themselves regardless of whether an emergency affects them directly or involves people they live and work with. First Aid can and often lessens the severity of an emergency in a given time and place.
  3. While everyone can benefit from First Aid knowledge and training it is an even greater benefit to those working or living with individuals who require ongoing special attention or treatment such as children, persons with physical or mental disabilities, persons with chronic illness, persons with disorders such as epilepsy, the elderly, persons involved in recreational activities such as swimming or people working in dangerous environments such as a factory or construction site.

Many businesses require all or a minimum amount of employees to be trained in First Aid and the type and extent of the training depends on the specifics of the job. However, anyone working in high-risk environments should have basic First Aid knowledge regardless of employer requirement.

DOMESTIC KITS FOR FIRST AIDS

The Red Cross recommends that all first aid kits for a family of four include the following:

  • 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
  • 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
  • 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
  • 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
  • 5 antiseptic wipe packets
  • 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
  • 1 blanket (space blanket)[Available on the Red Cross Store]
  • 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
  • 1 instant cold compress
  • 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
  • 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
  • Scissors
  • 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
  • 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
  • 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)[Available on the Red Cross Store]
  • 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
  • Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
  • 2 triangular bandages
  • Tweezers
  • First aid instruction booklet[Available on the Red Cross Store]

Apart from the above one can have the following also :-

These vedeos can be a great help in the area of First Aid training pertaining to various illness and emergency.

Whether you buy a first aid kit or put one together, make sure it has all the items you may need:

  • Include any personal items such as medications and emergency phone numbers or other items your health-care provider may suggest.
  • Check the kit regularly.
  • Make sure the flashlight batteries work.(Flashlights available on the Red Cross Store)
  • Check expiration dates and replace any used or out-of-date contents.

TRAINIG of First Aid

National Safety Council

  • Every five years, guidelines detailing how rescuers should perform vital first aid and basic life support techniques are updated based on medical research. The National Safety Council is at the leading edge of this process.

Our world-classfirst aid and CPR trainingis available at an affordable price and has been updated to meet or exceed the 2015 CPR and ECC Guidelines. From OSHA compliance to workplace wellness, effective first aid and CPR training is vital to your organization's safety.

NSC first aidofferings include:

  • A wide range ofFirst Aid courses
  • First Aid Instructor training
  • Trainingemployers can provide to their employees
  • Online OSHA Compliance courses
  • Consider these facts:

25% of all emergency room visits can be avoided with basic first aid and CPR certification

  • Sudden cardiac arrest represents 13% of all workplace deaths
  • Nearly 5 million workers were injured on the job in 2012, costing companies $198.2 billion
  • 75% of all out-of-hospital heart attacks happen at home
  • Go with the Expert

Not all first aid and CPRcourses are created equal. Many providers don't offer the comprehensive training needed to meetOSHA First Aid Standard 29 CFR 1910.151. Don't put your employees' safety at risk. Go with the expert in occupational first aid and CPRtraining.

Online Vedeos Training

These vedeos can be a great help in the area of First Aid training pertaining to various illness and emergency.

Medical Emergencies (2)
Universal Precautions (2)
Cardiac Arrest (16)
Choking (10)
Bleeding Control (8)
Injuries (7)
Sudden Illness (8)
Heat and Cold Emergencies (2)
Prevention (5)

( Courtesy; Pro First Aid---

Stressing that encouraging people to assist others was is in the public interest, Geleta suggested more extensive first aid training in schools, workplaces and also through less traditional channels such as hostels and charitable associations.

Almost all 187 National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies engage in first aid training and application as a core activity. In 2010 more than 17 million people received first aid courses from their local Red Cross Red Crescent. An additional 46 million received first aid and preventive educational messages.

Add an example or include information about the work of your National Society in first aid training and awareness.

Dr Ayham Alomari said ““The social and legal challenges that we face today in trying to equip communities with life saving first aid skills are different than when Henri Dunant came upon the historic battlefield in Solferino that gave birth to our Movement, “he said.

“We urge governments to create environments that empower individuals to act upon their skills. The adoption of legislation, which does not hold first aid providers responsible for poor outcomes, could be one such way of improving this.”

IMPROVE SAFETY immediately after an earthquake by evacuating if necessary, helping the injured and preventing further injuries or damage.

( Pic –Source-CUSEC)

Themoment the ground stops shakingit is important take action quickly and safely. Evacuate to higher ground if a tsunami is possible. If not, check for injuries and damages that need immediate attention. Use your training in first aid to assist those in need.

Look around your environment to identify any new hazards such as leaking gas lines, damage to the building, water or electric lines, or other things that may be dangerous, especially if there are aftershocks. Be prepared to report damage to city or county government.

Remember your emergency plans. Aftershocks may cause additional damage or items to fall, so get to a safe location. Use your “grab-and-go” disaster supplies as needed.

When to evacuate…

If you are near a large body of water (the ocean or a large lake), move to higher ground as soon as you can safely do so. Tsunami waves can arrive within minutes.

  • Go on foot. Roads and bridges may be damaged.
  • If evacuation is impossible, go to the third or higher floor of a sturdy building or climb a tree. This should only be used as a last resort.
  • Stay away from the coast until officials tell you it is safe to return. The danger may last for days.

If you are not in a tsunami zone, evacuate your home or office only if there is damage to the building or the surrounding area is unsafe. Consider relocating somewhere safer such as a friend’s house or a community shelter. If the building is undamaged, it can be safe to remain, even if the power is out, but you will want to find an alternative location if power is not restored within a few days.

If you need to evacuate to a shelter, take only your “grab-and-go” bag (Step 3) with essentials such as medication, important documents, prescription eye wear, etc. Shelters have limited space.

If you get trapped…

If you are trapped by falling items or a collapse, protect your mouth, nose, and eyes from dust. If you are bleeding, put pressure on the wound and elevate the injured part. Signal for help with your emergency whistle, a cell phone, or knock loudly on solid pieces of the building, three times every few minutes. Rescue personnel will be listening for such sounds.

Once you are safe, help others and check for damage. Protect yourself by wearing sturdy shoes and work gloves, to avoid injury from broken glass and debris. Also wear a dust mask and eye protection.