Annually, there are around one thousand reported electrical injuries within the workplace in the UK. Around 30 of these are fatal. Mains electricity, high voltage cables, batteries, static and even lightning can all be dangers within the workplace. Sustaining the Injury A government report by the Health and Safety Executive shows that the most common […]
Someone can fracture a bone by falling, being hit, having a joint pulled or twisted, crushing, or a bone is bent. Any break in a bone is called a fracture. It is often that hospital treatment is the only place where fractures can be confirmed – with the use of X-Rays. Someone who has fractured […]
The spinal recovery position is a variant of the normal recovery position. This should be used if you suspect the patient has injured their spine. With the normal recovery position, the persons’ spine is liable to be moved about quite a lot. If a person has injured their spine, moving them could cause further damage. […]
Eye injuries are surprisingly common, and there are many different types of eye injury. Chemical Contaminants If you get a chemical into the eye, it needs to be washed out as soon as possible. Ideally, you should use either an eyewash station (common in factories and laboratories) or proper eyewash, normally a type of […]
Coagulopathy is a condition in which the blood’s ability to coagulate – clot – is impaired. This would mean that if someone had a serious bleed, the bodies’ ability to form clots and stop the bleeding would be reduced. This condition can cause prolonged or excessive bleeding, which occurs typically during any sort of medical […]
Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction. It may start within seconds, minutes, or hours following contact with an allergen. An allergen is a substance that is capable of producing an allergic reaction. This happens when the body identifies a substance as harmful and wants to protect itself. Should someone have an anaphylactic […]
Tourniquets can only be used on arms or legs. With other parts of the body, you would have to use direct pressure and haemostatic dressings. Tourniquets control excessive bleeding that you cannot control with direct pressure and pressure dressings. These types of bleeds are classified as catastrophic bleeds. They include amputations, stab wounds, gunshot wounds, […]
If you do not have a commercial tourniquet, you can create improvised tourniquets using something flexible such as a triangular bandage, a scarf or a necktie. However, you should not use a thin flexible material such as a shoelace, string or a wire. If you were to use something like this, you may end up […]
During an emergency situation, the timely resolution of the most life-threatening cause is paramount and choking is certainly one of those instances. Hence, the damage caused by the use of aggressive and forceful compressions, thrusts, and back blows warrant the collateral damage from these interventions. Any injuries sustained are irrelevant if the person is dead. […]
Thousands of children and infants need medical care for poisoning from products commonly found in and around the home. Although the long-term injury is rare, the anxiety and distress caused to both child and parents could be avoided by increased awareness. Remember, this type of poisoning can happen to anyone, no matter what age they […]
