If you haven't witnessed a fatal accident, may you not. If you have, may God cleanse your mind of the gory details. Living in Nigeria increases the probability of you seeing a fatal accident. Roads with huge potholes. Sharp bends on the highway. One way interstate drive. Thus, it's essential to be ready for an eventuality that may never happen: saving lives, reviving accident victims.
FirstAid is the immediate skilled care and assistance given to someone in need before the attention of a doctor is obtained. FirstAid is not only for motor accident victims but all kinds including domestic accidents. But this discourse will focus on road accidents which have been predominantly worrisome in Nigeria.
My facilitator shared an experience where he cried after his 17years of being on the field as a first aider. On 23rd of December, a driver left Lagos around 3 pm and wanted to return the same day. He was taking an unfamiliar route that was supposed to be fast. He did 100km to 120 km. He got to a bend. Not knowing the bend was sharper than he assumed, he entered with his usual average speed. He immediately lost control and the car skidded with the two tires on the right lifted off the road. The bus somersaulted into a ditch. The concerned villagers came out in droves for a rescue mission.
While the rescue operation was on, another tanker driver fully loaded for a nearby filling station was hoping to manage his tanker brake seizure until he would offload at his destination. He was very used to the route and was never expecting any crowd in the middle of the road after the usual bend. He saw them very late, he applied his honk but the crowds were waving him to stop. He made a sudden swerve and fell. The attached container opened and content spilled. A fire ensued and it was a carnage. 42 people got burnt alive just 2 days to Christmas.
It is of the greatest importance that a first aider should ensure that he or she is safe first. Then, s/he is to ensure that others are safe from further calamity. After the tide has calmed, necessary caution signs should be put in place. Then, first aiding can commence.
This unfortunate example will tell us more. In the cries of the victims, our humanity will jolt us to urgent actions and quick aids, but a first aider should be aware of any impending risk. You must be safe first, the people must be safe, the situation must be safe and necessary road caution must be put in place. Without those done, a first aider may become a first killer as we have in the cited example. Why are you giving FirstAid? It is to preserve life. To limit the worsening of the victims' condition. To promote recovery. And not to endanger others. Steps in FirstAid are expressed in the acronym: D.R.A.B.C.
D is for Danger--before the cry of the casualties attract your mind, assess danger. Are you safe where you are? Are the casualties safe? Has the accident subsided? Is there no lurking danger or probability of another accident? In the given scenario, the rescuers should have put a caution sign or leaves before the bend to stop, divert, or reduce the speed of oncoming commuters. But they failed to do that thereby exposing themselves to a worse danger than that of the casualties.
R is for Response- assess how many people are injured. The casualties that are crying or shouting in pains will attract your mind. But the priority should be for those looking blank or not moving. The unawareness may be a sign of disconnect and s/he won't be able to save their selves should there be a further fire-outbreak. After you pick your first casualty to be resuscitated, call out or tap the casualty. If there is no response, call out for assistance and the person will also serve as a witness so that help would not turn you to a criminal if the person should die. Again, if you tap and the casualty is not responding, please call for help.
A is Airway--open the airway of the casualty. By placing two fingers, one on the forehead and one on the chin and tilt the head up a bit. This is needed to activate the tongue which might be relaxing and blocking the air passage. ( most people while rushing casualty to the hospital do not watch the victim's head position as a dropping head means a relaxed tongue that must have blocked the airway. Thus, most victims are brought in dead).
B is for Breathing check---while two of your fingers tilt the victim's head up, you place your ear close to the victim's nose with your eyes towards the stomach. That is to feel if s/he's breathing or the stomach is heaving up and down. If the victim is breathing, stop and put him into recovery position( lessons on how to put a victim in a recovery position here). But if the person is not breathing, you move to the next stage
C is for--Chest compression--to ensure the heart starts pumping blood, place the heel of your palm--lock it up with the other, place it in between the breasts on the sternum and compressed the victim chest thirty good times. After 30 times, open the airway again. Close the nose and blow the air twice into the victim’s mouth to circulate oxygen through the body. You continue to the process of compression followed by blowing until the victim coughs out or doctor arrives.
Note that compression shouldn't turn to crush of the victim chest bone. In the case of an infant, you do the compression with two fingers. Before compression, be sure that the victim is not breathing. Compression should not be deeper than 1/3 of the victim body height. If at first compression blood gushes out of the patient’s mouth, stop so as to not puncture the bleeding organ.
To resuscitate a fast dying person the speed should be a bit faster than the heart rate, it should run at 72 to 80 times per minute. The simple explanation: when the heart has stopped pumping blood- there's still oxygenated blood in the heart to be released to other organs of the blood before they finally pack up.
Until the doctor arrives--you have tried your best. And may God keep us safe this yuletide.
-toonday
Culled from a Training Attended
Culled from a Training Attended
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