Ten Emergency First Aid Treatments Hikers Must Know.
Today as our life has become so busy that we neglect the important things on backpacking trips which we all should know. One of the important things is the first aid treatment. In backpacking, hiking or trekking many hostile situations we would have to face from mosquito bite to hardtack.
Ten emergency first aid treatments backpackers and hikers must know will help you make the correct decision to save someone’s life.
What Is Emergency First Aid Treatments?
It includes all those serious interventions which can be done for saving life prior to doctors and medical help which are unavailable at that time. Like applying plaster to a cut, performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), a complete minor treatment till the ambulance comes.
A critically ill patient is always at the risk of death. Recognition, assessment, and management of critical illness are fundamental to clinical care in any sphere of medicine.
Ten emergency first aid treatments hikers must know in Hostile Situations.
First Aid Treatment for the Nose Bleeding.
Nose bleeding is now very common but if it persists then it can become life-threatening. The nasal mucosa has a very rich blood supply and undergoes constant variation in the state of engorgement of its blood vessels.
Vessels from both the internal and external carotid artery contribute, i.e. the ethmoidal arteries from the internal carotid and the greater palatine, superior labial and sphenopalatine arteries from the external carotid. These vessels form a rich plexus on the anterior part of the septum – Little’s area or ‘Keisselbachs plexus’.
What can cause bleeding from the nose:-
Local causes include:-
- Spontaneous
- Trauma
- Tumors
- Hereditary telangiectasia
- Nasal allergy
General causes include:-
- Cardiovascular conditions
- Hypertension and raised venous pressure
- Coagulation or vessel defects
- Haemophilia
- Leukemia
- Anticoagulant therapy
- Thrombocytopenia
- Fever (rare)
- Influenza
First aid treatment:-
- Apply direct digital pressure on the lower part of the nose and compresses the vessel on the septum. It will arrest bleeding from Little’s area. Pressure over the nasal bones at that time is useless.
- Treating active epistaxis is a very difficult process. For this cover up your own clothes first. Now assess the patient and consider resuscitation. Examine the nose of the patient with a good light source. Gently remove clots and stale blood with suction. Now apply direct digital pressure to the nose for 10 min and the patient should sit leaning forward and breathing should be through the mouth. Discourage swallowing as it may dislodge a clot.
- If bleeding still persists and the site of the bleeding is clearly visible, e.g. Little’s area, then you may be able to stop it by cautery with a silver nitrate impregnated stick. This is easier, for this you have to first put in a plug of cotton wool or ribbon gauze soaked in lidocaine and phenylephrine (Cophenalcaine TM) and leave it for 5 minutes. This also facilitates nasal packing but may not be practical if there is torrential bleeding.
- If still, bleeding persists then call ENT doctor for an emergency.
The next situation is again very common in outdoor traveling. We will see what we can do in ten emergency first aid treatments hikers must know.
First Aid Treatment for Vomiting
Vomiting is a complex reflex that involves both autonomic and somatic neural pathways. Synchronous contraction of the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and abdominal muscles take place which raises intra-abdominal pressure.
Intra-abdominal pressure combined with the relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter which ultimately results in a forcible ejection of gastric contents.
Gastrointestinal causes for vomiting are:-
- Infection
- Bowel obstruction
- Cholecystitis
- Pancreatitis,
- Infectious hepatitis,
- Appendicitis
- Peptic ulcer.
The above is related to GIT. There are also causes of vomiting which include:-
- Drugs,
- Motion sickness,
- Raised intracranial tension,
- Meningitis,
- Azotaemia,
- Pregnancy,
- Systemic illness
- Psychogenic causes.
First aid treatment:-
For the person who is having vomiting, they are advised to drink small water at one time. ORS can be advised for those patients who are suffering from severe vomiting so that electrolyte balance must be maintained. A sports drink or clear liquids can be taken.
As our aim is to prevent the patient from dehydration. Patient during vomiting should not intake any kind of solid food until the vomiting stop. Once the patient started feeling good then the patient can eat the food like banana, rice, applesauce, and toast. If still, the patient has vomiting than consult the doctor and start treatments including IV fluids and medications.