First of all, it
is necessary to understand that the faster you act, the better is the prognosis
of the affected person. You should do some very important things without
panicking and distressing the poisoned individual.
Secondly, you have to remember
that the first aid and the medical aid are quite different categories and
there are different approaches and people involved in them. To save your
relative, friend or neighbor, you have to know how to give him a first
aid. The medical aid is a priority of people with medical qualification
and it is you task and duty to transport and provide medical help for the
victim as soon as possible. Therefore, the best first aid kit you could
have are your car keys or a telephone.
Dos, or Suggested Actions
1.
Removing the poison from the entry. It is not always possible but you can
do the following:
1.1.
Skin contamination
-
Wipe the affected area gently
and precociously with a cotton dress or a cotton wool ( make away with
the contaminated materials after the procedure to avoid further poisonings)
-
Rinse with fresh water (or sea
water in some marine animal poisonings)
-
Carefully remove the clothes
of the victim for a danger of still remaining poisonous agents
1.2.
Eyes’ contamination- wash with fresh water carefully and dry gently.
1.3.
Indigestion- provoke vomiting if the victim is conscious and without seizures
or bleeding from the digestion system
1.4.
Inhalation of the poison- take out the affected person from the toxic area
to fresh air
2.
Restriction
of the poison dissemination in bites/ stings
2.1.
Splint the affected limb
2.2.
Hold the affected limb in horizontal position (on the heart level)
2.3.
Tighten the affected limb with a tourniquet or a compression bandage above
the bitten/ stung place (This method is advisable mostly for poisonings
of insects, arachnids and marine animals. Although it was widely used also
for snake bites for many years, recently it was rejected because of the
risks of severe limb damage)
3.
Give lots of water or other drinks (NO ALCOHOL) to the victim if possible.
4.
If necessary, apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation- maintaining adequate
breathing and heart activity (indirect heart massage)
5.
In
people known to have allergy, use his/her own antiallergenic pack if prescribed
by a physician (commercially available in many countries)
Don'ts, or What to Avoid
1.
Do not do anything except for the first aid recommendations
2.
Do
not apply any kind of potentially harmful herbal and folk remedies
3.
Don’t treat the bitten place with anything but water (sea water if necessary)
4.
In
case of a snake bite:
-
No ice
-
No tourniquets or compression
bandages
-
No mouth, vacuum pump or syringe
suction
-
No incisions (cuts), excision
or amputation of the bite site
-
Don’t take the snake for identification
if you are not sure it is dead.
-
Don’t kill the snake if it is
still alive
5.
In case of insects’ and spiders’ stings:
Do not give painkillers
to a person known to have allergy