Unconsciousness and First Aid Treatment : Part 2

What to do when someone is unconscious?

When someone becomes unconscious, it is essential to know what to do. Some simple first aid steps, such as checking the vital signs and assessing for a serious injury, can help until emergency services arrive. If a person is not breathing, it may be necessary to perform CPR.

A person who is unconscious may seem like they are sleeping but may not respond to things like loud noises, being touched, or being shaken. Fainting is a type of unconsciousness that happens suddenly and may only last a few seconds. Other types can last much longer.
A person’s vital signs may change. Seek immediate medical attention if someone’s pulse becomes weak or they stop breathing.

What to do first?

If someone seems unconscious or unresponsive, the first thing to do is ask if they are OK in a loud voice. If they don’t respond, gently shake them. But if they might have a spinal cord injury, it is best not to move the person until emergency services arrive.

If a person still does not respond, follow these steps in this order:

  1. Check that their airway is open, without signs of a blockage, such as labored or high-pitched breathing
  2. Look for signs that they are breathing.
  3. Check for a pulse or heartbeat.

Next, call or have someone else call emergency medical services. In Nigeria, dial 911 or 112. Do this if the person:

  • has no pulse or a weak one
  • does not seem to be breathing
  • does not respond or regain consciousness within 1 minute
  • appears to be severely injured, due to heavy bleeding, for example

Do not hang up on the emergency services representative until they ask you to.

Check the person’s wrists and neck to see whether they have a first aid tag, which may have information about why they lost consciousness. Share the information on the tag with the representative.

First Aid Steps

Before beginning any first aid steps, it is essential to tell whether the unconscious person is breathing or not.

If the person is breathing

If the person is conscious but seems dazed, ask them basic questions, such as what their name and birthday are or what today’s date is.

If the person is unable to answer correctly, they may be experiencing a change in mental status. Share this information with the emergency services representative.

If the person may have a spinal injury, leave them as they are. Take steps to keep their neck supported and still.

If the person is breathing and it is unlikely that they have a spinal injury, roll them into a recovery position on their side. Adjust their legs so their hips and knees form right angles. Tilt their head gently back to help keep their airway open.

If the person is not Breathing

If an unconscious person is not breathing, it may be necessary to move them carefully onto their back while protecting their neck, so they can receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This will be described in the next section.

Call 911 or 112 before administering CPR.

If the person is moving, coughing, or breathing, this is a good sign. If none of these things happen, continue giving CPR until emergency assistance arrives.

If something is visible at the back of the throat or high in the throat, and it is blocking the airway, try to remove it by using one finger to sweep the mouth. Do not try to sweep away or grab anything that is not visible.

If the person is not breathing and has something lodged in their throat, continue performing the chest compressions of CPR and checking to see whether the object has dislodged.

If the person is bleeding

If the unconscious person is bleeding heavily, locate the injury and place strong, direct pressure on the wounded area to slow the flow of blood. Anyone who knows how should apply a tourniquet above the bleeding area to slow the bleeding until emergency services arrive.

How to perform CPR

CPR is an emergency procedure to assist someone when they stop breathing and have no pulse. It involves chest compressions, which is the cardio part, and rescue breaths, which is the pulmonary part, of the name “cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”

Only people with CPR training should give the rescue breath part of the procedure. To reduce the chances of injury, anyone without training should only perform chest compressions, in steps 1–7 below. Chest compressions also help oxygen circulate.

Before starting CPR, try to wake the person again by calling their name loudly and asking if they are okay. If the person is still unresponsive:

  • Place one hand on their forehead.
  • Place the fingers of your other hand under the tip of their chin.
  • Gently tilt their head back. The goal is for their tongue to move so it does not block their airway.

But if the person may have a spinal injury:

  • Kneel near the top of their head.
  • Place your hands on either side of their face.
  • Gently lift the person’s jaw with your fingertips without moving their neck.

When the person’s airway is open, follow these steps to perform CPR:

1. Lay the person on their back on any flat, hard surface. Protect their neck from big movements if it looks like they might have a spinal injury.

2. Kneel next to their shoulders, so your torso is over their chest.

3. Put the palm and heel of your hand in the center of their chest.

4. Place your other hand directly on top of the first hand and interlock your fingers.

5. Keeping your elbows straight, bring your shoulders forward over your hands to give you more upper body strength.

6. Using the weight and force of your upper body, push straight down on their chest. Press it down at least 2.0 to 2.4 inches for adults, then release the pressure. This is one compression.

7. Do continual sets of 30 compressions at a rate of about two per second, or 100–120 compressions per minute.

Only people with CPR training should do the next steps, between sets of 30 compressions:

8. Tilt the person’s head back and lift their chin to keep their airway open.

9. Pinch their nose and cover their open mouth with your open mouth, making an airtight seal.

10. Blow until you see their chest rise. This is one breath. Perform two breaths, letting the lungs relax between breaths.

Continue with the pattern of 30 compressions and two breaths until the emergency services arrive

You can get more training from RCL Safety Centre thru https: www.safetycentre.ng/training_register

At RCL Safety Centre this training is also available in different Nigerian languages like PIDGIN,YORUBA,HAUSA AND IGBO

Our company (RCL Safety Centre) is an indigenous company dedicated to Health, Safety and Environment Training and Services.

We are technical partners of the National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria (NISCN) as well as approved training partners of most major International Occupational Safety and Health organizations like NEBOSH, and corporate members of ISPON (Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria) with thousands of personnel trained in various areas till date.

For more information visit our website: www.safetycentre.ng

Email: sale@safetycentre.ng or mma@safetycentre.ng

Contact us on: 08099700070, 09057666623 or 08164363532

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