First Aid and Emergency Response
Primary survey – DRABC
Danger (make the scene safe), Response (talk and shake gently), Airway (open, look for obstruction), Breathing (look, listen, feel), Circulation/CPR. Call for help early – in India dial 108 for ambulance. Do not move a suspected spinal injury patient unless there is immediate danger.
Core skills
- CPR: adult compressions 100–120 per minute, depth 5–6 cm, ratio 30 compressions to 2 breaths; use an AED as soon as available.
- Choking adult: 5 back blows, then 5 abdominal thrusts, repeat; if unconscious, start CPR.
- Severe bleeding: direct pressure with a clean dressing, elevate, do not remove a soaked dressing – add another on top.
- Burns: cool with running water for about 20 minutes, remove jewellery, cover loosely, no ice, no toothpaste, no butter.
- Fracture: immobilise the joint above and below, check pulse and sensation beyond the injury.
- Fainting: lie the patient flat, raise the legs, loosen tight clothing, ensure fresh air.
- Snake bite: immobilise the limb, keep the patient calm, remove rings, no tourniquet, no incision, no sucking, transport urgently.
- Recovery position for an unconscious but breathing patient.
Worked example
An adult collapses in the OPD queue. Reasoning: check danger and response; no response, call 108 and the code team; open the airway, check breathing for 10 seconds. Not breathing normally → start CPR at 30:2, depth 5–6 cm, rate 100–120, and send for the AED. Continue until help arrives or the patient breathes.
Traps
- Spending time searching for a pulse instead of starting compressions.
- Giving water to an unconscious patient.
- Applying a tight tourniquet for a snake bite.
- Putting ice on a burn.