From Chemicals
If a child has swallowed poison, do not try to make the
child vomit as this may make the child more ill.
If poison is on the child's skin or clothes, remove the
clothing and pour large amounts of water over the skin. Wash the skinthoroughly several times with soap.
If a child gets poison in her or his eyes, splash clean
water in the eyes for at least 10 minutes.
Take the child immediately to a health centre or
hospital. If possible, bring a sample of the poison or medicine or itscontainer with you. Keep the child as still and quiet as possible.
Strains and spains
SIGNS OF A STRAIN:
- affected joint begins to swell immediately
- joint may also turn black and blue due to the escaped blood from torn
blood vessels
- victim will experience excruciating, shooting pains at the time of
the injury because many nerves are injured in a sprain
TREATMENT:
- RICE treatment
- REST--Avoid using the affected part to avoid further
discomfort or injury. Gradually rebuild your exerciseprogram once the injury has healed.
- ICE--Apply ice (bags with crushed ice, cold packs, etc.) to
the injured area for the first 24 to 48 hours to prevent orreduce swelling.
- COMPRESSION--Wrap an elastic bandage around the injured
area to secure the ice in place. Do not wrap it so tightly thatthe circulation is cut off. After 10-15 minutes, loosen the
bandage and remove the ice. Ice may be reapplied for 15-20minutes every one or two hours for the first six hours after the
injury. As long as the injury is swelling, continue to applyice 3-4 times a day.
- ELEVATION--Elevate the injured area above the level of the
heart to slow the bloodflow to the injury.
- Thermotherapy (applying moist heat) promotes healing but should
not be applied to a muscle or ligament injury for at least 24 hoursbecause heat will increase the swelling. After the swelling has gone,
you should alternate applying cold compresses and moist heat to theinjury.
- To treat the injury with warm, wet packs, place a water-dampened
towel in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds. Check to make sure thetowel is not too hot before placing it on the skin. If a microwave oven is
not available, run a towel under very hot tap water, wring it out, andapply it to the injury.
- A sprained arm should be placed in a sling.
Most sprains take at least 6-8 weeks to heal.
DIFFERENCE IN SPRAINS AND STRAINS:
- SPRAIN--involves injury to the ligaments around a joint
- STRAIN--involves injury to a muscle or tendon
TREATMENT:
- At the time of the injury, begin the RICE treatment.
- For lower back strain, rest will often bring relief to the strained
muscle. If not, alternate cold compresses with moist heat, allowing atime of rest between the treatments.
Asphyxiation
Asphyxiation is a loss of consciousness due to the
presence of too little oxygen or too much carbon dioxide in the blood. Thevictim may stop breathing for a number of reasons (i.e. drowning, electric
shock, heart failure, poisoning, or suffocation). The flow of oxygenthroughout the body stops within a matter of minutes if a person's
respiratory system fails. Heart failure, brain damage, and eventual deathwill result if the victim's breathing cannot be restarted.
