luckykaa

I read about a homeless guy helping out after the Manchester bombing. He talked about how he had to pull nails and bits of glass out of people. and this is something we always see in this sort of atrocity. A lot of people want to help.

He was a good guy and had the best of intentions, but my first thought was that he really shouldn't have done that. Removing shards from injuries can make them worse.

And I think it's important to be aware of this stuff.

• Don't remove shrapnel from wounds.
• Don't move people unless they're in danger.
• In case of severe bleeding, apply pressure directly to the wound. Use clean bandages if available. Don't use a tourniquet.
• Do try to get people into the recovery position.

More generally - other mistakes I've heard people make:

• Don't remove helmets from motorbike crash victims.
• Don't put yourself in danger.
• People are not going to "swallow their tongues". This isn't possible. To prevent the tongue restricting airways, roll the body onto the side
• If people are in danger and you can do so safely, remove the source of danger. If you can't then move the person out of the way.

To be honest, I think most people reading this already know this. Most of this is common sense. Still, people do make mistakes. An occasional reminder can't hurt.

Having realised that rest is for the weak, that there was a First Aid at Work course, that I felt this sounded rather useful, and that I could actually do it without interfering substantially with any possible upcoming contract, I booked myself on the course.

It sounded like fun. It was.

"So, I want a volunteer to play a victim", said the instructor.
"Oooh!  Pick me!" says the LARPer. 

Well, I did let the other people have a go occasionally.

I actually rather enjoy patching up major cuts and sprains.  Remarkable easy to forget essential stages.  Just the trivial things like, uhm, calling an ambulance.  Actually remembering everything to do a textbook recovery position was quite difficult. 

Have decided that I don't want to suffer a major injury in McDonalds.  The people from there were actually perfectly capable, but their sense of humour is a bit disturbing.  "He's dead.  Slap him on the griddle and serve him to customers". 

Final test amused me a little.  I have my own way of dealing with examinations.  Relax.  Play a game (I have backgammon on my phone).  Do the test.  Other people seem to get extremely freaked out by the prospect. 

So anyway, an now capable of dealing with various types of injuries, cuts, sprains, strains, fractures, headaches, low blood sugar (can spot one of them a mile off having a family member who keeps forgetting to eat), concussion, shock, embedded objects, poisoning, burns, choking, allergies, and much much more.   And will soon have a certificate proving this. 

Now I just have to injure people, so I get a chance to practice.