Importance of Hygiene in First Aid
Emergencies occur without any warning. It is important to know how to act during emergency situations. if there is a person who knows exactly how to apply the right first aid techniques at the accident scene, he or she can help save lives. Apart from saving the life of casualties, first aid protects him/her from further complications and helps speed up recovery.
Before you start the first aid treatment, it is imperative for you to ensure hygiene. You must take necessary precautions before administering first aid to prevent the risk of infection. It is important to avoid employing procedures that may cause complications in future.
First Aid Hygiene
Follow simple rules of personal hygiene while administering first aid techniques. This can help you and the victim get protection from contamination and infection.
– Wash your hands with warm water and liquid soap. You can also rinse your hands with antiseptic. Wash thoroughly between fingers and under nails.
– If the casualty is bleeding, wear protective gloves. Gloves offer sufficient protection when in contact with blood and other bodily fluids. Latex or nitrile gloves are better. Keep them in your first aid box always.
– Do not touch any unclean objects after wearing gloves and before giving first aid treatment to the victim.
– If possible, wear protective clothes over your outfits.
– Cover any nearby areas that are likely to spread infection.
– You can wear a mask or cover your face with a face shield while performing resuscitation.
– You must avoid coughing or speaking while cleaning or bandaging the wound.
– You should use only clean clothes, tissues, bandages and dressings. Ensure tweezers and scissors in your first aid kit are sterilized properly before use.
– If you need to give first aid to more than one casualty, you must wash your hands and change gloves each time to avoid infection.
– After giving first aid, clean up thoroughly.
– Dispose bandages, gloves, dressings and soiled clothing safely.
– Wash hands with liquid soap thoroughly, even if you use gloves.
– If there are any waste materials, place them in a plastic bag and dispose them in a far off place safely. You can get take help of your local health department to do this.
– If your eyes are contaminated while giving first aid, rinse them thoroughly with water or saline.
– Remember to wash clothes that you wore at the time of administering first aid treatment. Dirty clothes can spread infectious germs to your family. Hence, you must wash them separately.
Knowledge of first aid can help save the life of a victim in case of emergency. Cleanliness is important while administering first aid for injuries and illness to prevent you and the victim from various related problems. It is very difficult to cure an infection. However, you can limit the risk of infections by taking some precautions. Practicing hygiene rules can help reduce the potential for cross infection. Maintain strict sanitary standards under emergency situations to avoid long term complications. Print out this information to have handy in case of emergencies.
For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.
For more information, please visit our first aid courses website http://www.firstaidexams.com
Author Bio: For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.
Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: first aid techniques ,Emergencies,First Aid,Importance Of Hygiene