In emergency situations it is essential that you get First Aid at the earliest. But there are certain mistakes that we do while giving First Aid that can cause greater harm rather than relief in an injury.
Here are the first aid mistakes that we might have been making and should stop at once:
- Tilting head back with a nose bleed
This is the mistake that most people make when they suffer from a nosebleed.
As a matter of fact if the nosebleed is serious, the blood can go down the throat and irritate it.
Sometimes it can even go down into the stomach and disturb the lining in the stomach and cause vomiting and diarrhea.
What you should do instead: Pinch the nose till the bleeding reduces or stops. This pressure should be applied to the nose for at least 5 minutes to have any effect.
- Remove gauze from a bleeding wound
Doctors say that you should only add more gauze to the existing bleeding wound and not try to remove the gauze from a bleeding wound.
The removal of gauze from a bleeding wound will only cause it to bleed further and disrupt the repair progress so far.
What you should do instead: Wrap more gauze over the old gauze. But if you have already pulled off the gauze over the bleeding wound then clean the area under running water, apply pressure, spread an antibiotic cream and wrap with fresh new gauze.
- Applying butter burn long enough
Burns need a lot of cooling. The burn goes under the skin and destroys the tissue in your skin and body.
Butter is a fat or oil that will trap the heat so will only make the burn worse and even make it septic.
A few seconds under cool water is not sufficient, as that will cool only the surface of the wound.
What you should do instead: Hold your burn under cold water for at least 20 minutes so that cold will soak in and prevent damage to the tissues under the skin.
- Digging for debris in the eye
When something gets into your eye it might not be such a good idea to use your fingers to find the particle. You might cause damage by digging in for the dirt in the eye.
What you should do instead: Cover the eye with a cup to prevent anything else from going in. The only reason you should be washing your eyes with water if any chemical got into it.
- Using hydrogen peroxide for minor scrapes and wounds
As kids whenever we fell, the nurse would always apply alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on the wound with the intention of disinfecting the wound.
What most of us don’t know is that hydrogen peroxide actually damages the body’s cells that are trying to come to the rescue of the wound and push out the germs and bacteria.
It evens destroys the tissues and capillaries of the body that aid in the healing process.
What you should do instead: Clean the wound under running water, pat dry and apply an antibiotic cream and cover using a gauze or band aid so that it prevents reinjuring or other foreign bodies from entering and causing an infection.
- Hyperventilating into paper bag
When a person panics he or she starts hyperventilating. They need more oxygen.
By limiting their oxygen supply to that of the paper bag, they are making a mistake and reducing oxygen flow in the blood.
What you should do instead: Practice calm and deep breathing. Being calm and composed is the key to recovering fast.
- Tying and cutting a snake bite
A snake bit can be a dangerous emergency. Most of us follow what we see in the movies by tying the area just above the wound thinking that it will prevent the venom from spreading to the rest of the body.
While the rest even attempt to cut the area to let venom flow off.
What you should do instead: Contact the nearest hospital and try to get them to the closest medical center as time is critical in snake bites. If possible take the snake along for easy identification and even creating anecdote for the bite.
- Peeing on a jelly fish sting
A jelly fish sting can be quiet painful. It can sting and even cause allergic reactions.
The age old remedy of urinating on a jellyfish sting does not hold good. It might relieve the pain and cool the area but since urine contains the waste from your body, including ammonia, treatment with this method will only make it worse.
What you should do instead: Wash the area using vinegar so that it prevents the tentacles from injecting venom into your body. You should also remove the tentacles using a pair of tweezers or even shaving off the area.
If there is any sign of shock, swelling, hives or breathlessness, rush to the hospital immediately.
- Placing something in mouth of person having seizure
In most cases people place any object in the mouth of the person having a seizure. This should not be done as it can tear the muscles of the person seizing or even risk of swallowing the object and even cause harm to fingers of the person placing the object.
What you should do instead: Place them on their side and patiently wait for the seizure to get over. Keep all objects or any other things that can cause injury to the person seizing away from his immediate surrounding so that there is no risk of injury.
Written by: Rasha Ashraf
