What to have during emergencies

CEBU, Philippines - First aid kit – should include medicines and essentials in the primary treatment for fever, diarrhea, cough, colds, wounds and other common ailments

• Flashlights, candles, matches and fresh, spare batteries

• Portable radio and fresh, spare batteries

• Whistle

• Cellphone

• Potable drinking water in sealed containers

• Basic equipment for the needs of infants, the elderly, and the disabled

• Non-perishable foodstuff like easy-open canned goods sufficient for three days

• Blankets, clean clothes, raincoats, rubber boots, tissue paper and other sanitary supplies

• Money, including loose change

• Large and sturdy plastic bags that can be used to store and protect various important items and documents

• Disaster Preparedness and First Aid Handbook

What to do during home emergencies

Once you see a patient/victim, immediately ask:

• Where did it happen? Is it a safe place to attend to the patient?

If YES, attend to the patient while waiting for help.

If NO, transfer the patient to a place of safety.

Unsafe places include: Road/highways, danger of falling objects/debris

•What happened? Is the patient responding?

If YES, ask him important information like: What happened, how it happened, where it hurts?

If NO, check for: Airway

Open mouth and check if air is coming out from his mouth.

Check for Breathing: Is there a rise and fall of the chest?

Check for Circulation: Can you feel the pulse? Is there any obvious bleeding?

• Ask for help: Tell would-be responders what happened, where it happened, how many patients there are, tell them to come immediately.

• What you can do while waiting for help: Do first aid. Monitor patient's condition. Talk to the patient. Bring the patient to the nearest health facility.

What to do with:

• Hypothermia - the lowering of the body temperature below 95ºF (35ºC). Cause: Exposure to cold temperature for a long period of time.

Signs and symptoms: Cold to touch, with chills, mottled (discolored) skin, rapid breathing, rapid weak pulse, slow speech, and drowsiness

What to do: Check consciousness (if unconscious, ask for help). Check ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation). Cover the patient/victim with blanket to keep him/her warm. If conscious, give warm oral fluids. Bring the patient to the nearest health facility.

• Heat exhaustion - a response to heat due to inadequate intake of water to compensate for loss of fluids through sweating.

Signs and symptoms: Cool, pale or red moist skin, headache, extreme thirst, nausea and vomiting, weakness, excessive sweating, dizziness, unconsciousness

What to do: Place the patient/victim in a cool area. Have the patient/victim rest with feet elevated. Loosen tight clothing. Give the patient/victim oral rehydration solution. If with convulsion, protect the victim from injury. If the patient/victim loses consciousness, give first aid. Bring the patient/victim to the nearest health facility.

• Heat stroke/sun stroke - a response to heat characterized by extremely high body temperature (more than 42ºC) and disturbance of sweating mechanism.

Signs and symptoms: Dry, hot and red skin; dark-colored urine; rapid, shallow breathing; confusion, weakness, convulsion, unconsciousness.

What to do: Place the patient/victim in a cool area. Check for airway, breathing and circulation (ABC). Apply cold sponge both. Loosen tight clothing. Place patient/victim in comfortable position. If convulsion occurs, give First Aid. Bring to the nearest health facility.

• Seizure (Convulsion) - a sudden involuntary and uncontrollable muscle movement. Causes: Epilepsy, high fever, infection, poisoning, drug overdose, low blood sugar, head and spine injury, brain tumor, and hypertension.

Signs and symptoms: Vigorous muscle spasm, twitching, jerking limbs, stiffening; upward rolling of eyeballs, warm skin (if with fever), blank stare, memory loss, loss of consciousness, drooling of saliva, snoring, loss of bladder and bowel control, and temporary absence of breathing.

What to do: Provide safe environment. Remove all sharp objects. Provide privacy. Check ABCs. If with fever (temperature more than 38ºC), apply warm sponge bath. Loosen tight clothing. Place patient/victim in side lying position if without spinal injury. Transport immediately to nearest health facility.

• Nose bleeding - relatively a common source of bleeding that can result from injury, disease, activity, temperature extremes or other causes. Severe, uncontrolled nosebleeds can cause enough blood loss to cause shock. Causes: Hypertension, trauma, dengue, vitamin deficiency, bleeding problems

Signs and symptoms: Bleeding from the nose, vomiting of blood

What to do: Keep the victim in a sitting position to reduce blood pressure. Keep the victim's head tilted slightly forward. Pinch the middle part of the nose for five minutes. Advise the victim to breathe through his or her mouth. Apply cold compresses to the nose and forehead. Bring the patient to the nearest hospital if bleeding does not stop.

• Puncture wound - a break in the skin with a small opening caused by sharp-pointed objects. Signs and symptoms: Minimal or no external bleeding, pain, tenderness, guarding behavior if with internal bleeding, paleness.

What to do: Wash with soap and water. Apply mild antiseptic such as Povidone iodine. Cover the wound. Bring to the nearest hospital.

• Amputation - cutting or tearing off of a body part or limb.

Signs and symptoms: Bleeding may be severe or spurting, severe pain, obvious separation of body part

What to do: Apply pressure dressing. Place the detached body part inside a plastic bag. Bring the patient to the nearest hospital with the detached body part.

• Avulsion - the tearing off of a part of skin/tissue.

Signs and symptoms: Bleeding, incomplete separation of body parts

What to do: Wash with soap and water. Apply pressure dressing. Bring to the nearest hospital.

• Near drowning - Near drowning is when a person is in danger of drowning. Drowning is when a near-drowning victim becomes unconscious and does not breathe.

Signs and symptoms: Swims unevenly and signals for help, blue lips or ears, the skin is cold and pale, bloated abdomen, vomiting of ingested water, choking, confusion, the person does not respond or cannot breathe

What to do: Shout for help. Send someone to call for an ambulance/transport vehicle. If it is safe and possible, try to reach the person. Use a long pole, rope, life preserver, etc. Then pull the victim to safety. If you must swim to the person, be sure you are capable or trained. Do not attempt to rescue the victim if you do not know how to swim. Take any floating device. When getting the person out of the water, support the head and neck. Check for responsiveness. If needed, give rescue breathing. Once out of the water, keep checking the person for response. Check ABC. Do cardiopulmonary resuscitation only when needed. Put the person in a recovery position. Immobilize the person as much as possible. If the person is vomiting, clear mouth. Remove cold, wet clothes. Cover the person with a blanket or keep warm. Bring the victim to the nearest hospital.