Learning the basics of first aid 关于急诊基础的学习

  日常用语 更新：2007-5-5 阅读：  

Learning the basics of first aid 关于急诊基础的学习

This week -- get ready for a short medical education in first aid.

Most accidental poisonings are the result of common things like medicines, insect chemicals and cleaning solutions.

Victims are generally advised to drink milk or water as a first step. But experts say never try to give liquids to someone who is having a violent reaction to a poison. And never try to force liquids into someone who is unconscious.

Seek professional medical help in case of a poisoning. Save the container of whatever caused it. And look on the container for information about anything that stops the effects of the poison.

If the victim vomits, save material expelled from the mouth so doctors can examine it.

In the past, in some cases, people were often advised to force vomiting in order to empty the stomach. But experts have questioned this treatment. They say there is a lack of evidence to support it.

The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer advises parents with young children to keep syrup of ipecac. That medicine forces vomiting. But the person could choke. And some poisons can cause additional damage coming back up.

Millions of people know about a way to save a person who is choking on food or some other object. It is commonly known as the Heimlich Maneuver.

If the victim is sitting or standing, get directly behind the person. Put your arms around the victim's waist. Close one hand to form a ball and place it over the upper part of the stomach, below the ribs. Place the other hand on top and push forcefully inward and upward. Repeat these abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled from the mouth.

The maneuver is named for the American doctor credited with developing it by the early nineteen seventies. Henry Heimlich won the Albert Lasker Public Service Award in 1984.

Doctor Heimlich has described the maneuver as also an effective way to save people from drowning. He says the pushing action forces water out of the lungs. The American Red Cross and the American Heart Association disagree.

The heart association says there is evidence to suggest that the Heimlich Maneuver could do more harm than good to victims of a near-drowning. It says that at the very least, using the maneuver could delay other methods to start the victim breathing again. It says the maneuver should be used only in cases where the victim of a near-drowning is choking on an object.

 

The American Red Cross has changed its advice for treating choking victims who are conscious. The group now says a rescuer should first hit the person on the back five times between the shoulder bones. These back blows may ease the choking.

If not, the Red Cross says, then do five abdominal thrusts. It says to repeat these two steps until the victim is able to breathe or speak.

One person who has criticized the new Red Cross guidelines is Henry Heimlich. He argues that back blows can make the choking worse. Doctor Heimlich is eighty-seven years old and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Something else: the American Red Cross has stopped using the name Heimlich Maneuver. It only uses the term abdominal thrusts. A spokeswoman for the American Heart Association says Heimlich Maneuver is a term that people remember and understand. But she says her organization only uses it sometimes.

The question of what to call the maneuver may be the result of a family dispute that has become highly public. A son of Doctor Heimlich has been leading a campaign against his father's work.

Peter Heimlich says most medical groups have discredited his father's work except the maneuver for choking. And he has been disputing that his father invented it by himself.

He told the Cincinnati Business Courier newspaper last year that he considers his father's ideas dangerous.

A spokesman for Henry Heimlich rejected what Peter Heimlich says. He called him an angry son.

CPR is cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It forces air into the lungs and pumps blood and oxygen to the brain. Experts say it greatly increases the chances that a heart attack victim will survive, with little or no brain damage. CPR is also used for victims of drowning and other situations, like accidents.

The first step, after you call for medical help, is to point the victim's head back to open the air passages. Look to see if the person is breathing. If not, hold the person's nose closed and place your mouth over the victim's mouth. Give two breaths. Blow until you see the chest rise. Each breath should last about one second.

If the victim has no heartbeat, the next step is to begin chest compressions. Place one hand over the other and press firmly on the center of the chest. Push down about five centimeters at a rate of about two times each second. Breathe two times into the victim's mouth for every thirty times you push down on the chest

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