It was another day of exams in Milind's college. He was a second year student of Computer Science in an engineering college located at the outskirts of Chennai and was nursing an ambition of a lucrative career in the 'Land of Opportunities'. His father, already reeling from a financial crisis(Milind's sister was married 6 months back) had to run hither and thither to 'arrange the money' besides pulling a lot of strings to get him there. Today he got up a tad too late and had missed the college bus by a few minutes. He rolls out his newly acquired mobike and races off in a hurry to reach his college in time.
The unfortunate happens. He is hit by a speeding truck on the highway and is lying in a pool of blood. None of the curious onlookers do anything for what seemed an eternity. Atlast a Good Samaritan arrives and dials for an ambulance and transports him to the nearest trauma care centre but of no avail. He has been dead for almost an hour. The doctor rues, "If only you had brought him within the Golden Hour!"
The mortality rate of Road Traffic Accidents(RTA) in India, U.S.A., and U.K are more than 1000, 300 and 100 deaths/week/square kms respectively.
In general, pathetic road conditions, lack of ambulance services, lack of adequate knowledge of paramedics regarding first aid, public unawareness about road safety measures and first aid, fear of harassment by the police are to accentuate the percentage of mortality rate in India. The overall fall and success of the trauma patient depends upon the initial trauma care within one hour, which is the Golden Hour.
Requisites of Golden Hour Concept:
* Primary care of the patient at site of accident
* Efficient transport of injured patient from the site of trauma:
* Well equipped ambulances -meticulous transportation of the patient
In today's unpredictable world anyone could be the victim of a medical emergency. So what do you do when you encounter such a situation with no immediate medical help at hand? Bystanders or relatives not knowing what to do, or being too timid to try, have unwittingly contributed to unnecessary deaths and chronic injuries.
First aid is the initial care of a suddenly sick or injured person. It is the care administered by a person as soon as possible after an accident or illness. It is this prompt care and attention prior to the arrival of the ambulance that sometimes means the difference between life and death, or between a full or partial recovery.
It is important that quick action does not lead to panic. Careful and deliberate action undertaken without too much delay is most beneficial to the casualty. Try to remain calm and think your actions through. A calm and controlled first aider will give everyone confidence that the event is being handled efficiently and effectively.
The main aims of first aid are:
* To preserve life
* To protect the casualty from further harm
* To relieve pain
First aid has limitations, as not everybody is a paramedic or a doctor, but it is an essential and vital element of the total medical system. Each emergency is different so it is impossible to provide you with a precise list of things you need to do for every emergency.
It is beyond the scope of this blog to list the possible First Aid measures for common conditions. This blog is posted to kindle the interest to learn it by yourselves through the internet or by attending the courses which are being conducted by various voluntary organisations or by the hospitals.
A good online resource is the Mayo Clinic website.
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