You can save a life!
You must have witnessed one or more medical emergencies in your life. Do you stand hopeless, knowing nothing about what to do? Don’t lose hope. Here’s a complete guide of things you need to do when you see someone having a heart attack or stroke.
Image Source: rd
You can save a life just by acting smart. Your act of kindness won’t go in vain.
1. Heart Attack
Symptoms:
- Chest Pain
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Pain in arms, neck, teeth and jaw
Image Source: healthline
What to do?
Don’t let the person walk or move
Give the person a dissolvable aspirin in water.
Call the ambulance immediately and tell them exactly that the person is having a heart attack.
If the person is fainting, ask them to cough, this will keep them in consciousness.
If the breathing stops, do the CPR immediately.
2. Stroke
When you think it is a stroke, you need to act fast. And remember these symptoms.
- F: Face Drooping
- A: Arm Weakness
- S: Speech Difficulty
- T: Time to call the ambulance
Image Source: strokeassociation
Other symptoms include:
- Numbness in legs
- Confusion
- Blindness in one or both eyes
- Difficulty in walking straight
- Losing balance
- Unbearable headache
What to do?
- Call an ambulance without wasting time. You can’t waste time in case of stroke.
- If he’s conscious, make them lie down on their side with their head raised.
- If he’s not breathing or having pulse, do the CPR.
- Unfasten the belts if any, and remove any tight clothing which is hindering breathing.
- Do not give the person any kind of medication without proper knowledge.
3. Epileptic Seizure
This is rather easy to be recognized. Following are the symptoms of an epileptic seizure:
- Convulsing fits
- The person might ooze out saliva from his mouth
- Shivering
The seizure usually lasts for 60 to 90 seconds but for the patient, it can feel like a lifetime.
Image Source: ytimg
What to do?
- Hold the person to prevent them from falling. Help them lie down on the floor gently without hitting the floor hard.
- Make them lie on their side so that saliva can leak out of their mouth.
- Don’t try to put anything in their mouth. It can hurt their teeth.
- Don’t try to hold them down forcefully.
- If the seizure have stopped, turn them over.
- Check for any injury that needs to be treated.
- Check for any vomit or saliva in the patient’s mouth.
- Loosen the tight clothing.
- Don’t give them water or anything else to eat or drink.
- Let them rest.
