Traffic Accidents - First Aid

Sometimes it is difficult to say whether it is better for the victim to help the first drivers who arrive on the scene, or everyone to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

According to Dr. Karol Szymanski from the Traumatology Clinic of the Medical University in Poznań, it is very easy to injure the cervical spine during an accident. In the event of a collision, the forces acting on a person change suddenly and on a large scale. Your spine can be damaged when you suddenly change the direction of your body.

One of the main resuscitation measures is the immobilization of the cervical spine. This is not always possible. This is best done by trained lifeguards. - In case of damage to the spine, remove the victim from the car and place in the so-called. the safe position (which also involves bending the neck), often recommended in first aid manuals, can be very dangerous for him. Such actions can be taken without fear if someone just passed out on the street and fell, but in cases where the risk of spinal injury is high, it is better to proceed with caution, Szymanski advises.

According to him, the most important event before the ambulance arrives is to collect as much information as possible about the condition of the victim, which will facilitate the work of rescuers. If there is no danger of a burn, explosion or, for example, a car rolling into a ravine, it is better not to move the victim. Especially if they are conscious. Worse, the victims are unconscious and sitting with their heads tilted forward. Then leaving them in this position carries a big risk - In our conditions, 40-60 percent. victims who die at the scene of an accident die due to suffocation, airway obstruction, says Karol Szymanski. If you want to help them by throwing your head back, remember that your spine may be damaged. You have to hold your head with both hands - one hand in front, the other on the back of the head. It must be remembered that the hand and forearm of the hand behind the head of the victim must pass along the spine (from the hand on the head to the elbow on the shoulder blade), and then very carefully and slowly move the body of the victim. The neck of the victim must be tense at all times. Keep your jaw forward, not your throat. It is best if two people do this. Then one of them leans the body back and lays it on a chair, while the other deals with the head and neck, while trying to avoid displacement or bending of the neck. Few Polish drivers are able to provide first aid.

According to American studies, 1,5 million is needed to support a person who has suffered a spinal rupture. dollars. And the suffering of a paralyzed person, for example, cannot be quantified.

When putting on the collar, do not forget to set its size in advance and place the center of the back wall well under the spine. A worn collar should no longer be able to maneuver. Trying to change the position of the collar with excessive force can cause damage to the spine, said Karol Szymanski (first from right), a doctor at the Trauma Surgery Clinic of the Medical University in Poznań, during a demonstration of the collar. For the same reason, the collar should not be changed from the moment it is put on at the scene until the actual examination in the hospital. And sometimes the collars are changed so that the ambulance team that leaves can pick up “their own” that they have in stock.

ROOMS

According to the Association for Road Traffic and Safety Recz Improvania Ruchu Drogowego.

In Poland, 24 percent die. victims who received head and cervical spine injuries as a result of traffic accidents, and 38 percent. he becomes crippled. According to world statistics, only every tenth victim dies in this way, and one in five receives irreversible injuries. The association blames this state of affairs on the shortcomings of the main emergency equipment. Therefore, the association donated orthopedic collars free of charge to every emergency department in the entire Silesian Voivodeship.

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