Experts point out that correctly applied first aid can save lives and emphasize that many common misapplications in this field can cause dangerous consequences.
First aid trainings, which are included in the education curricula of many countries, are becoming increasingly common in Turkey. However, there are many common misconceptions about first aid interventions that save lives in case of accidents. Many first aid interventions such as slapping a person who faints, performing CPR on a beating heart, making a poisoned patient vomit, and hitting the back of a person with a blocked windpipe are known to be correct. First Aid Specialist Şerife Özütemiz, who stated that first aid applications made with the instinct to help in panic and panic at the scene of the incident can prolong the healing process of patients and cause permanent diseases, said: “The primary goals of first aid are; to save lives, to relieve pain, to stabilize the situation afterwards, to prepare for the emergency room, to provide psychological support. The last item is very important because the person who helps must also be cold-blooded. Reducing the risk of infection, rescue and protection, playing an educational role are the main important points. Among the public, people who experience obstruction are usually intervened by hitting them on the back. But this is a very wrong intervention. The person with obstruction should not be intervened on his/her back in any way. Encourage coughing. If the person cannot cough, they should be encouraged to cough by placing one hand on the person's chest. If you know first aid, if you have a first aid certificate, the Heimlich maneuver can be used.”
“When the spinal cord is damaged, it can cause serious disabilities”
First Aid Specialist Özütemiz, who pointed out that one of the wrong applications in first aid applications is the wrong intervention to the person injured in the accident, said, “Since we are very helpful people, we run to help in these matters, whether it is an accident or any first aid intervention. But some of them do it very unconsciously. Especially in the event of an accident, they pull out the trapped victim. In fact, this is something that should not happen because it can cause brain, neck or spinal cord injuries. When the spinal cord is damaged, it can cause serious disabilities.”
“When you say you will do more good to the patient, you will do evil”
Özütemiz, who listed the erroneous interventions made at home for burns among the public, said, “Burns are evaluated in three degrees. It is divided into groups as first degree, second degree and third degree. When burns occur, most of the mistakes made at home are unconscious methods such as applying tomato paste, applying toothpaste, applying yogurt and the like, and these can cause infection. Instead of these, burns should be washed with unpressurized and plenty of water for 10 to 20 minutes and then an application should be made to the health institution. It is absolutely necessary not to burst the swellings in the area where water is collected in the burned area. If the burn is very serious, the authorized units should definitely be notified. One of the different mistakes made can be poisoning. For example, there may be cases of poisoning from salt spirit during cleaning at home. Here, the patient is definitely not made to vomit. Because salt spirit is a very caustic substance, it damages the esophagus and trachea when the patient vomits. Therefore, when you say that you will do more good to the patient, you will do evil.”
“Heart massage should definitely be performed by people who have received first aid training”
Emphasizing that heart massage should be performed by people who have received first aid training, Özütemiz said, “In emergencies, if a patient's breathing and heart have stopped, if his pulse is not beating, heart massage should definitely be performed by people who have received first aid training. But if the patient is breathing or has a pulse, CPR is definitely not performed. If it is done, the working heart will also stop. Most people do it on the right chest, most of them go with the logic that there is a heart on the left side. But the biggest danger of these is that when done unconsciously, it causes the sternum to break. These are one of the serious cases that usually go to the emergency room.”
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