Both adults and teenagers can acquire these valuable skills now by taking free courses that are offered in many communities, such as the Medical Self-Help course or a First Aid course.
The following information is no substitute for one of these courses. This basic guidance may save lives during a nuclear emergency, however, by helping untrained persons take care of the sick and injured when professional medical assistance may not be immediately available.
General Rules For Any Medical Emergency
1. First of all, do no harm. Often, well-meaning but untrained persons worsen the injury or illness in their attempts to help. Get competent medical assistance, if possible. Do not assume responsibility for a patient if you can get the help of a doctor, nurse, or experienced first-aid worker. But if no one better qualified is available, take charge yourself.
2. Look for stoppage of breathing, and for serious bleeding. These are the two most life-threatening conditions you can do something about. They demand immediate treatment (see pages [58] and [61]).
8. Prevent shock, or treat it. Shock, a serious condition of acute circulatory failure, usually accompanies a severe or painful injury, a serious loss of blood, or a severe emotional upset. If you expect shock, and take prompt action, you can prevent it or lessen its severity. This may save the patient's life. (Treatment of shock is discussed on page [62]).
4. Don't move the patient immediately. Unless there is real danger of the patient receiving further injury where he is, he should not be moved until breathing is restored, bleeding is stopped, and suspected broken bones are splinted.
5. Keep calm, and reassure the patient. Keep him lying down and comfortably warm, but do not apply heat to his body, or make him sweat.