Do: Remember the acronym RICE:
• Rest the injured area.
• Ice it for 20 minutes at a time (at 20-40 minute intervals) for the first 24 hours.
• Compress lightly with a bandage if you’ve managed to treat it before the swelling has developed.
• Elevate it over the level of the heart if possible to minimize swelling.
CHOKING
Don’t: It is everyone’s first instinct, but don’t slap someone who is choking on the back. You could force the offending object further down the windpipe. Let the person cough and don’t rush to offer water.
Do: Coughing forcefully is usually the best way to dislodge a piece of food. If that is not helping or the person seems unable to cough or draw breath, stand behind the person and deliver five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Check the mouth quickly after each blow and remove any obvious obstruction. Meanwhile, call a doctor.
If the obstruction is still present, try up to five abdominal thrusts—this is known as the Heimlich manoeuvre: Place a clenched fist above the navel and pull inwards and upwards.
POISONING
Don’t: Making the victim vomit is a bad idea—it can do more damage than good. Do not offer water either.
Do: Is it something they swallowed? Remove anything remaining in the mouth while you rush the person to hospital.
Might help: Bring the ingested substance (bottle or package) along for faster, more effective treatment. Keeping the person calm can also help slow down absorption.
Alert! Does the substance seem corrosive? Check for blistering or raw, reddened skin in or around the mouth. If you find any, the poison may also have spilled on to the person’s clothing, skin or eyes, so remove the clothing and wash the skin and eyes with cool or lukewarm water (a 20-minute shower, or until help arrives, should do).
FOREIGN OBJECT IN THE EYE
Don’t: Do not rub hard. Trying to pick out the object or brushing it out with a handkerchief or tissue can cause more injury.
Do: Examine the eye gently to find the object. Pull the lower lid down and ask the person to look up. Then hold the upper lid open while the person looks down. If the object is floating in the tear film on the surface of the eye, try flushing it out with a saline solution or clear lukewarm water.
Alert! If any irritating liquid has been splashed into the eye, don’t use anything except water to wash the eye (not even eye drops). Rush to the eye care department of a hospital for intensive cleaning; meanwhile, try to rinse the eye gently with clean, lukewarm water for at least 20 minutes and make sure you wash your hands well too.
ELECTRIC SHOCK
Don’t: Never try to yank the person away. Touch him at your own peril.