What is the difference and connection between poisoning and accidental first aid

To put it bluntly, both of them belong to the core category of pre-hospital first aid. The ultimate goal is to reduce injuries and save lives as much as possible before professional medical resources arrive on the scene. However, because the logic of causing injury and illness is completely different, the priority of treatment, taboos and even first response actions are very different. Many first-aiders who are new to the industry or ordinary people who are self-taught first aid are particularly prone to confusion and pitfalls.

It’s a coincidence that last month I worked the night shift with the 120 bus, and the police reports from two neighboring communities during the same period happened to be the most typical control samples: one was an old couple who picked up half a bag of wild mushroom stewed chicken in the back of the community in the evening and ate it. After two hours of eating, they started to have vomiting and diarrhea, and the son got off work. When I got home, I found that both of them were already unconscious, which was a typical case of food-borne poisoning. The other was a young man who had just graduated and was riding a shared bicycle to cross a yellow light. He was knocked down by a car turning right and fell two meters. He suffered an open fracture of his calf and a slight concussion. It is a common traffic accident.

If you have actually been at the scene, you will find that the first step to get started is actually the same. No matter what the situation, you must first confirm the environmental safety at the scene - if you are poisoned, you must first check whether there is any leakage of toxic gas and whether you may be infected yourself. For accidents, such as the scene of a car accident, you must first confirm that there is no oil leakage, no electricity leakage, and no risk of secondary traffic before approaching the injured person. After that, the first thing to do is to pat the shoulder and ask someone to check for consciousness, feel the carotid artery to check the pulse, and lift the lips to see if the airway is blocked. If the breathing and heartbeat really stop, no matter what the reason, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation first. This is the golden rule for all first aid, without exception. Oh, by the way, remember to call 120 as soon as possible to clarify the address and general situation. This step is more important than anything else.

But when you figure out the situation and start to deal with it, the difference is not bad. The core logic of poisoning is "blocking the source of the poison + promoting excretion and reducing absorption." When I met the elderly people who were poisoned by poisonous mushrooms that day, I confirmed that their consciousness could still respond to the outside world and that they did not have convulsions. I immediately induced vomiting and put two pieces of remaining mushrooms in the specimen bag. I sent it to the hospital so that I could quickly match the corresponding detoxifying serum later. If I had wiped the vomit from the corner of my mouth as if dealing with a trauma, and helped the person sit up, it would have been delayed for more than ten minutes, and the toxins would have entered the blood circulation more, and the subsequent treatment would have been several times more difficult. Moreover, many poisoned victims have no obvious surface injuries at all. You have to scan around for empty medicine bottles, uneaten food, or leaking chemical containers to quickly determine the type of poisoning. When encountering carbon monoxide poisoning, it is easier to drag the person to an open and ventilated area without asking questions. It will be more effective than any first aid measures.

Switching to accidental first aid, the core logic became "prevent fatal injuries first + prevent secondary injuries." When I met the young man who crashed that day, I touched his neck and back first, and confirmed that he said his spine did not hurt. Then I pressed the bleeding area of his calf to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, and then fixed the broken leg with a splint. I did not dare to move him casually during the whole process, for fear that if there was an invisible spinal injury, he would become a paraplegic if he was lifted randomly. If I had given him water to induce vomiting as if he was suffering from a brain twitch, it would have been a disservice to Chun Chun. Oh, yes, don’t think that accidents are all traumatic injuries. Drowning, electric shock, and burns all fall into the category of accidental injuries. The logic of disposal is to first get out of the dangerous environment and then deal with the specific injuries. This is completely different from the disposal of poisoning.

In fact, there are a lot of controversies about the two types of first aid on the Internet. Many people dare to popularize science with half-baked knowledge. For example, in the case of poisoning, whether accidentally ingesting strong acids and alkalis can induce vomiting? Some people say that it is absolutely not possible because they are afraid of burning the digestive tract. In fact, our clinical consensus is that if the accident occurs within 10 minutes and the injured person is fully awake, drinking a small amount of warm milk or diluted egg white can slightly induce vomiting. If half an hour has passed, or there has been vomiting blood, or the throat is sore that you can't speak, you must not induce vomiting to avoid secondary burns. There is also a fierce quarrel in the accident emergency room. Can the spinal cord be moved? Some people say that you must not move and wait for medical care. If there is an immediate life danger such as fire or collapse at the scene, you can use the multi-person support method to move the person to a safe place. It is much better than waiting to be smashed or burned. The rules are dead, but the person is alive.

In fact, for ordinary people, there is no need to tighten the boundary between the two. If you really encounter an accident, just remember two principles: first ensure your own safety, and then ensure that the injured person's breathing and heartbeat are normal. If you really don't know what to do, don't mess with it. Call 120 and follow the dispatcher's instructions on the phone. It is much more reliable than blindly guessing operations.