20 : The Art of NOT Being a Helpless Bystander WHAT TO DO IN A MEDICAL EMERGENCY
The Art of NOT Being a Helpless Bystander
Andrea Woolley, RGN, BSc I
f a medical emergency occurred, you would want to be one of those who knew exactly what to do, wouldn’t you? To be a helpless bystander, or learn later that there might have been something more you could have done, would be a truly awful feeling. Many people are in exactly that position and my very personal mission is to help ensure everyone has the knowledge and skills to cope in that emergency. It is likely that most of us will at some point be confronted with a friend, colleague, family member or complete stranger having an accident, heart attack, stroke or (far more rarely) anaphylactic shock. So in this article I will address, necessarily somewhat superficially, what you need to know and do to help a casualty suffering these specific and commonly encountered medical emergencies. It is not possible to learn intensely practical, vital skills from a book and hope to carry them out effectively. Such knowledge must be followed up by training in the practical skills required.
Allergens Cause Sensitisation
Anaphylactic shock is a life-threatening condition that occurs once an individual has become severely allergic to something. When sensitisation takes place, there are no symptoms or warnings that this has occurred. However, the next time the allergen is encountered, the person will suffer an allergic response. This sensitisation
www.bee-craft.com
reaction can take place at any time and at any age. The person may have had little or significant previous exposure to the allergen, be it prawns, bee venom, peanuts or any of very many others. Allergic reactions can take many forms and involve a wide variety of signs and symptoms (see Bee Craft, April 2015, page 36). The reaction can range from mild to moderate or severe. The most severe form of allergy is anaphylactic shock, which is life threatening and urgently needs immediate first aid. Anaphylactic shock is understandably a particular concern in beekeeping but, it must be remembered, is relatively rare, even amongst beekeepers.
Some of the Complexities of Anaphylactic Shock
The signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
are many and not everyone will get all of them, nor necessarily in the same order. Signs and symptoms may include a rash, swelling of eyes, face, lips, tongue and/or throat, difficulty with breathing, asthma, abdominal pain, anxiety (often described as a feeling of impending doom), dizziness, collapse due to a catastrophic drop in blood pressure (hypotension) and unconsciousness. Without immediate treatment, breathing may cease. If the reason for someone collapsing is their first severe allergic reaction, neither they themselves nor those with them will be expecting it. They will not (usually) have been prescribed an adrenaline pen. They
are therefore dependent on those around them knowing what to do. Rapid, correct assessment of their condition and giving the appropriate treatment for unconsciousness (recovery position) or lack of breathing (CPR) confidently, competently and very promptly is essential. The situation may be difficult to manage in beesuits, heavy gloves, in more remote apiaries and if beekeeping alone. All these issues need careful thought and pre-planning.
Would you Recognise a Stroke?
Much more common events are heart attacks and strokes which can happen anywhere, at any time and often with little or no warning. You have probably seen the stroke campaign posters in the press and media. The signs of a stroke include weakness of muscles, often on one side of the body. This may be visible as a droop to one side of the face, a lopsided smile or inability to blink in one eye. There may be weakness in one arm and/or leg, with
Administering CPR in a beesuit
May 2015 Vol 97 No 5
Andrea Woolley
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48