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2. Responds to Medical emergency situations:

How do I handle emergency situations?

        In an emergency situation, it is sometimes hard to know when to call for help. A general rule of thumb is to call the fire department, ambulance, or police if you have to ask yourself whether or not you should call. Your instincts will usually let you know when you need help. Know the emergency numbers in your care recipient’s area. Most areas use the 911 system. If they do not, write down the numbers ahead of time and have them posted by the phone. The numbers you should have readily available may include: doctor, poison center, fire department, police, and family and friends. First Aid In general, you should NEVER move the care recipient when an accident has happened. Moving them may result in further injury. Of course, if there is immediate danger to the care recipient, such as a fire, then you should.

Signs of Medical emergencies:
  • Airway obstruction (choking);
  • Heart attack;
  • Brain attack;
  • Fainting;
  • Seizures;
  • External hemorrhage;
  • Shock.
Responds to Medical emergency situations.
  1. Heimlich maneuver, CPR (CPR and the Heimlich maneuver are not covered in this course. It is recommended that you get this training from qualified personnel. Most hospitals and ambulance services offer the training periodically. Check in your area for classes).
  2. Call 911.
  3. Positioning when fainting.
  • Fainting is a medical emergency, till proven otherwise
  • When a person feels faint-
  • Make them sit down or lie down
  • If sitting, position head between knees
  • When a person faints, position him on his back
  • Check to see if airways are clear
  • Restore blood flow by 
  • Loosening clothing/belts/collars
  • Elevate feet above head level
  • Patient should become normal within a minute
  • If not, seek medical help 
  • Check if breathing/pulse is normal
  • If not, do CPR
Providing safety during seizures.

Protect a head. The recovery position may be necessary to prevent chocking (aspiration vomitus) or to promote breathing (preventing a collapsed airway):

  • Kneel beside the victim and place both of the person arms close to his or her body.
  • Turn the person gently onto the side.
  • Draw the upper arm and leg upwards and outwards to form right angles with the body. This prevent the person from rolling forward.
  • Pull the underneath arm out gently behind the person. This prevent the person rolling backward.
Applying pressure when bleeding.

The most common first aid procedure you may have to perform is caring for bleeding.

The basic principles are:

  • Cover with a clean cloth
  • Apply pressure
  • Elevate the area
  • Do NOT remove any object stuck in the site, such as glass.
  • Do NOT remove original bandage, cover with another one if needed.
Recognize shock Recognize shock, heart attack, and stroke.

       The shock signs include:

  • Pale, cold, and clammy skin
  • Person may feel sick or actually vomit
  • Person may complain of feeling thirsty
  • Pulse speeds up but is weaker
  • Respirations become faster and more shallow

You will need to treat shock right away if these signs develop. After calling for an ambulance, treatment includes doing the following:

  • Lay the person flat, with the legs elevated, if possible
  • Cover the person with a blanket to keep warm
  • Do NOT give the person anything to drink, but you can moisten the lips slightly
  • Loosen clothing for better breathing and comfort.
The heart attack, and stroke signs:
  • Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. 
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
  • Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. 

Face Drooping Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile

Arm Weakness Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

Speech Difficulty Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “the sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?

Time to call 9-1-1 if the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital immediately.

In Case of emergency stay calm and take immediate action to remove clients from danger!