First Aid Advice for James Bond
I was raised on a diet of James Bond so after seeing Spectre this week I thought I’d use this week’s blog to offer him some first aid advice!
Be careful when landing feet first onto a hard surface
Jumping from a height onto a hard surface can cause the impact to ricochet up the bones of the body. We often suspect heel injuries after landing directly onto your feet from a height, but any of the bones from the feet to the skull may be affected and should be checked, therefore don’t dismiss pain that is in another part of your body.
Hand injuries
A common hand injury caused by punching is known as a ‘Boxer’s fracture’. It is a fracture of the 5th metacarpal, which is the bone in the hand below the little finger, it breaks when someone has hit something with a closed fist. It needs managing correctly as it can allow the little finger to rotate which can cause long-term problems. We are lucky to have The Pulvertaft Hand Centre in Derbyshire which specialise in hand and wrist injuries, I’m sure they’d be happy to treat 007!
It’s important to note that any grazes to the knuckles possible caused by teeth need to be treated correctly as they can easily become infected and infections from the hand can spread rapidly along the network of ligaments and tendons.
Life-threatening limb injuries
The ERC guidelines published on the 15th October 2015 have included First Aid guidelines. Within these guidelines they have clarified that if external bleeding cannot be stopped with external pressure then a tourniquet may be used, but that you need training on its use and application.
Tourniquets have gone in and out of fashion over the years, but due to evidence from the military that they save lives, they are now back in use.
Aspirin for Heart Attacks
If James Bond’s lifestyle eventually catches up with him he might also like to know that the 2015 ERC guidelines have also said that First Aiders can administer Aspirin to those people they suspect are having a heart attack. If they’re unsure of the origin of the chest pain though they are not administer it, neither if the person has a known allergy or known contraindications.
Cat scratches and bites
injuries from cat bites and scratches are another type of wound that get easily infected too, so wash them thoroughly with water and seek advice if there is a puncture wound or they become red, hot and inflamed or you can see any red lines spreading away from the wound.
Don’t forget when dealing with incidents try not to stay calm and don’t be shaken or stirred!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my different take on First Aid this week. You may also like these other blogs:-
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