Ways to Reduce Infection Risk:

• Wash your hands thoroughly and use disposable, latex-free gloves. If gloves aren’t available, have the injured person handle their own wound or cover your hands with clean plastic bags.

• Cover any cuts on your hands with waterproof dressings.

• Wear a plastic apron if handling significant amounts of body fluids and use protective eyewear.

• Dispose of all waste materials safely.

• Avoid touching the portion of the dressing that will come into direct contact with the wound.

• Refrain from breathing, coughing, or sneezing over an open wound while providing treatment.

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How to Observe a Casualty:

• Every injury and illness presents itself with unique characteristics that can aid in diagnosis. These indicators, helping to identify the problem, are classified into signs and symptoms. Some will be obvious, but others might be missed unless you conduct a thorough examination from head to toe.
• Examine a conscious person in the position they are found, ensuring any visible injuries are supported comfortably. For an unconscious person, the first step is to open and secure their airway.
• Use your senses: sight, touch, hearing, and smell. Be quick and attentive but also thorough; do not rush or make assumptions. Ask the injured person to describe any feelings caused by touch during the examination. While handling them gently, your touch should be firm enough to feel any swelling, irregularities, or tender areas.

What to Look For:

Symptoms:These are sensations the injured person experiences and can describe to you. You might need to ask questions to determine if they are present.

• Ask a conscious person if they are experiencing any pain and precisely where it is located. Examine that area closely and then any other sites where pain is reported. Intense pain in one location can sometimes hide a more serious, but less painful, injury elsewhere.
• Other helpful symptoms include nausea, dizziness (loss of balance), sensations of heat or cold, weakness, and altered sensation.
• All reported symptoms should be evaluated and confirmed by looking for physical signs of injury or illness.

Signs:

• These are details you discover using your senses: sight, touch, hearing, and smell, often during the examination.
• Common signs of injury include bleeding, swelling, tenderness, or deformities. Frequently observed signs of illness include pale or red skin, sweating, elevated body temperature, and a rapid pulse.
• Many signs are immediately apparent, while others might only be found through a detailed physical examination.
• If the person is unconscious, your assessment may rely solely on the circumstances of the incident, information from bystanders, and the signs you observe.
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