4 Emergencies -- 4 Things to Do Right Away
Time can be critical in an emergency. The steps you take during the first few minutes may help prevent additional injury, help reduce pain or perhaps even save someone's life.
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You can help in many common emergency situations but you'll need to remain calm to be effective. Sometimes, just pausing to take a few deep breaths will help you regain control. Then, use this guide to help deal with some of life's most common emergencies. Never hesitate to call 911.
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For a major cut that is spurting blood or will not stop bleeding on its own, use a clean cloth, gauze or bandage to apply pressure to the wound for several minutes. If the wound continues to bleed or spurt blood, you should get immediate medical attention or emergency care. If the bleeding stops but the wound is deep, gaping or jagged, stitches may be necessary for proper healing and, in some cases, to prevent unnecessary scarring.
2 BURNS
Burns can occur as a
result of fire, chemicals,
hot fluids, electricity,
prolonged exposure to
the sun or other causes.
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Major burns are classified as 2nd or 3rd degree burns. With 2nd degree burns, the first layer of skin has been burned through, while with 3rd degree burns, all layers of skin, and possibly other tissues, have been burned.
People with 2nd and 3rd degree burns require immediate medical attention. While you are waiting for help, make sure the cause of the burn has been extinguished. If a person's clothing is/ was on fire, do not remove it. Cover the affected area with a clean, cool, moist cloth – not a blanket or towel. Remain with the person, offering reassurance until emergency help arrives.
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Fractures are broken bones. If you think someone has suffered a fracture, don't try to move the victim; call for medical assistance and then try to protect the area from further injury by immobilizing the limb with a splint.
Splints can be made from a piece of wood, rolled newspaper or some other rigid material and should be longer than the broken bone. Use padding with the splint if possible, position it along the bone and hold it in place by wrapping it with gauze, cloth or string.
4 CHOKING
Choking occurs when food or a foreign
object blocks the respiratory passage in
a person's throat. If a person is unable
to speak, has a cough that sounds like
a gasp and his or her skin is turning
blue, he or she is probably choking
and needs immediate help to prevent
unconsciousness or death.
If there are more than two people present, in addition to the choking victim, one person should call for emergency help while the other performs the Heimlich maneuver as described:
Stand behind the choking person and wrap your arms around his or her waist. Tip the person slightly forward. Make a fist with one hand and hold it in position just above his or her navel.
Grab your fist with your other hand and make a quick, upward thrust, as if you were trying to lift the person off the ground. Repeat as necessary until the blockage is dislodged.
Do not use the Heimlich maneuver as described above on pregnant women, obese people, unconscious people or infants.
When You Come to Our ER
When you arrive at the Emergency
Department at Edinburg Regional
Medical Center or McAllen Medical
Center, a triage nurse will meet with you
to evaluate your condition.
We'll need to know exactly what happened, when it happened and what, if any, treatment may have already been performed. We may need this information before we can start emergency treatment. If possible, bring a current list of your medications, with doses, so we can check for potentially problematic drug interactions.
Emergency Rooms and Trauma Centers
of South Texas Health System
1. McAllen Medical Center
301 W. Expressway 83
McAllen 78503
956.632.4000
2. McAllen Heart Hospital
1900 South “D” Street
McAllen 78503
956.994.2000
3. Edinburg Regional Medical
Center and Edinburg
Children’s Hospital
1102 W. Trenton
Edinburg 78539
956.388.6000
Emergency Room services
in one location
Never hesitate to dial 911. You could save a life.
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c/o Marketing Department
1400 W. Trenton Rd. Edinburg, Texas 78539 |
