Here are 7 common first aid mistakes you should avoid:
Putting your head back during a nose bleeding
Doing this will make the blood run down your throat and you may swallow it. This move does nothing to control the bleeding. Swallowing blood can cause irritation in the stomach and you may vomit.
What to instead: Lean forward and pinch the tip of the nose. Most of the time, nose bleeding is caused due allergies or dry weather. Leave it for 10 minutes it will get resolved on its own. If it doesn’t help, immediately rush to a doctor.
Putting ice on the burn
This is an absolute no-no. Putting ice on the burn can cause frost bite and can even damage the skin. You should even avoid applying butter or toothpaste on your injury.
What to do instead: Run cool water on the burn for a few minutes. Dab it with a clean dry cloth.
Moving an injured person
If a person gets injured in front of you, never ever try to make him move. Most of the times injured people are moved to see if they are alright. But doing this can cause serious spinal cord injury and may even lead to permanent neurological damage.
What to do instead: Immediately take the injured person to the hospital. This is the only way to prevent further damage.
Putting heat on sprain or fracture
It is true that heat can soothe the aches and pain, but it does not help anyway to treat the sprain or fracture. Applying heat on sprain or fracture can only increase the swelling.
What to do instead: Apply an ice pack on the fracture for 20 minutes. Crush some ice and wrap it in a bag or a clean piece of cloth. Put the ice cloth on the skin. Repeat the same after some time.
Removing debris from the eye
A small particle of debris can cause irritation in the eyes. But rubbing your eye rigorously to remove the dust particle can cause permanent damage in the eyes.
What to do instead: Rinse your eyes with clean tap water.
Spitting on cut to clean it
You might have heard that saliva can wash away the germs, but it is not true. Saliva is full of bacteria and can make the wound even worse.
What to do instead: Run the injured area under clean tap water to remove the debris and germs.
Leaving an adhesive bandage on a cut
We often put antibacterial ointment on a cut, tie a bandage and leave it for a few days. But this does not accelerate the healing process.
What to do instead: Clean the cut and apply ointment on it. Put a bandage only if it is necessary, else let it heal in fresh air. If you happen to use bandage, change it twice a day.
Disclaimer: This article is not a substitute for qualified medical advice. Please consult your trusted medical professional for further information
