What is the difference and connection between poisoning and accidental first aid

Judging from the practical experience of front-line 120 first aid, the core relationship between the two is always centered on the underlying logic of "grabbing time and reducing the risk of death and disability." The core difference is that the first priority of treatment is completely different. The rest of the operations of follow-up support and medical preparation are highly overlapped, and in most scenarios even need to be cross-synchronized.

Last month we went to the old community in our jurisdiction for a clinic. The family called in a panic and said that the old man fell down and broke his head. We prepared a hemostatic bag and a splint for ordinary trauma and went there. Only when we arrived did we find out that the old man mistakenly took his grandson's anti-epileptic medicine as vitamins. Within ten minutes of taking it, he became dizzy and couldn't stand and fell to the entrance. He knocked his forehead and bleeds. This is a typical accidental injury secondary to poisoning. Fortunately, we had prepared general-purpose poison neutralizers and vomiting equipment on board the car. We first neutralized the conscious old man with drugs before bandaging her head wound. If we had treated the trauma first like an ordinary accident and waited until she was sent to the hospital to deal with the poisoning, the high blood drug concentration would have probably caused irreversible nerve damage, which is scary even thinking about it.

Many people think that poisoning is an accident, so why should we talk about it separately? It’s really different. Ordinary accidental injuries, whether they are broken bones, burns, stuck fish bones, or dog bites, are essentially injuries caused by external forces to the body in an instant. The first priority is always to deal with the most critical problem at the moment: apply hard pressure to stop bleeding if arteries are bleeding. If there is a foreign object stuck in the airway, do Heimlich immediately. If breathing stops, immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Get over the immediate life-threatening hurdle before talking about anything else. But poisoning means that external toxins continue to penetrate into the body and continue to spread. Even if you are still awake and can talk and laugh, as long as the source of the poison is not cut off, the subsequent damage will only become more and more serious. Therefore, regardless of whether there is any trauma from a fall or not, the first step must be to block all the channels for the toxins to enter the body: Orally poisoned and not unconscious, induce vomiting as soon as possible. If you drank corrosive liquid such as toilet cleaning liquid or sulfuric acid, Don't rush the sex, otherwise it will burn the esophagus more severely; if your skin is stained with pesticides or toxic chemicals, take off the contaminated clothes immediately and rinse it with running water for more than 15 minutes; if you inhale toxic gases, move to an open and ventilated place as soon as possible. Even small items such as rings and dentures stained with poisons must be removed first to make sure that no new toxins enter the body again, and then deal with other trauma problems.

In fact, aside from the priority difference in the first step, the subsequent operations between the two are really not much different. The pulse, breathing, and name must be felt immediately to determine consciousness. Unconscious patients must turn their heads to one side to prevent vomit from choking the trachea and causing suffocation. If respiratory arrest does occur, whether due to poisoning or falling, chest compressions and artificial respiration must be performed immediately. Even the precautions for sending people to the hospital are exactly the same, and they must bring as many "on-site clues" as possible: for ordinary accident victims, they will show the doctor the nails that caused the injury, glass fragments, and photos of the scene; for those who were poisoned, they will bring leftover pills, poison packaging, and even vomitus with them. This can save doctors a lot of time in investigation, and every minute gained may save a life.

Of course, this does not mean that all situations must be prioritized. There is also discussion in front-line emergency circles. If poisoning and fatal trauma occur at the same time, for example, someone drinks pesticide and then cuts the carotid artery, and the blood spurts out and cannot be stopped, then it must be applied to stop the bleeding first, and at the same time, let the family members nearby help prepare for vomiting and removal of poison. Two lines are running in parallel. Whoever is about to die should be saved first. You can't mess with the order of the operation manual.

To put it bluntly, it’s easy to understand. Just like when you deal with a water leak in your home. If a water pipe bursts and water leaks all over the floor, your first reaction will be to catch it with a basin or cloth, so as not to soak the floor. If the leak is sewage mixed with disinfectant or pesticides, you must first turn off the water valve to cut off the source, and then treat the water on the ground. But the subsequent steps of mopping the floor and patching the walls are actually pretty much the same.