The difference between poisoning and accidental first aid

The treatment logic of the two is completely different from the root - the first priority of poisoning first aid is to cut off the intrusion path of toxins and reduce the damage of toxins that have entered the body as much as possible. All operations are carried out around the "source of disease"； The first priority in first aid for ordinary accidents (bumps, falls, burns, foreign bodies in the airway, etc.) is to prevent the rapid deterioration of the injury and maintain basic vital signs. All operations are centered around "existing injuries."

When I was doing first aid training for community volunteers on the street two months ago, I met an aunt who confused the two things. The scene simulated someone accidentally eating a poisonous mushroom. She would pinch the person first, and then lay the person down to prevent him from falling. She said that she had learned to do this when she fainted - this is actually applying the first aid logic of ordinary accidents to poisoning, completely inverting the priorities.

Don’t think that poisoning can only be caused by eating the wrong things, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, pesticide poisoning on the skin, and bites from venomous snakes. The core of these situations is that "toxins continue to enter the body." So your first priority is to eliminate this path: vomit if you can. If you eat something, take off your clothes and wash it if it touches the skin. If you inhale it, drag it to an open and ventilated place. If you are bitten by a snake, try to reduce your activities to avoid the circulation of toxins. By the way, let me make a digression here. There is still controversy in the first aid circle over whether snake bites should be pierced near the heart. One group thinks that piercing can delay the spread of toxins, while the other thinks that a poor piercing can easily lead to limb necrosis. In fact, they are both right. If you are in the mountains two or three hours away from the hospital, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If you can get to the emergency department in 10 minutes, there is no need to pierce. Just send it directly without having to follow the standard procedures.

Oh, yes, there is another small debate that has not yet been decided: some people say that no matter what kind of first aid, the first step must be to determine vital signs, feel the pulse and check breathing. Others say that as long as the patient is still awake and able to communicate, it is more important to induce vomiting and find an antidote first. The half minute saved may save some damage to the liver and kidneys. I worked in the hospital for nearly 8 years. I usually make decisions based on the situation: if the person is already unconscious and rolling his eyes, he must ventilate the airway first to prevent suffocation. If the person is still squatting on the ground and vomiting, then he will pick his throat to induce vomiting. Being more flexible is more useful than memorizing rules.

Talking about ordinary accidents, last year when I went to the police, I encountered a delivery boy who was scratched by a car and fell on the non-motorized road. His arms were covered in blood and his legs could not move. A young man onlookers shouted, "Is he poisoned?" Should I give him water to induce vomiting? ”It made me laugh and cry. This is a typical example of not understanding the difference - for injuries caused by external forces, the damage has already occurred. You don't need to care whether he was hit by a car or fell by himself. First, check to see if there is blood spurting from the arteries. If there is, use a clean cloth to hold it down. If you suspect a spinal fracture, don't move it around, don't feed it randomly, and that's it. There was a family member who nearly choked when his child fell and kowtowed while running. When he picked him up, he poured honey water and said it was "disinfection and soothing shock." This is a messy application of the dilution logic of poisoning to accidents, which is a bad thing.

A pitfall that many people easily step into is random flushing: poisoning by accidentally eating corrosive disinfectants, you need to drink milk or egg white to dilute it. However, if you accidentally swallow foreign objects such as nails or fish bones, if you pour water and vinegar, the foreign objects will slide deeper and even scratch the esophagus.； In the case of cuts or burns, the purpose of flushing with running water is to clean the wound and cool down. However, if the skin is poisoned by organophosphorus pesticides, flushing with hot water will expand the pores and accelerate the absorption of toxins. You must flush with cold water repeatedly.

Of course, this does not mean that the two have no intersection at all. The main premise of all first aid is to ensure your own safety first: to save someone with carbon monoxide poisoning, don’t rush in with your head down, or you will be knocked unconscious first and it will cause more trouble.； When rescuing someone who has been electrocuted and fallen, pull the switch first before touching the person. This is a rule that must not be forgotten no matter what the situation. Someone asked me before if gas poisoning is considered an accident? In fact, classification counts, but the processing logic must be based on poisoning. Drag it to a ventilated place first before talking about anything else. This is why I always say that you don’t need to memorize classification, and it is useful to understand the underlying logic.

To put it bluntly, you don’t need to panic when you encounter an emergency. Just think about two things first: First, will I get involved if I go to rescue you? Second, is this injury still getting into the body? If you answer "yes" to the second question, block the source of the toxin first. If you answer "no", you should deal with the injury that has already occurred first. There is a high probability that no big mistake will be made. If you are really unsure, don't force it. Call 120 and follow the dispatcher's instructions. It is much more reliable than guessing on your own.