Survival Medicine 101 Part 5: How To Treat A Bullet Wound

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This week, Joshua Piven’s book “The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook” inspired me to write an article entitled “How to survive if you’re in the line of gunfire” . Most survival manuals don’t cover this subject and I think it’s an important topic, especially when disasters and crises often lead to violent riots and street shootings (as it happened after hurricane Katrina, in 2005).

Now, as much as I’d like to think I won’t live to see this happening, I’ve got to be realistic and admit not only that I might see it, but that I’ll also get caught in the middle of it. You may never know…

So now I know the basic survival measure to avoid getting shot, even if I’m the primary target. However, what happens if I do get shot? Or if someone else gets hurt right beside me? What do I do then?

I found the answer on firstaid.about.com, and I want to share it with you. So here’s what you need to do if you or someone close to you gets shot:

1. Stay Safe. If you are not the victim, practice universal precautions and wear personal protective equipment if available. Any situation that involves a gun is potentially dangerous, and rescuers are no help to a victim if they get hurt.

2. Call 911 as soon as it is clear a gun is involved. Surviving a gunshot wound depends greatly on how quickly a victim gets to a hospital. Ideally, a gunshot wound victim should be on the way to a hospital in an ambulance within 10 minutes of being shot.

3. Do not move the victim unless his or her safety is in jeopardy.

4. Follow basic first aid. If the victim is unconscious but breathing, keep the airway open and clear. If the victim is not breathing, begin CPR.

5. Control any bleeding. The classic way to do so is applying pressure on the wound until the ambulance takes the victim to hospital.

6. Seal gunshot wounds to the chest with some type of plastic to keep air from being sucked into the wound. This helps prevent the development of a collapsed lung. If the victim begins complaining of worsening shortness of breath, remove the seal.

7. Let conscious victims sit or lie in a position most comfortable for them.

8. Unconscious victims should be placed in the recovery position.

9. Do not elevate legs to treat for shock if the gunshot wound is above the waist (unless the gunshot wound is in the arm). Gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest will bleed more quickly once the legs are elevated, making it harder for the victim to breathe.

10. Do not give the victim anything to eat or drink, including water!

I also found a great video that shows every step you need to take to keep a bullet wound in control until the doctors arrive. I found it very helpful, I hope so will you.

That’s it for today. I’ll be back next week with more survival medicine methods and techniques. Until then, stay safe!

Also, don’t forget to check out more articles on www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com.

Survival Medicine 101 Part 4: CPR

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Last time I promised you I’d show you how to perform CPR correctly, in case you’ll ever need to bring someone back to life (or keep someone alive). I honestly hope you’ll never have to do this, but it’s good to know these things… just in case.

Now, I clearly remember taking a CPR course in high school, but I wanted to check all the steps again… and what I found was a bit more complex than what I learned. But it’s not that difficult, so don’t freak out thinking I’m going to get you through med school in just a few minutes, ok?

There will be videos, too, taken right from the University of Washington website, so you’ll see exactly how to perform every step of the way.

CPR for Adults

Step #1: CALL

Check the victim for unresponsiveness(shake or shout at the victim). If the person is not responsive and not breathing or not breathing normally, call 911 and return to the victim. In most locations the emergency dispatcher can assist you with CPR instructions.

Don’t forget to keep calm. Do as told and tell the dispatcher about any change in the victim’s state.

Step #2: PUMP

If the victim is still not responding normally to stimuli or if he still can’t breathe right, begin chest compressions. Push down in the center of the chest 2 inches 30 times. Pump hard and fast at the rate of at least 100/minute, faster than once per second.

Step #3: BLOW

Tilt the head back and lift the chin. Pinch nose and cover the mouth with yours and blow until you see the chest rise. Give 2 breaths. Each breath should take 1 second.

CONTINUE WITH 30 PUMPS AND 2 BREATHS UNTIL HELP ARRIVES

NOTE: This ratio is the same for one-person & two-person CPR. In two-person CPR the person pumping the chest stops while the other gives mouth-to-mouth breathing.

And here’s the video:

Now lets’ move on to…

CPR for Children

It’s similar to CPR for adults. If you are alone with the victim, give 2 minutes of CPR and then call 911.

Step #1: PUMP

Use the heel of one or two hands for chest compression. Press the sternum about one-third the depth of the chest (about 2 inches) at the rate of least 100/minute.

Step #2: BLOW

Tilt the head back and listen for breathing. If not breathing normally, pinch nose and cover the mouth with yours and blow until you see the chest rise. Give 2 breaths. Each breath should take 1 second.

CONTINUE WITH 30 PUMPS AND 2 BREATHS UNTIL HELP ARRIVES

And the video:

Now here’s a more difficult type of CPR:

CPR for Infants

You’ve got to be extremely careful not to break any bones or harm the baby in any way. If you are alone with the baby, perform 2 minutes of CPR and then call 911.

Step #1: Shout and Tap

Shout and gently tap the child on the shoulder. If there is no response and not breathing or not breathing normally, position the infant on his or her back and begin CPR.

Step #2: Give 30 Compressions

Give 30 gentle chest compressions at the rate of at least 100 per minute. Use two or three fingers in the center of the chest just below the nipples. Press down approximately one-third the depth of the chest (about 1 and a half inches).

Step #3: Open The Airway

Open the airway using a head tilt lifting of chin. Do not tilt the head too far back.

Step #4: Give 2 Gentle Breaths

If the baby is not breathing or not breathing normally, cover the baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and give 2 gentle breaths. Each breath should be 1 second long. You should see the baby’s chest rise with each breath.

You can see exactly how it’s done here:

And there’s one more type of CPR:

CPR for Cats & Dogs

That’s right. If you’ve got pets and they’re fighting to stay alive, then you should know how you can help them. Here’s what you should do:

Step #1: Remove any obstruction

Open animals mouth and make sure the air passage is clear. If not remove the object obstructing the air passage.

Step #2: Extend the head and give several artificial respirations:

A. For large dogs: close the animal’s jaw tightly and breathe into the nose. The animal’s chest should rise. Give 2 breaths.

B. For small dogs and cats you may be able to cover the nose and mouth with your mouth as you breathe. The animal’s chest should rise. Give 2 breaths.

Step #3: PUMP

A. For large dogs you may be able to position the dogs on its back and compress the chest just like for humans.

B. For small dogs and cats as well as large dogs with funnel chests, you may need to lie the animal on its side and compress the side of the rib cage. Alternatively you can position the animal on its back and press on both sides of the rib cage.

C. The rate of chest compressionsvaries with the size of the animal

Dogs over 60 lbs: 60 compressions per minute

Animals 11 to 60 lbs: 80-100 compressions per minute

Animals 10 lbs or less: 120 compressions per minute

Step #4: Alternate breaths with compressions

The ratio of compressions to breaths should be approximately the same as for humans – 30:2 Continue doing this until the animal responds or begins to breathe on its own.

There’s no video here, unfortunately. They probably didn’t have a dog-shaped dummy, but it’s great they thought about pets, too.

Again, I truly hope you’ll never need this info. But if you ever do, try to replicate the moves you see in the videos.

And don’t forget the essentials: CALL 911, PUMP the chest and BLOW air into lungs.

For more articles on survival topics, go to: www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com