Do nothing. The first thing to do in a crisis is nothing. Take your pulse. If you or a family member is not injured or dying, it’s not much of an emergency. Relax. If the caregiver is stressed and panicking, he is less effective in providing the best care for the patient. If you can open an airway and stop bleeding, and then keep calm, simply waiting may be the best medicine. Often what is needed is basic support and someone who is prepared to watch and see what will happen without complicating the situation with what may be non-essential treatment.
Do no harm. Whatever you do should improve the situation for the patient, not make things worse. When in doubt, don’t do anything.
Wash your hands. Part of doing no harm is to always wash your hands properly so that you aren’t spreading disease and making a bad situation worse.
Comfort. A comfortable bed, warm meal, and listening ear fix a lot of problems.
Rest. If it hurts, rest it. This is for acute injuries—sprains and strains in general. Rest it for 2-3 days, then begin with mild to moderate exercise.
The placebo effect is extremely effective in some people. It has a better success rate than any doctor. The best caregivers are people who can listen and empathize. Notice I said caregiver, not doctor.
Most problems resolve on their own. Doing nothing is often better than doing something. No matter what we do, about 90% of problems will get better by themselves. Be patient. How many times have I had my children come to me with a pain—they don’t know what is going on. I take a look at their overall appearance—color, eyes, appetite, demeanor, energy level, etc.—and ask a little history. I ask them to wait a day before we consider a doctor. The vast majority of the time it’s something fleeting and I never hear back about it.
You need to know these things and be able to practice them in caring for others. Even if there is a serious problem, doing all of the above first will give you time to think and research and come up with what may be a better solution. And finally,
Knowledge is power. When there is a real problem, knowing what is wrong, what if anything can be done, and how long before the patient will start feeling better goes a long ways toward calming the patient, which will help him feel better.
Links to related posts:
Keeping Calm in Medical Emergencies
12.15.20
Protect the Caregivers. No advantage to rushing to the emergency and get INVOLVED in it. No advantage checking out the breathing issues of that visitor to catch the nasty flu from them.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have to protect the Caregiver from Themselves as they run themselves ragged and thus fall prey to some bug or accident themselves.
I've responded as EMS to a situation where a BBQ flared up badly burning the Dad to flare back up again in time to burn the Mom.
Happily, the kids knew to call 911 and get us into the scene. Face burns often include the breathing, not good.
Sorry incomplete thought. Personal Protective Gear PPE is Important. A moment putting on a surgical mask and handwashing might keep the nasty flu from the rest of the family.
ReplyDelete