First Aid, Workshop 6, 6/27/06

[blonde-doctor.livejournal.com]

Elliot is perched on her desk as the students file in.

"Hey. This is your next to last week. If you're enjoying it, I'll be around next term teaching a more advanced version of this stuff. If you aren't? At least now you know what to do if you ever come across a badger with a dislocated shoulder.

Today we're talking about burns. The severity of a burn depends upon its size, depth and location. Burns are most severe when located on the face, neck, hands, feet and genitals, when they are spread over large parts of the body or when they are combined with other injuries. Burns can lead to pain, infection and shock. They are most serious when the victims are very young or very old.

There are three types of burns, called "degrees." first degree burns are the least severe. They are characterized by redness or discoloration, mild swelling and pain. Overexposure to the sun is a common cause of first degree burns. Second degree burns are more serious. They are deeper than first degree burns, look red or mottled and have blisters. They may also involve loss of fluids through the damaged skin. Third degree burns are usually the most painful because nerve ending are usually intact, despite severe tissue damage. Third degree burns are the deepest. They may look white or charred, extend through all skin layers. With a third degree burns, there might be severe pain -- or no pain at all, if the nerve endings are destroyed.

With a first degree burn, you want to flush it with cool running water, apply moist dressings and bandage loosely. For second or third degree, apply dry dressings and bandage loosely. Do not use water as it may increase risk of shock. And with a second- or third-degree burn, the patient should get to the hospital as fast as you can manage.

There is also such a thing as a chemical burn, like from certain cleaning products. If that's what's going in, remove clothing on which chemicals have spilled and flush the affected area with copious amounts of water for 15 to 30 minutes.

Because it's summer, I'm sure a lot of you will be out at the beach, at least if it ever stops raining. And, blah blah blah, a tan can be pretty, but it's also very dangerous to go out without sun protection. sunburn is one thing. With typical sunburn, just take a cold shower, rub it down with aloe vera or something like that, and take a painkiller if you need it. Watch out for fever, chills or a rash -- those can indicate heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Rest and cold water are the best way to treat those.

So. As usual, there are some fake patients for you to practice on over there. Not too many badgers this time -- I think Danger Shop knew burns wouldn't show up as well on them. One warning, second and third-degree burns are pretty gross, so if you don't think you can handle it go and help somebody with sunburn instead.

Finally, I would like you to know how to carry an injured person by yourselves. Pair up and follow the instructions on this worksheet. Try not to pick someone way outside your weight class and throw out your backs.

[OOC: OCD's up. I'll be very slow to respond between 1:30 and about 10:30 p.m.]

Comments

Danger Shop Burn Victims

[blonde-doctor.livejournal.com]

Mod and treat as appropriate.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter started to treat a little girl who had weeping blisters on a red mottled area on her hand. It rather looked like she had put her hand directly into a fire. He started to bandage it loosely with dry bandages as instructed while trying to get her to stop crying.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"You always get the ones that cry," Parker observed, looking squeamish. "Do you want help? Otherwise, there's a mime who looks like he fell on a heating vent over there."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter grinned up at Parker. "I think I pick them rather. I have little sisters so I'm used to it." He looked over at the mime. "I'm impressed the mime stays in character even when oozing."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker grimaced. "Right. I'm an only child. That's my only excuse, and I'm sticking to it." She glanced over at the other victim, and rolled her eyes. "That knocking his head against an invisible wall is probably a cry for help. And I'd rather a silent one than a literal one." She shook her head at the squalling little girl. "I'll leave you to this, I think. Stop by and help me when you're done? I don't like ooze."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter shook his head at Parker's excuse, still grinning. He finished bandaging the little girl's hand and cajoled her into sniffling rather than wailing loudly. The application of chocolate probably helped with that. Purely to keep her from going into shock, of course. He called 911 and went over to try to help Parker. "Having ooze issues yet?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face in view of the mime's apparent agony.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Yes. Ugh." Parker looked up in frustration, and the mime pulled an exaggeratedly sad face as she tried to wrap his hand and arm. "Every time I try to put the dressing on these burns, the blisters break. And ooze. And I have to start over. I'm doing *something* wrong here."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

"Maybe if the bandages were looser?" Peter suggested, nodding sympathetically at the mime then taking a look. "Oooh, that looks painful indeed. Or I could attempt to steady his arm while you wrap?"

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Probably a good idea to do both." She sighed, and grabbed fresh bandages, then turned back to the mime, who was biting his other hand and exaggeratedly screaming. Silently. "Cut that out, or I swear..."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

"Yes, because I've heard that threatening people in immense pain is an excellent way of motivating them into giving you the results you're looking for," Peter said. "If you don't mind, sir?" he excused himself to the mime as he reached out to hold his upper arm and hand - in a non-burned location - steady so Parker could wrap the bandages.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker made a face, knowing he was right. "Fine. I'm trying, Mr. Mime. Hold still, and this'll be over a lot faster. And you won't have me glaring at you any more. And possibly, someone will give you a lollipop-- though probably not me." She very carefully wound the newest set of bandages around his arm and hand, looser than she had before, and with his arm steadier this time, the blisters didn't break. Parker let out a breath of relief.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter masked a grin at her face and just paid attention to the bandaging. "Looks good, I think." He nodded to the mime. "I think you'll be back to miming two-handedly in no time. Just watch out for the barbeque pits maybe?" He looked back at Parker. "A job well done?"

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"And thankfully, not just medium well-done." She grinned. "I'm never going to be Florence Nightingale. But at least I can deal with this emergency stuff better after this class."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter snickered. "No, I can't quite picture you in the long skirts of a Victorian for some reason. But that's all I'm hoping for too. If there's not a healer around, at least we can keep people from getting worse."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"You will survive to mime another day," Parker told her patient. "Unfortunately, from some perspectives." She grinned and stood up, rolling up the excess bandages. "Thank God for cellphones, helicopters, and modern painkillers. I swear, I'm taking a personal physician anywhere those aren't available."

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Just Jamie's luck. He gets a badger with a burn on his genitals. Luckily it's only a first degree, but he gets several scratches trying to treat said badger.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

Cally leaned over a poor severely burnt fellow who appeared to be having trouble breathing. She started treating the blisters and such, but stopped for a second when she noticed him staring off into the sky.

"What're you doing?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Listening to the birds," the victim rasped.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[peter--parker.livejournal.com]

Peter helped a man who dropped his cigarette and by some fluke chance set his pants on fire. The man stopped, dropped, and rolled to put the fire out, but the now exposed skin was red with blisters. Peter wrapped the man's leg in loose bandages and said, "Hang on while I call 911."

In the real world, he would have picked the guy up and taken the Spidey express to the hospital, but that didn't make much sense here.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter taking a page from his mun's experience knelt to deal with a girl who had knocked herself out and had her hand fall into a gas heater. It was an ugly mess and he gave silent thanks that this was a simulation and that she was unconscious. He followed the protocol they had learned in prior workshops for unconscious patients, loosely bandaged her hand, and called 911.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[upforachase.livejournal.com]

Cordelia wandered amonst the Danger Shop victims, but was distracted by the fact that Doyle's ghost was following her around.

She approached a man with bad burns on his legs and arms and tried to concentrate on him. Doyle was crouching beside Cordy staring at her.

Cordy started to treat the man, but was rather distraught, so was not doing the best job.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[like-a-sponge.livejournal.com]

Greg selected a rather pretty teenage girl with severe burns along her back and arms and gently began to treat her.

As he did so, he told her all about how he had spent the week as a hedgehog. No one could ever say that Greg Sanders didn't have a good beside manner.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel treated a little boy who had a mild burn from putting his hand up against a hot barbaque grill. After treating the burn appropriately, she patted his head and sent him on his way with a warning to listen to his mother when she said something was hot.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[multiplez]

Z treated a teenaged girl with severe second degree burns on the bottom of her feet from walking some distance barefoot on hot asphalt as the mun did once while in shock after a car wreck. She carefully dressed the burns and called 911.

I wouldn't recommend it.

Re: General Class Stuff, First Aid, 6/27

[union-jane.livejournal.com]

Seras wasn't squeamish about second or third degree burns, and wouldn't have shrunk from helping a patient to deal with them. However, she decided to come to the aid of someone she knew from her mun's own experience would be grateful to have a female helping her.

"You know," Seras said as she applied the aloe vera, "If you're going to be working around espresso machines, it might be a good idea to wear tops with higher necklines. Just a thought..."

Yes, Seras knew she was talking to a hologram. It was still a valid point.

Re: Danger Shop Burn Victims

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn ended up with a stereotypical geeky guy with a chemical burn on his right hand from where a beaker had exploded. She helped him take off his button down, resisted his extremely lame pick-up lines, and spent the next twenty minutes dousing his arm with water.