Chapter 13 – Emergency Care

A medical emergency may be the result of an accident or sudden illness. In Chapter 13, "Emergency Care," you will learn how to respond appropriately to medical emergencies. This chapter will explain how to assess the situation and the victim to determine whether to summon emergency help. It will tell you how to determine if a person is conscious and what to say to a dispatcher when you call to report an emergency. While this book does not provide training in CPR, it will tell you where to find a CPR class and why it is important not to perform CPR unless you are properly trained. This chapter includes procedures for responding to the following emergencies, including how to recognize them when they occur:

• Choking
• Shock
• Heart attack
• Bleeding
• Poisoning
• Burns
• Seizures
• Fainting
• Nosebleed
• Falls

Chapter 13 also tells you how to plan in advance for an emergency evacuation and gives you guidelines for handling disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado or severe weather. It will tell you which emergency supplies should always be assembled in your home and how to assemble a disaster supply kit to use in the event of an evacuation. "Emergency Care" will help you to prepare in advance and give you the knowledge to respond calmly and confidently during an emergency or disaster.