First aid

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment. While first aid can also be performed on all animals, the term generally refers to care of human patients.

The key aims of first aid can be summarized in three key points: Preserve life: the overriding aim of all medical care, including first aid, is to save lives Prevent further harm: also sometimes called prevent the condition from worsening, or danger of further injury, this covers both external factors, such as moving a patient away from any cause of harm, and applying first aid techniques to prevent worsening of the condition, such as applying pressure to stop a bleed becoming dangerous. Promote recovery: first aid also involves trying to start the recovery process from the illness or injury, and in some cases might involve completing a treatment, such as in the case of applying a plaster to a small wound

First aid training also involves the prevention of initial injury and responder safety, and the treatment phases.

Burns
A burn is a type of injury to flesh caused [1][2][3] by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation orfriction. Most burns affect only the skin (epidermal tissue and dermis). Rarely, deeper tissues, such as muscle, bone, and blood vessels can also be injured. Burns may be treated with first aid, in an out-of-hospital setting, or may require more specializedtreatment such as those available at specialized burn centers. Managing burn injuries properly is important because they are common, painful and can result in disfiguring and disabling scarring, amputation of affected parts or death in severe cases. Complications such as shock, infection, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome electrolyte imbalance and respiratory distress may occur. The treatment of burns may include the removal of dead tissue (debridement), applying dressings to the wound, fluid resuscitation, administering antibiotics, and skin grafting. While large burns can be fatal, modern treatments developed in the last 60 years have significantly improved the prognosis of such burns, especially in children and young adults. In the United States, approximately 1 out of every 25 people to suffer burns will die from their injuries. The majority of these fatalities occur either at the scene or on the way to hospital. Burns can be classified by mechanism of injury, depth, extent and associated injuries and comorbidities. Burns are caused by a wide variety of substances and external sources such as exposure to chemicals, friction, electricity, radiation, and heat.

Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. The fields of medicine (particularly veterinary) andzoology often distinguish a poison from a toxin, and from a venom. Toxins are poisons produced by some biological function in nature, and venoms are usually defined as toxins that are injected by a bite or sting to cause their effect, while other poisons are generally defined as substances absorbed through epithelial linings such as the skin or gut.
[1]

Some poisons are also toxins, usually referring to naturally produced substances, such as the bacterial proteins that cause tetanus andbotulism. A distinction between the two terms is not always observed, even among scientists. Animal poisons that are delivered subcutaneously (e.g. by sting or bite) are also called venom. In normal usage, a poisonous organism is one that is harmful to consume, but a venomous organism uses poison (venom) to kill its prey or defend itself while still alive. A single organism can be both venomous and poisonous.

The derivative forms "toxic" and "poisonous" are synonymous. Acute poisoning is exposure to a poison on one occasion or during a short period of time. Symptoms develop in close relation to the exposure. Absorption of a poison is necessary for systemic poisoning. In contrast, substances that destroy tissue but do not absorb, such as lye, are classified as corrosives rather than poisons. Furthermore, many common household medications are not labeled with skull and crossbones, although they can cause severe illness or even death. In the medical sense, poisoning can be caused by less dangerous substances than those receiving the legal classification of "poison".

Fracture
A fracture is the (local) separation of an object or material into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress. The word fracture is often applied to bones of living creatures (that is, a bone fracture), or to crystals or crystalline materials, such asgemstones or metal. Sometimes, in crystalline materials, individual crystals fracture without the body actually separating into two or more pieces. Depending on the substance which is fractured, a fracture reduces strength (most substances) or inhibits transmission of light (optical crystals). A detailed understanding of how fracture occurs in materials may be assisted by the study of fracture mechanics. A fracture is also the term used for a particular mask data preparation procedure within the realm of integrated circuit design that involves transposing complex polygons into simpler shapes such as trapezoids and rectangles. Fracture strength, also known as breaking strength, is the stress at which a specimen fails via [1] fracture. This is usually determined for a given specimen by a tensile test, which charts the stress-strain curve (see image). The final recorded point is the fracture strength. Ductile materials have a fracture strength lower than the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), whereas [1] in brittle materials the fracture strength is equivalent to the UTS. If a ductile material reaches its ultimate [Note 1] tensile strength in a load-controlled situation, it will continue to deform, with no additional load [Note 2] application, until it ruptures. However, if the loading is displacement-controlled, the deformation of the material may relieve the load, preventing rupture.

Shock
Circulatory shock, commonly known simply as shock, is a life-threatening medicalcondition that occurs [1] due to inadequate substrate for aerobic cellular respiration. In the early stages this is generally an [2] inadequate tissue level of oxygen. The typical signs of shock are low blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat and signs of poor endorgan perfusion or "decompensation" (such as low urine output, confusion or loss of consciousness). There are times that a person's blood pressure may remain stable, but may still be in circulatory shock, so [3] it is not always a symptom. Circulatory shock should not be confused with the emotional state of shock, as the two are not related. Circulatory shock is a life-threatening medical emergency and one of the most common causes of death for critically ill people. Shock can have a variety of effects, all with similar outcomes, but all relate to a problem with the body's circulatory system. For example, shock may lead to hypoxemia (a lack of oxygen [4] in arterial blood) or cardiac arrest.

The presentation of shock is variable with some people having only minimal symptoms such as confusion [2] and weakness. While the general signs for all types of shock are low blood pressure, decreased urine [2] output, and confusion these may not always be present. While a fast heart rate is common, those on blockers, those who are athletic and in 30% of cases those with shock due to intra abdominal bleeding [5] may have a normal or slow heart rate. Specific subtypes of shock may have additional symptoms. Types Hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive, septic, anaphylaxis

Snakebite
A snakebite is an injury caused by a bite from a snake, often resulting in puncture wounds inflicted by the animal's fangs and sometimes resulting in envenomation. Although the majority of snake species are nonvenomous and typically kill their prey withconstriction rather than venom, venomous snakes can be found [1] on every continent exceptAntarctica. Snakes often bite their prey as a method of hunting, but also for defensive purposes against predators. Since the physical appearance of snakes may differ, there is often [2][3] no practical way to identify a species and professional medical attention should be sought. The outcome of snake bites depends on numerous factors, including the species of snake, the area of the body bitten, the amount of venom injected, and the health conditions of the victim. Feelings of terror and panic are common after a snakebite and can produce a characteristic set of symptoms mediated by [4][5] the autonomic nervous system, such as aracing heart and nausea. Bites from non-venomous snakes can also cause injury, often due to lacerations caused by the snake's teeth, or from a resulting infection. A bite may also trigger an anaphylactic reaction, which is potentially fatal. First aid recommendations for bites depend on the snakes inhabiting the region, as effective treatments for bites inflicted by some species can be ineffective for others.

The most common symptoms of all snakebites are overwhelming fear, panic, and emotional instability, which may cause symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo,fainting, tachycardia, and [4][5] cold, clammy skin. Television, literature, and folklore are in part responsible for the hype surrounding snakebites, and a victim may have unwarranted thoughts of imminent death.