First Aid and Water Safety

MODULE 3
First Aid and Water Safety

Baseline Vital Signs Assessment
• The following equipment used to monitor vital signs are:
1. Sphygmomanometer- use to measure blood pressure
2. Stethoscope- use to take blood pressure.
- use to listen to heart rate and respiratory rate
- use to listen breathe sounds
3. Wristwatch- used to count seconds to measure pulse rate and
respiratory rate
4. Pen light- use to examine the pupil
5. Bandage Scissor- used to cutting away clothes
6. Pen- Use to log-out datas and findings
7. Personal Protective Equipment
. Body Substance Isolation (BSI)
- Goggles - Surgical Gloves
. - Face Mask - Gown
Vital Signs
• Are the sign of life, an outward signs that clues to what is happening
inside the body. The vital signs that you will measure are the
following:
1. Breathing
2. Pulse
3. Skin
4. Pupils
5. Blood Pressure
Respiration
• A patient who is breathing independently is said to have spontaneous
respirations or spontaneous ventilation. Each complete breath
includes two distinct phases, inspiration and expiration. During
inspiration (inhalation), the chest rises up and out drawing
oxygenated air into the alveoli in the lungs. During expiration
(exhalation), the chest returns to its original position, releasing air
with an increased carbon dioxide level out of the lungs. Inhalation
and exhalation occur in a 1:3 ration the active inhalation phase lasts
one third the amount of time of the passive exhalation phase.
Respiration
• Breathing is a continuous process in which each breath regularly follows
the last with no notable interruption.
• Breathing is normally spontaneous automatic process that occurs without
conscious thought, visible effort, marked sounds or pain.
• You will assess breathing by watching the patients chest rise and breath
sounds with stethoscope over each lungs.
• Chest rise and breath sounds should be equal on both sides of the chest.
• A conscious patient who is speaking has spontaneous respirations.
• When assessing respirations, you must determine the rate depth and
quality of the patients breathing.
Rate
• Respirations are determined by counting the number of breaths in 30
seconds period and multiplying by 2. The result equals the number of
breaths per minute.
Age Range
Adult _________ 12-20 breaths per min.
Child _________. 15-30 breaths per min.
Infant_________. 25-30 breaths per min.
Quality of Breathing
• Normal Breathing- involving average chest wall motion. The patient
does not use the accessory muscle or abdomen while breathing.
Normal breathing is quite.
• Shallow Breathing-. Slight chest or abdominal notion.
• Labored Breathing- an increased in the effort of breathing, may
include grunting and stridor. The use of accessory muscle to breath,
nasal flaring, and sometimes gasping for air.
• Noisy Breathing- an increase in the sound of breathing may include
snoring, wheezing, gurgling, crowning or stridor.
Pulse
• Is the pressure wave that occurs as each heartbeat causes a surge in
the blood circulating in the arteries.
• The pulse is the most easily felt at a pulse point where a major artery
lies near the surface and can be pressed gently against a bone or solid
organ.
• To palpate the pulse, hold together your index finger and long finger
and place their tips over a pulse point, pressing gently against the
artery until you feel intermittent pulsation.
• Your first consideration when taking the pulse is to determine
whether the patient has a palpable pulse or is pulseless. When taking
pulse you should assess and report it’s rate, strenght, and regularity.
Rate
• To obtain the pulse rate in most patients, you should count the number of
pulses felt in 30 second period multiply by 2. A pulse that is weak and
difficult to palpate, irregular or extremely slow should be palpated and
counted for a full minute.
Normal Ranges for Pulse Rate
Adult _____________ 60 to 80 beats/min
Adolescent_________ 60 to 105 beats/min
Child______________ 80 to 150 beats/ min
Infant_____________ 120 to 150 beats/ min
In assessing the pulse rate in adult patient, a rate that is greater than 100
beats/min is described as tachycardia and a rate of less than 60 beats/min is
described as bradycardia.
The Skin
• The condition of the patients skin can tell you a lot about the patients
peripheral circulation and perfusion, blood oxygen levels and body
temperature. When assessing the skin, you should evaluate it’s color,
temperature, and moisture.
• Skin Color- assessing the skin helps you to determine the adequacy of
perfusion after trauma. Perfusion is the circulation of blood within an
organ or tissue. Adequate perfusion meets the cells current needs;
inadequate perfusion will cause cells and tissues to die.
Skin Temperature
• Body temperature is normally measured with a thermometer in the
hospital. However in the field, feeling the patients forehead with the
back of the hand is usually adequate to determine whether the
patients temperature is elevated or depressed.
Warm Skin- Normal Skin

Hot- indicates a fever or exposure to heat
Cool- maybe a sign of inadequate circulation or exposure to cold
Cold- indicates extreme exposure to cold.
Moisture or Skin Condition
• Dry Skin is normal
• Abnormally dry skin may be a sign of spinal injury or dehydration
• Wet, clammy, damp, or moist skin may indicate shock, heat related
emergency or diabetic emergency
Definition of Terms
• AVPU Scale- is a rapid method of assessing the patients level of
consciousness using one of the following acronyms.
A- wake and Alert
V- Responsive to verbal stimulus
P- Responsive to pain.
U-nresponsive
• Ausculation- is the method of listening to sounds within organs with
a stethoscope
• Palpation- is the method used if the auscultation method is not
applicable due to noisy environment.
References:
• First Aid Responding to Emergency Transport of the Sick and Injured.
by Adonis A. Mogol

First Aid and Water Safety

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

First Aid and Water Safety

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

First Aid and Water Safety

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MODULE 3

First Aid and Water Safety

Warm Skin- Normal Skin

You might also like