6 Simple Steps on How to Give First Aid to a Gunshot Victim
This video made me cry.
FIRST AID FOR A GUNSHOT VICTIM:
Do NOT panic.
Do NOT carry them around aimlessly while they are bleeding openly.
Find a safe place.
Sit him up.
Get a huge piece of cloth.
Press HARD where they bleed from.
Get a car. Or an ambulance.
Go to hospital ASAP.
Many people do NOT know First Aid Steps for Gunshot victims.
The whole blood in a human body is about 5litres.
A serious gunshot wound that hits a major blood vessel can kill a person in 10minutes.
NEVER WASTE TIME with any Gunshot victims.
You must know what you are doing.
STEP ONE:
Find a safe place.
You need to do this to avoid you the rescuer being shot yourself.
So move the person away from the hot zone – for your and their safety.
STEP TWO:
IF they are conscious,
You can sit them up,
Lie them down especially
IF shot is in the chest or abdomen.
STEP THREE:
Get a huge piece of cloth.
Preferably clean clothes- but any cloth is okay- even if it is the victim’s clothes.
PRESS HARD where they bleed from.
DO NOT STOP pressing until they get to hospital and the doctors take over.
This is the BIGGEST step to saving that life.
STEP FOUR:
RAISE THE LEGS ABOVE THE CHEST.
If gunshot wound is to the arms or legs, press where they bleed from, and keep the legs up above the chest.
That helps reduce bleeding if gunshot is in the legs and ensures the heart keeps getting enough blood to pump round the body.
STEP FIVE:
DO NOT RAISE THE LEGS if gunshot is to neck, chest or abdomen.
Gunshot to abdomen and chest will bleed more quickly once legs are elevated, making it harder to breathe.
The victim will die faster that way.
Lie them flat.
And keep pressing hard where they bleed from.
STEP SIX:
IF you see bullet stuck inside the victim,
DO NOT REMOVE it.
It can make them bleed more. Leave the bullet where it is.
It may be stopping some bleeding.
Doctors will safely remove the bullet.
That is NOT your job.
Remember, you must keep pressing on the wound site.
FINAL LESSONS:
Please do NOT pour water on them.
Do NOT give them food to eat.
Do NOT give them water, alcohol or any liquids to drink.
They may need an urgent surgery to save their life and if they just recently ate anything- the food/liquid can enter their lungs and kill them.
If it is a gunshot in the chest, find a nylon and cover any open holes to the chest, then press hard over it to stop bleeding.
The nylon is to prevent air from entering the chest and causing lung collapse and sudden death.
But if victim becomes immediately breathless, remove it.
The main damage gunshot does is bleeding. It is the bleeding that kills people- not just the bullet.
So IF you reduce the bleeding by pressing hard with many clothes on the wound spot until you get to hospital, you will save that persons life.
I hope we all learnt something.
Dr Olufunmilayo
