What are the differences between poisoning and accidental first aid

The core difference between the two is that the first priority of first aid treatment is completely different. Ordinary emergency first aid first stabilizes the current vital signs and then investigates the cause of the injury. First aid for poisoning must immediately locate the source of the poison, cut off continued contact with the poison, and then simultaneously carry out life support. If this step is missed, it is likely that the person will not be saved.

I have been running pre-hospital first aid for almost five years, and I have come across too many related cases to count. Last month, I received a call about a worker who fell from a height at a construction site. When I arrived at the scene, I first responded to apply pressure on his bleeding wound, put a neck brace on his spine to prevent secondary damage to his spine, made sure his breathing and heartbeat were stable, and then asked him how he fell and whether he felt uncomfortable. This is a typical accidental first aid logic. But last week, we received the call of three unconscious police officers in an old community. As soon as they arrived in the corridor, they smelled the faint smell of bitter almonds. They didn’t even dare to stay at the scene. They put on gas masks and dragged the three people to a ventilated area downstairs before they dared to feel their pulses and check their physical signs. Later, they confirmed that someone had thrown the leftover cyanide waste stolen from the laboratory into the trash can to evaporate. If I had followed the logic of ordinary accidents and checked the physical signs first, I would have been left at the scene.

In addition to the different handling logic when first receiving the alarm, the subsequent treatment paths are also very different. For ordinary accidents such as bumps, burns, and falls, after the acute symptoms are dealt with, the follow-up is to fight infection and promote healing. As long as the acute phase is over, there will be no sudden recurrences. But poisoning is different. Many poisons have a "false recovery period." Two years ago, I met a little girl who drank half a bottle of diquat. She was conscious when she was first delivered to her. She complained to me that she had a quarrel at home and couldn't think about it. After washing her stomach, she looked like she was fine. If it were an ordinary accident, We might have let her go after two hours of observation based on the logic of treatment, but we know that the toxicity of this herbicide is lagging, so we forced her to undergo hemoperfusion for a week to reduce the risk of pulmonary fibrosis. If we switch to ordinary trauma first aid, there is no need for this special detoxification process.

Of course, the industry will not draw too strict a line between the two. After all, there are more and more cases of compound injuries, and many practitioners feel there is no need to deliberately make a black-and-white distinction. For example, the driver who was involved in a drunk driving accident had both brain damage and lower limb fractures caused by the impact, as well as central depression caused by alcohol poisoning. At this time, it is impossible to classify the driver rigidly. Often, two approaches are dealt with at the same time. On the one hand, the driver is immobilized, stopped bleeding, and lowered intracranial pressure according to the requirements of trauma first aid, and on the other hand, he promotes alcohol metabolism according to the requirements of poisoning. Neither side can be delayed.

To be honest, we working on the front line don’t actually memorize the differences between the two. We all adjust flexibly according to the situation when we arrive at the scene. The only criterion is how to save people, but we must not miss a step in the core process. After all, a second difference may mean a life.