What is the relationship between poisoning and accidental first aid?

At its core, poisoning itself is one of the most common types of accidental injuries, and poisoning first aid is a core component of the accidental first aid system—the two share the underlying processing logic of “preserving vital signs first and avoiding secondary injuries.” However, poisoning first aid has a large number of exclusive treatment specifications, which is an important supplement to ordinary accidental first aid skills.

I have been in the pre-hospital emergency team for five years, and the poisoning cases I have encountered accounted for about 20% of the daily unexpected visits. Last month, there was a food poisoning case in a community: a family of four was poisoned after eating cold fungus that had been left out for three days. The neighbor next door happened to have passed the general accident first aid certificate. When he arrived, he had his blood pressure and blood sugar measured. , he did everything right by laying the person flat and keeping the airway open, but he subconsciously wanted to induce vomiting for the child who was vomiting the most, but luckily he was stopped by us who rushed over - it is easy for a poisoned person who has become unconscious to induce vomiting and suffocate. This is a trap that only knows general accident first aid and does not understand the specific rules for poisoning.

In fact, there are now different opinions on the boundary between the two in the industry. Many grassroots emergency science personnel feel that there is no need to list poisoning first aid separately. The general principles of ordinary accident first aid can already cover 80% of on-site treatment needs, and the rest can be left to the hospital.； But most of us who come into contact with front-line emergency departments do not agree with this statement. Take common poisonings as an example. For carbon monoxide poisoning, you should give priority to moving to a ventilated place. If you accidentally take strong acid or alkali, you should drink warm milk first to protect the gastric mucosa.

To use an inappropriate analogy, first aid for accidents is like the medical kit you always keep at home. The iodine, cotton swabs, and band-aids in it are universal skills that can be used to deal with bumps and scratches. First aid for poisoning is the specially placed emetic tubes and activated charcoal packs. They may not be used at ordinary times, but in the case of accidental ingestion or poisoning, they are much more effective than general tools.

To be honest, when ordinary people learn first aid, they don’t need to worry about the subordination between the two. Remember two tips on poisoning: no matter what kind of poisoning, leave the remaining suspicious food and medicines to the doctor first. Don’t feed random things or induce vomiting before you understand the type of poisoning. It’s better to deal with it than anything else.