1-4. Adverse Conditions
- a. Lack of Oxygen. Human life cannot exist without a continuous intake of oxygen. Lack of oxygen rapidly leads to death. First aid involves knowing how to open the airway and restore breathing.
- b. Bleeding. Human life cannot continue without an adequate volume of blood circulating through the body to carry oxygen to the tissues. An important first aid measure is to stop the bleeding to prevent the loss of blood.
- c . Shock. Shock means there is an inadequate blood flow to the vital tissues and organs. Shock that remains uncorrected may result in death even though the injury or condition causing the shock would not otherwise be fatal. Shock can result from many causes, such as loss of blood, loss of fluid from deep burns, pain, and reaction to the sight of a wound or blood. First aid includes preventing shock, since the casualty’s chances of survival are much greater if he does not develop shock. Refer to paragraphs 2-21 through 2-24 for a further discussion of shock.
- d . Infection. Recovery from a severe injury or a wound depends largely upon how well the injury or wound was initially protected. Infections result from the multiplication and growth (spread) of harmful microscopic organisms (sometimes referred to as germs). These harmful microscopic organisms are in the air, water, and soil, and on the skin and clothing. Some of these organisms will immediately invade (contaminate) a break in the skin or an open wound. The objective is to keep wounds clean and free of these organisms. A good working knowledge of basic first aid measures also includes knowing how to dress a wound to avoid infection or additional contamination.