[louixo]

1. Cut finger. It's surprisingly easy for a person to amputate part of a finger—for instance, while chopping vegetables or using an electric saw.
Don't try to preserve the loose part by placing it directly on ice.
Do wrap the severed part in damp gauze (saline would be ideal for wetting the cloth), place it in a watertight bag and place the bag on ice. Then be sure to bring the bag and ice to the emergency room. The patient will be going into surgery, so he's best off with an empty stomach. As for the wound on the hand or body, apply ice to reduce swelling and cover it with a clean, dry cloth.

2. Knocked-out tooth.
Don't scrub the tooth hard even if it's dirty (a gentle rinse is OK)
Do put the tooth in milk and go straight to the ER; there's a chance the tooth could be reimplanted.

3. Burns.
Don't apply ice or butter or any other type of grease to burns. Also, don't cover a burn with a towel or blanket, because loose fibers might stick to the skin. When dealing with a serious burn, be careful not to break any blisters or pull off clothing stuck to the skin.
Do wash and apply antibiotic ointment to mild burns. Head to the hospital for any burns to the eyes, mouth, or genital areas, even if mild; any burn that covers an area larger than your hand; and any burn that causes blisters or is followed by a fever.

4. Electrical burns.
Don't fail to get medical attention for a jolt of electricity (for instance, from lightning, a power line, or home electrical cords), even if no damage is evident. An electrical burn can cause invisible (and serious) injury deeper inside the body. More than 500 Americans die every year from electrical burns.
Do go to the ER immediately.

5. Sprained ankle.
Don't use a heating pad.
Do treat a sprain with ice. Go to the ER if it is very painful to bear weight. You might have a fracture.
6. Nosebleed.

Don't lean back. And after the bleeding has stopped, don't blow your nose or bend over.
Do sit upright and lean forward and pinch your nose steadily (just below the nasal bone) for five to 10 minutes. If the bleeding persists for 15 minutes (or if you think you are swallowing a lot of blood) go to the ER.

7. Bleeding.
Don't use tourniquets! You could cause permanent tissue damage.
Do apply steady pressure to the wound with a clean towel or gauze pack and wrap the wound securely. Go to the ER if the bleeding doesn't stop, or if the wound is gaping or caused by an animal bite. To help prevent shock, keep the victim warm.

8. Ingestion of poison.
Don't induce vomiting or use Ipecac syrup (unless instructed to do so by emergency personnel).
Do call poison control, and bring the ingested substance with its container to t

9. Being impaled.
Don't remove the object; you could cause further damage or increase the risk of bleeding.
Do stabilize the object, if possible, and go to the ER.

10. Seizures.
Don't put anything in the victim's mouth.
Do lay the victim on the ground if possible in an open space and roll the victim onto his or her side. Call 911.

And when else should you call 911? Whenever you see or experience chest pain, fainting, confusion, uncontrollable bleeding or shortness of breath. The medics can get to work on arrival.

[cheri1122]

Good stuff, Louixo. Though if the bleeding were arterial, (looks like either a fountain, or huge intermittent bursts), I'd rather apply a tourniquet than watch someone bleed to death.
PS I'm glad no one calls 911 whenever I'm confused

[arkjarhead]

That's what they taught us about tourniquets in the Marine Corps. They even taught that it would be better for the person to loose a limb than it would be to loose there life, as you stated. One thing that was stressed during this lecture was tacking an ink pen or marker and writing a "T" and the military time the tourniquet was applied on the vicitims forehead. Something about doctors will need to know how long it has been there. I don't know if this is common practice in the civilian world, but if I put a tourniquet on someone I'm doing it.

[cheri1122]

That's an excellent idea, Joe - but in 8 yrs on the Trauma Unit, I never saw a patient with anything written on their forehead. And I would have, if it'd been there, because the Emergency Dept never spent any time cleaning folks up before sending them up to us.
Another example of how critical communication can be, and how inefficient we can be at accomplishing it, sigh.

[arkjarhead]

Don't get me started on ERs. The last time I had to take my wife in we were in the back for 13 hours. We were in a room in the back, but they had people lined up along the hall. A guy was brought in by the cops. He got mad because he hadn't been seen. They tried to explain they had 2 tramuas come in. He got mad yanked his IV out, and left.