Accidents are common in human life. A life without facing even a single accident is very very rare. Being a member of an advanced society we must be aware of the methods of recovery from different accidents rather than thinking about the rescue methods after occuring the accidents. ( It is our common practice to cry over the happened without taking care till its occurance ). It is important to take the person injured to the hospital. But before that at the spot of accident itself we have to give some first aid to save his life. In that anxious situation all will make hurry to take the person caught in accident  to nearest hospital. But an educated man should first think about the first aid that can be given at the spot itself. But by taking too much time for first aid and there by delaying to reach hospital may also invite death.

First Aid is the first and immediate treatment given to a person caught in an accident , to save his life or to give him some relief. The First Aid  giving man should not prescribe any medicine unless he is a doctor.

We hear different variety of accidents like fire accidents , motor accidents , poisons and water accidents. We can look some of these accidents and the First Aid given to them.

Fire Accidents:-

Accidents due to fire are now common. It may be due to the large use of cooking gas nowadays. Also we hear short circuit in electrical circuits that lead to catching fire in unexpected hours. Forest fire is another accident due to carelessness.

Kitchen is the most common area of fire accidents.The fire accidents that occur commonly in our kitchens can be classified as Burns and Scalds. If the fire accident is due to low humidity  substances we can call it burns. Direct fire, hot metals, electricity, concentrated acids , hot gases etc are some agents that cause burns.

If the fire accident is due to boiled liquids it is called scalds. Boiled water, melted ghee, boiled oil, melted tar, steam etc are agents causing scalds.

Now we can look different accidents coming under this itself. One of the common accident that we hear and witness in kitchen is catching fire to dresses. First of all we should take some precautions while working in kitchen and near fire. The dress should not be too loose and long so that it rest in kitchen while the man wearing it is in dining room! Also try to avoid silk and nylon cloths in kitchen. Always use cotton clothes. This is because the silk and nylon clothes get sticked to the body when caught fire. It will cause severe injury then.

So if your dress caught fire by accident, immediately lie on floor and roll there pressing tightly on floor to put off the fire at the earliest. Never try to run because by running, fire will boost instead of extinguishing. Also you can use thick blanket ( remember the blanket to be thick enough , else it also will catch fire and make the burn worst ) or carpet to cover the fire caught to your dress and there by to extinguish it suddenly. Most of us will advise to run to the bath room and to shower water to extinguish fire. But it will also cause severe injury since the sudden cooling causes liberation of high heat to body. So never rush to bathroom or jump to well / pond.

Now what to do if the fire  has extinguished ? First of all allow the burned area to get enough air. The burned area should not be covered at all immediately. After some time cover it with germ free cotton or cloth. To reduce the pain you may pour cold water over the wound. Also give him water to drink. Never try to brake the bubbles that formed around the wound. It should be kept as so. The dress parts should not be removed by the first aid giving person. If the burn is severe the person should be taken to hospital immediately.

Some persons pour or apply ink on burns. Never pour or apply ink on burns. Also never apply ointment or any such things on wounds due to burn. You are also expected not to touch these wounds with bare hands.

These are the first aids for all types of burns occuring in our home. But regarding students, they are prone to accidental burns in their laboratory also during experiment conducting. In chemistry lab, accidents due to chemicals like acids are common while in physics lab bursting of capacitor and other electrical accidents are common. So let us look the first aid in that cases.

Burns due to Chemicals:-

In chemistry lab burns are caused mainly either by an acid or by an alkali. A first aid giving man should be aware of the agent that caused the burn. If it is an acid burn treat it with a dilute alkaline solution. If it is an alkaline  burn treat it with a dilute acidic solution. Also pour plenty of pure cold water over the burns. If the burn is due to concentrated acids it will be severe and hence should be taken to hospital immediately.

Eye burns :-

Eye is one of the five sense organs of our body. So it should be kept away from accidents in all possible manners. In laboratory experiments we should be vigilant about our own eye to secure it from any accident. If a burn occurs on eye wash the eye with cold water. Wet a cotton cloth and press on eye with it to get relief from pain. If the burn is due to acid dilute sodium bi carbonate ( baking soda ) solution (about 2%) can be used as the neutralising agent. If the burn is due to alkali, we can use acetic acid (vinagiri) as neutralising agent. After neutralisation bandage it well and take to hospital.

- Abid Areacode