An unconscious ambulance is a set of medical emergency procedures and interventions that a trained person can perform to preserve the patient's life until he receives appropriate medical treatment.
State of unconsciousness
Loss of consciousness occurs when the patient loses the ability to respond to various stimuli suddenly and without warning, and appears asleep then. Depending on the patient's condition, loss of consciousness can last for seconds and last for a long time.
The unconscious does not respond to the loud noise or shaking, and the victim's breathing may stop in some cases and his pulse may weaken. It is a condition that requires a direct emergency intervention, and the sooner the injured undergoes appropriate medical intervention, the better his chance of survival.
Causes of loss of consciousness
Loss of consciousness is caused by a severe illness or injury, or as a result of drug use or alcohol abuse.
Causes of loss of consciousness:
Car accidents.
Severe blood loss.
A blow to the chest or head.
An overdose of a medicine
Alcohol intoxication.
A person may lose consciousness temporarily when the body undergoes sudden changes, including:
Low blood sugar.
Low blood pressure.
Fainting, which is the loss of consciousness due to lack of blood supply to the brain.
Neurogenic syncope, which is the loss of consciousness resulting from an epileptic attack, stroke, or transient ischemic attack.
Dehydration
Heart rhythm disturbances.
Stress
Hyperventilation
Signs of possible loss of consciousness
Sudden inability to respond.
Slurred speech.
Rapid heartbeat.
Confusion.
Dizziness
Interrupted response of the patient (does not respond to movement, touch, sound, or other stimuli).
And after the victim loses consciousness, the following symptoms may occur:
Amnesia: Failure to remember events before, during and after the period of unconsciousness.
Confusion.
Dizziness
Headache.
Inability to speak or move any part of the body (a sign of a stroke).
Dizziness
Loss of control of the anal and urinary sphincters.
Rapid heart rate
Or a slow heartbeat.
Stupor (a state of confusion and extreme agony).
Symptoms of a person losing consciousness due to suffocation include:
Inability to speak.
Breathing difficulty.
Noisy breathing or high-pitched sounds during inhalation.
A weak, ineffective cough.
Cyanosis of the skin
Sleeping does not resemble loss of consciousness, the sleeper responds and feels loud noises and slight shaking, while not feeling unconscious and unresponsive.
How to rescue the unconscious
When ambulating an unconscious, if the injured person is not completely unconscious, that is, he is awake but less awake than normal, then he can be asked about his name, the date of the day or time, and his age.
Wrong or unanswered answers indicate a change in the patient's mental state.
As for when the victim loses consciousness completely (ambulance totally unconscious), the procedures to be applied are as follows:
Checking the patient’s breathing. If breathing is stopped, an ambulance must be called immediately and the patient should be started CPR. If he is able to breathe, he should be placed on his back.
Then he raised the victim's legs 12 inches (about 20 centimeters) above the ground, according to ground level.
Relieve the patient from any restrictive clothing or belts. After that, if the patient does not regain consciousness within a minute, an ambulance should be called.
After placing the patient in the supine position and raising his legs, his airway must be checked to ensure that there is no blockage in it.
Checking him to see if he is breathing, coughing, or moving are signs that his circulation is working. In the absence of these signs, CPR should be performed until the arrival of the ambulance and transfer the patient to the hospital.
When there is profuse bleeding, direct pressure must be applied to the bleeding area or a compression bandage should be placed over the bleeding area until the emergency arrives.
How to perform CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is one of the most important measures followed when ambulating the unconscious, it is applied to save the injured when his heart or breathing stops.
Before starting CPR, the patient should be addressed loudly, and if he does not respond, then resuscitation should be started as follows:
Reposition the patient to a dorsal lying position on a firm surface.
He kneels near his neck (from the side of his head).
Place the palm of one hand over the center of the patient’s chest, place the other palm directly above it, and interlock the fingers.
The paramedic makes sure that his elbows are straight, and then presses his shoulders on his hands over the patient's chest.
Then, using his upper body weight, the medic applies direct pressure downward on the chest, pressing a distance of no less than an inch and a half in children and two inches (5 centimeters) in adults. Then raise the pressure after applying it.
Repeat this process until you reach a rate of 100 times per minute. This part of CPR is called chest compressions.
Only persons who have previously been trained to perform artificial respiration must not interfere with the patient who has stopped breathing, in order to avoid harm to the patient due to the error of practicing the procedure. If the person is not trained in CPR, chest resuscitation is sufficient until the ambulance arrives.
In the event that the person is trained in breathing freshness, he shall act according to the following: Return the patient's head to the back and drag the chin down to open the mouth.
Block the nose of the victim and the medic put his mouth over the victim's mouth to create a closed air passage.
Breathe twice into the patient's mouth for a second each time and observe the chest expansion.
And alternating between compressing the chest and breathing at a rate of thirty compressions with every two seconds of breathing, and continuing until the arrival of the ambulance or taking a reaction from the patient.
Do not give the unconscious any food or drink.
The victim should not be left alone.
Avoid placing a pillow under an unconscious head.
Do not try to smack or splash an unconscious face with water to wake it up.
How to treat the unconscious
If the cause of the loss of consciousness is hypotension, the patient is given a drug to raise blood pressure to normal. If the cause is hypoglycemia, the patient can eat anything sweet or be given an injection of glucose or a diabetic intravenous fluid.
While not, the patient is treated according to the type of injury that caused the loss of consciousness.
Complications of loss of consciousness
A possible complication of losing consciousness for an extended period of time is entering a coma and harming the brain.
If the patient undergoes cardiopulmonary resuscitation, he may break one of his ribs due to pressure on the chest.
Choking may also occur during unconsciousness, when food or liquids have blocked the airway. This condition is especially so, and may cause death if not interfered with.
Prevention of loss of consciousness
To avoid losing consciousness, you should:
Avoid situations where blood sugar gets too low.
Avoid standing in one place without moving for a long time, especially if the person is prone to fainting.
Drink enough fluids, especially water.
Be careful when dealing with cases of loss of consciousness, especially the result of a serious injury such as a fracture or a blow to the head, so only a trained person interferes with the patient.
