CAR ACCIDENT & MOTORCYCLE
Today we will talk about the extraction and movement of the victim from a vehicle after a car crash. We will analyze the situation when it is required to displace the victim. We will also learn how to remove a motor helmet.
The first rule: The victim should remain at the site of injury pending the ambulance arrival. In an emergency, the first aid to the victim is usually provided without changing his position, since it is possible to inflict additional traumas while moving.
If you must remove someone from the vehicle, before moving the victim to another place, assess the following factors: General safety, make sure you are not in any danger. Is it possible to get help from other side? The victim’s condition, if the person is conscious explain what you intend to do and ask him to help.
Victim’s weight: Move him only when you are sure that you can cope with it. If the victim is conscious, open the car door, slip your hands under the victim’s armpit, grab the victim’s forearm with one hand, hold the victim’s forearm with the other hand and fix it. After that, pull the victim outside, continuing to hold the forearm, remove him from the car. Ask an assistant to grab the victim by his legs and take him to a safe distance from the vehicle. Ask him: Are you okay?
If the victim is unconscious, open the car door, slip your hands under his armpits and grab his forearm with one hand, grab the lower jaw with the other hand and lock the head. Continuing to hold the victim by his forearm and fixing his head, pull him and take him out of the car. Ask the assistant to grab the victim by his legs and take him to a safe distance.
Let's also talk about removing the helmet from the injured motorcyclists and fixing the cervical spine. The consequences of a motorcycle accident are often severe. To understand if you have to remove the motorcycle helmet or leave it on, you need to assess the victim's condition. During the fall or collision the head, cervical vertebrae, and spine are most affected in motorcyclists. Therefore, removing a helmet sometimes injures the person even more, especially when it comes to the cervical spine. When providing First Aid, look round so that nothing threatens your life. Assess the victim’s consciousness and breathing. If the victim is unconscious and breathes and nothing threatens him at the scene of the incident, do not touch the victims helmet. In that case, your assistant is limited only to open it and removing the visor, and monitoring breathing before the ambulance arrival.
It is necessary to remove the helmet if the victim is not breathing. There may be a possibility of vomiting or severe bleeding from under the helmet. At least two rescuers should remove the helmet. The first one fixes the cervical spine, the second one sits down at the head of the victim, and unfastens the motorcycle & stretches it by the straps as close as possible at the base and keeps it partly distanced until the end of the manipulation. Remove the helmet slowly with gentle movements from the chin to the head’s back. The first rescuer holds the neck all this time, preventing unnecessary movements in terms in the cervical spine. After removing the helmet gently tilt the victim’s head back to open the airway and then proceed with CPR. Despite a helmet’s removal seeming to be easy, it is a rather laborious process that requires additional practice and preliminary training of skills.
To sum up, today you have learned in what cases it is necessary to move the victim out of the vehicle depending on his condition. Also, you learned the algorithm for removing a motorcycle helmet from the victim.