• Be aware of basic first-aid and have a well stocked first aid kit handy.
• Make sure you are up to date with your tetanus jab (check with your GP – you should have a tetanus vaccination every ten years). Tetanus is a serious infection.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs - being intoxicated might mean you cause more damage than you planned, and might affect your ability to react to an emergency.
• Don’t ever feel that you are unworthy of medical care, and try not to let the possible response of medical staff put you off seeking help – your health is more important.
• Take care of yourself - you might not feel like it at the time but may later be glad.
In an emergency call 999 and ask for an ambulance, or go straight to the nearest hospital's Emergency Department (A&E).
IMPORTANT! If you’re ever in ANY doubt as to how serious the injury is, always seek medical advice.
Seek medical attention if…..
• The blood is pumping – continue to apply pressure and call emergency services.
• The bleeding does not stop after 10 minutes of applying pressure.
• The cut is very large or very deep, or may require stitches
• There is a chance that nerves or tendons have been affected.
• The injury is on a joint – this can cause long-term movement difficulties.
• Something is embedded (stuck) in the wound.
• The cut involves the mouth, face, hand or genitals.
• The cut does not heal properly.
• The cut shows signs of infection (it is red, sore, or painful, hard or has pus oozing out)
• Make sure anything you cut yourself with is clean; for example, use new blades.
• Think carefully about where you cut - avoid visible major blood vessels, tendons and nerves, such as the insides of the wrists or the tops of the legs.
• You are less likely to cause serious long-term damage if you cut slowly and do not cut deeply.
If you have a small cut, scratch or graze, you should:
1. Clean the wound with running water (avoid antiseptic lotions or creams).
2. Pat the area dry with clean, non-fluffy material.
3. Cover the cut completely with a sterile dressing or plaster.
For more serious cuts that bleed more, you should:
1. Apply direct pressure to the wound using a clean, non-fluffy pad or cloth. Apply the pressure for a good 10 minutes, and avoid lifting up the pad to look – give it a few minutes.
2. Raise the injured area (unless it is broken) above the level of the heart to slow down the bleeding.
3. Bandage the pad or dressing firmly to control bleeding, but not so tightly that it stops the circulation to fingers or toes.
4. Do not remove bandages as this can interfere with blood coagulation (when your blood cells clot together to seal the wound). If bleeding seeps through the first bandage, cover with a second bandage. If bleeding continues to seep through, remove the second bandage and reapply.
5. If you lose a lot of blood, you can go into shock. This can be very serious and needs medical attention.
If something is embedded (stuck) in the wound:
1. Leave it in place – don’t try to remove it as this may cause further bleeding.
2. Raise the body part if possible.
3. If you can, firmly push together the edges of the wound to try to stem blood loss.
4. Gently cover the wound and object with a sterile dressing if possible.
Your cut may need stitches if:
• The cut will not stop bleeding.
• The cut is more than ¼ of an inch or 1 cm long.
• The cut is gaping (i.e. the edges don’t stay together and you can see tissue or fat).
Seek medical attention if:
• If the burn is larger than a 50 pence piece, painful, charred (white) or seems to be getting worse.
• If the burn is on the face, hands, genitals or across the joints – burns to these areas can cause long-term movement problems.
• If the burn is chemical.
If you have a minor burn, you should:
1. Hold the burn under cold, slowly running water for 10 minutes.
2. Chemical burns, for example from strong cleaning fluids, should be rinsed under cold, slowly running water for 20 minutes. Never try to neutralise the chemical by adding an acid chemical to an alkaline chemical or vice versa – seek medical advice instead.
3. If you can easily remove jewellery or clothing in the area of the burn, gently do so.
The burnt area may swell up and/or become sticky and attached to clothing or jewellery. However, if clothing or jewellery is already stuck to the burn, or cannot be removed without touching the burn, leave it alone and seek medical advice.
4. Do not apply any creams, oils, grease, butter, ointments, adhesive dressings or cotton wool. Cling film can be used to loosely cover the burn and prevent infection.
5. If the burn is painful, taking 1-2 pain killers can help.
6. Never interfere with the burn or break any blisters – this will delay the healing.
Seek urgent medical attention if:
• You have overdosed on substances or medication, or ingested toxic (poisonous) substances. Contact Poison control centers or the Emergency department if you are unsure if what you have taken is an overdose. You might feel physically well, but the effects of an overdose can be delayed and fatal.
If you have taken an overdose or poisoned yourself, you should:
• Seek help immediately – the longer you leave it, the greater the likelihood of serious damage.
• Write down what medication you’ve taken, including the number of tablets and dosage, and also if you have drunk any alcohol.
• Take the packaging and any remaining medication with you to the Emergency Department (A&E).
• If you have called an ambulance or other help, consider leaving your door unlocked so that they can get in if you lose consciousness.
• Don’t try to make yourself vomit – this can be dangerous.
• Don’t drive yourself to hospital. If you are too unwell to use public transport, call an ambulance.
©BBC Health - www.bbc.co.uk/health/first_aid/index.shtml, LifeSIGNS self-injury guidance and support network www.selfharm.org, Mind information line, tel: 0845 7660 163 web: www.mind.org.uk, NHS Direct – www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, Royal College of Psychiatrists information leaflet on self-harm www.rcpsych.ac.uk, St John’s Ambulance – www.sja.org.uk and © Better Services for People who Self-Harm 2007
