HealthyLife Articles

Category: First Aid

Dehydration

First Aid

Dehydration is when the body loses too much water and needed minerals (electrolytes).

Signs & Symptoms

For Severe Dehydration

* Severe thirst (sometimes).

* Sunken and dry eyes. Tearless eyes. (Infants may not show this sign.)

* Dry mouth, tongue, and lips.

* No urine or a low amount of urine that is dark yellow.

* Sunken fontanelle (the soft spot on an infant’s head).

* Headache. Feeling lightheaded, especially when getting up quickly.

* Dry skin that doesn’t spring back when pinched.

* Feeling dizzy. Confusion. Severe weakness.

* Increase in breathing and heart rate.

Causes

* The body does not get enough fluids for it’s needs.

* Too much water or other body fluids and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, are lost. This can result from: Repeated episodes of diarrhea and/or vomiting; heavy sweating; heat exhaustion; or heat stroke.

Treatment

Fluids and electrolytes must be replaced. If this can’t be done by mouth, they are given through an IV solution.

Questions to Ask

Self-Care / First Aid

* If vomiting isn’t present, adults and children over age 12 should drink about 2 cups of fluid per hour. Fluids of choice are: Sports drinks; flat cola; clear sodas; broths; popsicles; and gelatin.

* If you have high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or a history of stroke, you should find out what fluids your doctor prefers you take when you need to replace lost fluids.

* For children under 2 years old, consult your child’s doctor about the amount and type of fluid to give. Ask your child’s doctor about using over-the-counter products that give fluid and electrolytes. Examples are Pedialyte and Infalyte.

* For children over 2 years old, give up to 1-1/2 quarts of fluid per day.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Master The “Hug Of Life”

First Aid

The “hug of life” is an appropriate name for the Heimlich maneuver. If someone can’t talk and grasps his or her throat, the person is probably choking, and you may be able to dislodge the object with the Heimlich maneuver. Here’s how:

1. Without delay, stand behind the person who’s choking.

2. Wrap your arms around the person between the navel and the rib cage. Make a fist with one hand. The thumb of that hand should rest against the person’s upper abdomen.

3. Ask the person to keep his or her head upright and facing forward.

4. Grab your fist with the opposite hand and push against the abdomen, delivering four quick, upward thrusts. (Simply squeezing the abdomen won’t work.) Forceful thrusts should release air from the lungs to the windpipe and expel the food or other foreign object.

If your first attempt fails, repeat the maneuver, several times if necessary.

You should try to extract the object with your fingers as a last resort only, because reaching for the object may push it farther down the throat.

You can use the Heimlich maneuver on a choking victim whether he or she is conscious or not. Don’t use the Heimlich maneuver if the victim is able to speak or whisper, however, or if he or she can cough. The windpipe may be only partially blocked, and forceful coughing may free the lodged item in a minute or so. But if the object remains stuck and the person is visibly weakening, perform the maneuver.

Don’t use the Heimlich maneuver on a child younger than a year old. Instead, support the child’s head in your hand while he or she lies face down over your forearm, and deliver four blows to the back, between the shoulder blades.

If you’re choking, you can perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself by placing one fist over the other and giving a quick upward thrust to your abdomen. If this fails, thrust yourself against the back of a chair, keeping your fist on your upper abdomen.

Note: The Heimlich maneuver can also be used to revive near drowning victims.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Prevent Poisoning

First Aid

Do This, Not That

* The 57 poison control centers across the U.S. report more than 2 million poisonings each year. Of these, more than 90 percent occur in the home.

* More than half of home-related deaths from accidental injuries are due to poisons. Common ones are medicines, drugs, toxic chemicals, carbon monoxide, and lead. One out of every six children ages 6 and younger has toxic levels of lead in their bodies.

Know the poison control center phone number: 1-800-222-1222. Write it on or near every landline phone in your house. Program it into your cell phone(s). If you think someone has been poisoned and is awake and alert, call the poison control center. Someone will answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will get advice on what to do. If the person is not breathing or has collapsed, call 911.

Be ready to give the Poison Control Center the following information:

* The name of the substance taken or a description of what the person came in contact with

* The amount and when it was taken

* The person’s age, gender, and weight

* How the person is feeling and reacting

* Any medical problems the person has

Chemical and Alcohol Poisoning

Lead Poisoning

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Hyperventilation

First Aid

Hyperventilation is breathing too deeply and faster than normal. This causes too much carbon dioxide to be exhaled. As a result, levels of carbon dioxide in the blood and brain tissue drop.

Signs & Symptoms

* Your heart pounds.

* It feels like you can’t get enough air.

* You feel tingling and numbness in the arms, legs, and around the mouth.

* You feel a sense of doom.

* You may pass out.

Symptoms usually last 20 to 30 minutes, but seem to last hours. Though scary, hyperventilation is not usually dangerous.

Causes

* Anxiety is the most common cause.

* Panic attacks.

* Central nervous system problems.

Treatment

Self-care may be enough to treat hyperventilation. If it persists or occurs with other symptoms, seek medical care.

Questions to Ask

Self-Care / Prevention

* Open up a small paper bag. Loosely cover your nose and mouth with it. Breathe slowly into the bag. Rebreathe the air in the bag. Do this about 10 times. Set the bag aside. Breathe normally for a couple of minutes.

* Repeat the steps above for up to 15 minutes.

* Try to breathe slowly. Focus on taking one breath every 5 seconds.

{Note: If you still hyperventilate after using Self-Care / First Aid, call your doctor.}

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Electric Shock

First Aid

Electric shock occurs when an electric current flows through the body. The human body is made up of 60% to 70% water. This makes it a good conductor of electricity. Burns, damage to internal organs, heart rhythm problems, and death, can result from electric shock.

Signs & Symptoms

* Shocking sensations. Numbness or tingling. A change in vision, speech, or in any sensation.

* Burns or open wounds. These occur where the electricity enters and exits the body.

* Muscle spasms or contractions.

* Sudden immobility or fractures. A body part may look deformed.

* Interrupted breathing. Irregular heartbeats or chest pain.

* Seizures.

* Unconsciousness.

A small child who bites or sucks on an electric cord can have a facial injury or distinct burn around the rim of the mouth.

Causes

* Touching a high-voltage (more than 1,000 volts) source, such as high-tension wires that fall during a storm. Touching someone who is still touching a live current. Touching a low-voltage (less than 1,000 volts) current source, such as an electric socket or worn cord.

* Mixing water and electricity.

* Being struck by lightning. A bolt of lightning carries as many as 30 million volts.

Treatment

Contact with electricity from a high-voltage wire or being struck by lightning needs emergency medical care. Contact with electricity from a low-voltage current needs emergency medical care if any signs or symptoms are present. A person who does not have any symptoms should still see a doctor to check for possible internal injuries.

To Avoid Being Harmed by Lightning

* Heed weather warnings.

* Take shelter in a building, if you can.

* Stay in your car (if it is not a convertible) rather than out in the open.

* If you are caught outside, avoid tall trees, open water, metal objects, and high ground. Crawl into a low-lying place or curl up on the ground, head to knees with your head touching the ground.

Questions to Ask

Self-Care / First Aid

Beware! Do not put yourself in danger to give first aid. Do not touch the person until power is shut off.

* If the source is a high-voltage wire or lightning, call 9-1-1!

* It is safe to touch a person struck by lightning.

* If the source is a low-voltage current, remove the fuse or switch off the circuit breaker to the electrical outlet.

* If you can’t shut off the source, with dry feet and hands, use a board, wooden stick, rope, etc. to get the person away from the source.

* If it is safe for you to touch the person, check for a response. Give CPR, as needed.

* Unless it is absolutely necessary, don’t move the person. He or she could have a traumatic injury, especially to the head or neck.

* Check for burns. Cover burned areas with dry, sterile dressings.

* Give first aid for Shock, if needed.

Prevention

* Stay clear of fallen wires. Inform the police, electric company, etc.

* Install ground-fault circuit-interrupters (GFCIs) in wall outlets of bathrooms, kitchens, etc. With GFCIs, when an electrical appliance falls into water, the current is instantly cut off.

* Don’t turn electrical switches on or off or touch an electric appliance while your hands are wet, while standing in water, or when sitting in a bathtub.

* Replace worn cords and wiring.

* Cover all electric sockets with plastic safety caps.

* Before you do electrical repairs, remove the fuse from the fuse box or switch off the circuit breaker. Don’t just turn off the appliance or light switch.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Learn Cpr. It Could Help Save A Life!

First Aid

Knowing how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can mean the difference between life and death. CPR can restore the flow of oxygen to the brain if the heart has stopped beating due to heart attack, drowning, electrical shock, suffocation, or a drug overdose. Learn to perform CPR correctly. Take a CPR training course to learn:

* How to contact emergency medical help.

* How to use an automated external defribrillator (AED).

* How to give rescue breaths, compress the person’s chest and when and how to do chest-compression only CPR. (It is important to push hard and push fast, giving 100 compressions a minute in cycles of 30 compressions for every 2 breaths.) {Note: Guidelines for CPR may change. Get updates for CPR and find out where you can learn how to perform it from the American Heart Association atwww.americanheart.org.}

You can also call your local chapter of the Red Cross or your local hospital to find out where you can learn CPR.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026