A gunshot wound. First aid for gunshot wounds

In today's troubled world, you need to be prepared for any situation. And sometimes you just need to know a few simple rules that can save a person’s life. This article should talk about what a gunshot wound is and what help can be provided to a wounded person before the arrival of an ambulance.

About terminology

At the very beginning, you need to understand the concepts that will be actively used in the article. So, a wound is damage to organs and tissues, which is accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the skin. The wounds are accompanied by pain, bleeding, divergence of the edges of the damaged areas and, of course, often a violation of the normal functioning of the damaged part of the body. A gunshot wound is damage sustained by a firearm.

About types of wounds

It is also worth mentioning that a gunshot wound can be different. The first classification is based on the presence of the inlet and outlet:

1. Blind wound. In this case, the wounded item is stuck in the human body.
2. Through wound. In this case, an object that injures the body passes through the tissue through.

The second classification, depending on the subject of injury:

1. Injury of soft tissues - skin, muscles, nerve endings, tendons, blood vessels.
2. Bone damage.

The following classification is based on the penetration of a wounding item:

1. Penetrating a wound in the body cavity. In this case, the bullet penetrates into the abdominal, cranial, articular and other human cavities.
2. Non-penetrating wound to the body cavity.

And the last classification is according to the wounding mechanism. In this case, there are cut, punctured, chopped, bitten, scalped, crushed, bruised, lacerated and, of course, gunshot wounds.

First aid

Correctly provided first aid for a gunshot wound is very important. After all, it sometimes happens that before the arrival of an ambulance a person can die, simply not waiting for the simplest actions from outsiders. And everything happens due to the fact that people often just don’t know what to do and what to do to save a person from death. How can one help a victim if he has a gunshot wound?

1. At the very beginning, the wound must be freed from clothing. This is necessary in order to evaluate it and understand how serious bleeding is.
2. Next, you must definitely stop the bleeding, even if it is insignificant at first glance. If a little blood goes, you can simply raise the site of the wound so that it cannot leak out (if the limbs are injured). Otherwise, the bleeding site must be clamped with your finger (passing the blood artery). Next, you need to try to apply a tourniquet slightly higher than the wound itself. If there is nothing suitable at hand, you need to tear off a strip of cloth from clothes and squeeze a place above the wound.
3. Wound Treatment. Only if the bleeding has stopped, the wound should be washed, disinfected. To do this, it is good to use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Further, the area around can be treated with iodine to avoid infection. And only after that the wound can be bandaged with a sterile bandage. All these medicines should be in any car kit. So if there was a gunshot wound, you need to try to stop any car and ask the driver for a first-aid kit.
4. If the bullet hit the bone (it is very difficult to determine it “by eye”), the place of the wound must be well fixed. So, you will need to lay a tire. For this, any materials at hand can be useful.
5. It is important to remember that a person with a gunshot wound can not always be moved, transported independently. Sometimes a bullet damages internal organs so that the slightest unskilled movement can greatly harm a person. So before the arrival of the ambulance, it’s best not to touch the wounded. The only thing you need to try to protect it from hypothermia, overheating or rain.

Limb wound

Separately, it is also necessary to talk about the dangers of gunshot wounds to the extremities. So, these are the most common wounds. In addition, they are very dangerous, because they are fraught with severe loss of blood. Therefore, in the case of a gunshot limb in a person at the very beginning, you need to find the wound itself and do everything so that the blood stops. By the way, by its color you can determine whether it is venous or arterial. Venous blood has a dark color. The arterial is most often scarlet, it also leaves the body of the wounded fountain. If the bleeding is venous, it is better to apply not a tourniquet, but a pressure bandage. In any case, it is worth remembering that all these auxiliary items can be applied for no more than two hours on the body (most often during this period of time the wounded person is already transferred to the hands of ambulance doctors). You also need to determine whether a person has broken bone integrity. If the bone is broken, it must be fixed in an immovable position. It is also worth remembering that if a person has a gunshot wound, he may experience pain shock. In this case, anti-shock drugs should be given . If there are none at hand, do not panic. After a while, consciousness will return to the wounded. To beat on the cheeks, bringing a person to life, is not necessary.

Head wound

Probably the most dangerous is a gunshot wound to the head. Indeed, the survival rate in such cases is not too high - about 16%. But with such an injury, the victim also needs help. It is worth mentioning that when a person is injured, a person will have a lot of blood, since it is here that multiple blood vessels are located. The loss of consciousness by a person does not mean his death, this is worth remembering. The order of steps for a head injury:

1. Cover the wound with a sterile cloth. If she bleeds heavily, you can try to stop the bleeding with a cotton swab.
2. It’s best for the human body to be horizontal.
3. It’s not worth transporting the wounded on your own, it’s better to wait for the arrival of the ambulance.
4. If a person's heart stopped, artificial respiration and heart massage should be done.

Neck and spine

It’s easy to figure out what gunshot wounds look like, photos in this case are the first clues. So, in case of injury to the neck or spine, you need to remember that a person can not be categorically transported. The only thing you need to put it on a hard surface. If the neck bleeds, you need to try very quickly to stop the blood. After all, if the carotid artery is broken , you can die from blood loss in 15 seconds. So, a bandage should be applied to the neck. If it does not help, the artery should be clamped with a finger and be in this position until the arrival of the ambulance.

Chest wound, stomach

Separately, you also need to consider a gunshot wound to the stomach and chest. So, at the very beginning, it must be said that the human body is divided into three main areas: pleural, abdominal and pelvic organs. If a person’s wound is internal, blood begins to accumulate in these areas. In this case, it is impossible to stop bleeding on your own. Complications of injuries of internal organs:

1. Pneumothorax. This is air entering the pleural cavity through the site of the gunshot.
2. Hemothorax. This is the entry of blood into the pleural cavity.
3. Pneumohemothorax. This is getting into the pleural cavity of air and blood together.

Trying to prevent it is possible only by air. So, for this, the wound needs to be covered with dense material or clamped by hand.

Bullet extraction

As already mentioned above, gunshot wounds are very dangerous for human life (the photo of the wounded is the first confirmation of this). However, in some cases, if there is absolutely no way to get qualified medical help, you can try to remove the bullet yourself. But you need to do this very carefully and only if the arrival of doctors for certain reasons is impossible. Algorithm of actions:

1. First, the one who will carry out all the actions is prepared. Hands need to be treated with an antiseptic.
2. The skin around the wound is treated with an antiseptic.
3. If possible, give an anesthetic to the wounded. This may be the drug "Spazmalgon" or an ampoule of Novocain. If this is not the case, a person needs to give a hard object to his teeth.
4. With a knife, you need to slightly increase the size of the bullet hole. Next, treat everything again with an antiseptic.
5. Using processed tweezers, you need to try to get a bullet. It is necessary to try not to touch the large blood arteries, since a person can die due to hemorrhagic shock, i.e., blood loss.
6. After the operation, the wound must be treated again, a bandage should be applied.

Expertise

If a person is injured, it is necessary to call not only an ambulance (although it is primarily), but also police officers. So, forensic medical examination of gunshot wounds will also be mandatory. It is designed to answer the following questions:

1. The nature of the injury.
2. The direction of the wound channel, shot.
3. The distance that was between the offender and the victim.
4. Type of weapon used.
5. The number of bullet wounds.
6. The sequence of application of bullet wounds (in the event that it was not one).
7. Whose hand was damaged: own or the hand of another person.

It is worth mentioning that the forensic medical examination of gunshot wounds gives the investigation multiple important answers to questions, thanks to which it can move several steps forward.

The arrival of doctors

Very important is the medical care for a gunshot wound. So, only specialists can provide that help to a person who can save his life. However, the importance of first aid must not be diminished . After all, this too can save the life of the victim.