A small stick jabbed into my leg and broke off so I had to remove it with pliers, don’t worry I sprayed them with rubbing alcohol right before

He says he scratched it while he was working at his computer. He suddenly felt a bit of fluid and dabbed it with a tissue. Very little blood was present. Since then it's gotten progressively worse despite not messing with it with a dull earache on the inside of his ear, and now a sharp pain (still from the inside) comes and goes. He used some Neosporin but says he feels it made it worse. He's also been having to take tylenol for the earache.

Edit: WOW! We reached over 1000 enrollments! I never expected that much! I really hope I helped a lot of you! and I hope you don't get mad at me. I can't afford giving it for free anymore :( . I replaced the link with the cheapest possible price on the site, which is 10$. I really appreciate anyone that signed up. I love you guys and I think it's amazing I had the opportunity to share this knowledge with so many of you for free! (Please don't hate me 😅)

Edit 2: The coupon for the cheapest price will expire in 03/06/2021 02:03 AM PST (GMT -8). Just wanted to give you a heads up! Love you guys 🤗🥰🥰🥰

I just finished creating my first aid masterclass course (It's almost everything I know from being an Ex Combat Medic. Including stopping bleedings and improvising tourniquets) and I think it can be extremely helpful for many of you guys. I'm not asking anything in return tbh, I'd just appreciate if you enroll in it only if you're actually planning to take it, and that you will consider leaving me a rating.

Hopefully you guys will enjoy this course, I worked on it for 2 months straight this time :O https://www.udemy.com/course/first-aid-masterclass/?couponCode=-CHEAPEST-POSSIBLE-2

FYI, the free coupon will expire in about 2 days, so please consider up voting so more people could benefit from this. Hopefully this will help you guys!!

I see this in practically every other post on r/firstaid, it seems.

Do not use hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol, in any concentration, to clean a wound.

Yes, both are capable of killing pathogenic organisms that could cause infection (which is why a provider will swab you with alcohol before giving you an injection), but both also damage healthy tissue, prolonging and negatively impacting wound healing.

So again: don’t use hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol to clean wounds.

Question: What should I use instead?

Warm, soapy water, and lots of it. For road rash this may be more easily handled in the shower.

Question: Should I use antibacterial soap?

No, regular hand soap will do. In fact, antibacterial soaps may do more harm than good by creating more antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Question: What if it has a bunch of dirt/grime/asphalt in it?

Again, soap and water (and maybe a pair of tweezers) are your friends here. Use the water pressure to get as much of the crud out as you can.

Question: I got wounded by something really dirty or in a really dirty environment. Is there something I can use?

First and foremost: make sure your tetanus shot is up to date if you received a wound that may have gotten dirt, feces, or other biological matter in it. Contrary to common belief, rusty objects don’t cause tetanus; they just tend to be found in or around soil and other organic materials which may harbor tetanus. Adults need a tetanus booster every decade, at minimum, but your healthcare provider may suggest a booster before that if you receive a wound that may have been contaminated.

For very dirty wounds—and I’m talking “gouged by a piece of rebar hidden in a pig sty” dirty—you could consider a topical antiseptic like chlorhexidine (sold in the US under the brand name Hibiclens, among others) to clean the wound, as it is not damaging to healthy tissues the way hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are, but this should be secondary to soap and water.

hi there! this is a photo to show if you need to care about a wound as much as you should. I have seen a lot of photos of cuts that do not need stitches and just need a bandaid, with the op asking if they need stitches. This photo will tell you if you need stitches. notes below

I have had a great deal of injuries, i care to my own wounds, and have had home nurses dealing with me as well if you want to ask me how i know or if you doubt that i'm telling the truth, i am not a professional however, i found this helpful diagram off the net.

tips that i found -If you have a gash bigger than a normal bandaid will cover, please go to the ER. -if it bleeds at a considerable amount for a extended period of time, please go to the ER. -If you see fat, or tendons coming out of you're wounds (size don't matter here), please go to the ER. -shallow scratches, and small shallow cuts do not need stitches and you will be A-OKAY dealing with this at home.

please note- im not a professional, this is NOT for people who take blood thinners, have certain blood health issues, diabetes, etc etc, because I do not know what those look like please seek treatment instead of reddit if you have one of those.

Hello all, I feel bad even asking this, but I found myself in a situation needing to help a Muslim woman who was unresponsive. I am trained in First Aid so sprang into action. But then I felt bad afterwards.

Husband and I were at a park and we came across a woman and her husband. She was down when we saw them and he was frantically trying to get her to respond. As first aiders we are supposed to introduce ourselves and ask for consent. “Hi I’m so and so, I’m trained in first aid can I help you?” If person is unresponsive we can touch them, or if they say no cant touch them until they go unresponsive. The woman wasn’t very responsive, my husband called 911 and I took over taking care of the casualty (my husband wasn’t sure if he could touch her or if it was okay to remove her face covering... frankly I wasn’t either but I figured better for me to do it than him??) we have to know if she is breathing or not. Her eyes are open but I can’t tell if she is responding to me or not, I pulled her covering down to see her mouth and she was breathing and muttered “yes” Anyway she kind of comes too and her husband has let us know that she is diabetic. A bystander retrieved juice for us and the casualty was coming around as the EMT’s arrived. EMT’s take over right away and we leave. Afterwards, I felt horrible for removing her head coverings and face coverings in front of everyone. (People were gathering) so my question is... is it okay to remove them to help in an emergency medical situation like that?? I think the general answer is yes. If a person is unresponsive we can apply first aid. But I guess I’m more asking the Muslim community... is this okay? I’m in Canada, her husband was panicked but said thank you to us.

hi! it’s my first time getting a cut this deep and i’m unsure weather it can be treated at home or need appropriate medical care. thank you!

I 18M was flying from London to Cyprus when an older man suddenly became unconscious in the row behind me.

Having previously been a lifeguard (and still being qualified), and now working as a lead swimming teacher, I have a habit of travelling with a pretty comprehensive first-aid kit.

So we all started working on the man, and his heart rate was 42. One of the flight attendants began CPR, and the man’s arms flew up, so he was still partially conscious. At that point, a doctor who was on board arrived to take a look at him. I gave her my pupil light, pulse oximeter and stethoscope to help her examine him.

After a diversion to Germany, we were back up in the air, and I got free drinks for the rest of the flight. The next day, at the hotel where we were staying, someone from our group came and got me from the breakfast restaurant. A lady had been found on the floor, shaking and convulsing, so I went and got my first-aid kit again and did what I knew how to do until the paramedics arrived. For this incident i got vouchers for 3 free meals at a local restaurant. Two first-aid incidents in 24 hours, and my travel stethoscope and freebies has now become an inside joke among the 70 or so people who travelled here for the wedding.

Both were in a pretty worrying condition, but I believe they are now both on the road to recovery.

Injury type: Burn from hot object Wound Age: Five days.

I got the burn from a hot flat bar of metal pressed directly against my skin, where it burned for about 10 seconds (Not gonna go further into how it happened unless you think it’s necessary) It was cleaned after I got it with alcohol wipes and Neosporin.

Green/wet appearance is due to it being under a bandage with a copious amount of Neosporin on it for about four hours.

Why I think it’s infected: The red area around the wound. Slightly tender, but nothing crazy. Before I applied the Neosporin four hours ago, a clear thin liquid oozed from the little red spot near the left most side of the wound. It did not smell and the wound hadn’t blistered.

The wound currently doesn’t smell either, but still. That fluid and the irritation kinda worry me.

Thanks in advance 🩵

My homebrew IFAK for my wife and I on our travels. I try not to make it too crazy and stuff it with stuff we aren’t ever going to use or not know how to use.

Is there anything critical I should add/remove you think?

I’m not a medical professional, I am casually trained. I know how to administer CPR, PROPERLY apply a tourniquet both CAT & RATS, and moderate first aid. I’m not going to include an NPA, which I see in a lot of the stupid online “tactical” packs. Virtually every online single purchase kit I think is poorly built and partially complete.

My one and only complaint is the “bobo kit” literally explodes every time I need a bandaid or something and I gotta just shove it in there and repack it later that night.

Hi, I hope this is an ok question to ask here. I’m a trained first aider and today I responded to an emergency where the casualty showed possible faint signs of life but nothing consistent.

Someone called an ambulance and I gave CPR for what felt like a long time, at the direction of the emergency call handler. However I’m pretty sure the casualty was dead when we found them.

What would you do after this?

My response was that I called the paramedics over, gave my details and a statement to the police as they arrived then had a cup of tea. I felt sick for a while afterwards but was ok in the moment. Since then I’ve been feeling really low.

Rationally, I know I followed the training I’d been given and the advice of the call handler, so I wouldn’t do anything differently, but I still feel like a bit of a failure. I knew I wouldn’t get a gasp-back-to-life like in the movies, so not sure why I feel this way.

Any advice?

Edit: I have an incredible update - we phoned the police to see if they could share any news, and the casualty survived and is currently being treated in hospital. This has been an absolute rollercoaster of a day and I can’t believe it’s a positive outcome, but I just want to say thank you for your supportive comments when I was so stressed out.

A lot of people don't know how to First Aid but they can tell you all about the Mitochondria. Why? Sure not everyone is qualified to be a neurosurgeon, but surely improving the general public's medical literacy would help.