Humans are curious beings who want to know how to do things, including in emergencies. Let's look at 2 examples of how-to content that serves these motivations.
I volunteer for the South Orange Rescue Squad, helping them spread the word about their work. One of my initiatives is a monthly column that appears on the local radio station's website. (We don't have a community newspaper, unless you count the four-day-a-week student paper from UNC that mostly covers campus.) WCHL and its website Chapelboro get a lot of local traffic, helping SORS expand its audience. The column offers behind-the-scenes looks at the squad's operations, highlights some of our volunteers and deliver how-to and explainer content to show readers how to stay safe and help others. The latter serves our goals for outreach while helping community members respond while EMS is on the way. I'm sharing two recent installments here because the information might be useful to you, too!
How to respond to an opioid overdose
Excerpted from The South Orange Dispatch: "How to Help Someone Who's Overdosing"
Signs of an overdose can imitate many other serious medical problems, so it’s important to call 9-1-1 and get medical attention anytime someone is in distress.
- Check for responsiveness and normal breathing by loudly asking if they’re OK, tapping them on the shoulder or rubbing your knuckles hard on their chest.
- Yell for help and call 9-1-1 if the person doesn’t seem OK, isn’t responding or breathing normally.
- Answer the dispatcher’s questions, which helps them help you respond. (As soon as dispatch has your address, they send EMS, even while they’re still talking to you.)
- Give NARCANⓇ or naloxone if you suspect an overdose. There are very few potential side effects of administering naloxone, so if you have reason to suspect an overdose, give it!
- Do CPR, beginning with chest compressions hard and fast in the center of the chest if they don’t respond and aren’t breathing normally.
- Stay on the phone and with the person until EMS arrives.
The article has details on recognizing signs of a possible overdose, too. Click the image to get them!
How to help someone who's bleeding
Excerpted from The South Orange Dispatch: "Learn How to Stop the Bleed"
Follow these steps to assist a bleeding person until EMS arrives:
- Make sure the site is safe. You can’t help if you get hurt, too.
- Call 9-1-1, put your phone on speaker and answer the dispatcher’s questions. They send EMS as soon as they have your address so continuing to talk to them doesn’t delay help.
- Get or send someone to get the first aid or Stop the Bleed kit.
- Put on clean gloves if you have them.
- Use a gauze pad or clean article of clothing to cover the wound.
- Apply direct pressure. If the person is able, they can hold the gauze in place; otherwise, you or someone else can hold it or wrap the site to keep the pressure on.
- Keep the person as calm as possible with reassuring words.
- Put another gauze on top of the first one if it bleeds through. Do not take off the first bandage or you may make the bleeding worse!
- As soon as you can, wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer until you have access to soap and water.
The article has more helpful information. Click the image to read it!