Third degree burns are the most serious types of burns one can sustain. It is more important to know what not to do than what to do while treating third degree burns in a victim. Emergency help is required immediately though to assess the intensity of the burn and treat it accordingly.

First Aid for Third Degree Burns
Follow the steps below to assist someone with third degree burns:

• Call emergency at once and follow the instructions given by the operator till medical help arrives
• Check if the victim is breathing (if not, perform the mouth to mouth respiration and the CPR if you are trained)
• Keep the person warm and check for shock (confusion, chills, weakness and lack of coordination)
• Make the victim lie down on his or her back unless no injury is suffered on the back and neck
• Cover with warm clothing, blanket, coat and raise the feet
• Cover the burns with a dampened cloth
• Do not try removing clothes or dead skin from the area of the wound
• Avoid popping any blisters too
• Raise hands or legs if burned
• If toes are burned separate by placing cool cloth or gauze
• Remove any jewelry or clothes that are not directly on the wound to provide more room for air as the burn may cause swelling

Do not desert a victim of burn and provide necessary help before emergency arrives.

Broken bones are a very common injury among kids because they are said to have feeble bone structures. The most important part of treating a broken bone is to keep it still. Moving the broken bone could cause possible damage and pain. While the victim is transferred to a hospital, giving the splint therapy for broken bones works effectively in reducing further complication.

How to splint the broken bones?
Follow the steps below to splint broken bones:

• Remove clothes from the area of injury or broken bones
• Put rolled paper or board under the break and the closest possible joint
• Wrap a piece of cloth around the entire area
• Tape the board/rolled paper with the cloth around the limb with the help of a medical tape or an elastic bandage
• DO NOT wrap too tightly

If you are not able to splint the broken bones all by yourself, call emergency services or an ambulance immediately.

A broken nose can result from a very hard blow. There are many symptoms of a broken nose such as pain, bleeding, swelling and deformity of the bridge of the nose. Any blow to the nose which causes bleeding has to be treated as a fracture in the nose.

What to do for a broken nose – First aid and safety tips
A broken nose should be treated with a compressed bandage if it is an open fracture on the nose. Then the victim or person should be rushed to the hospital immediately. Check for the typical symptoms of a nose fracture to respond pronto.

A broken nose is when the bone or cartilage over the bridge, septum and sidewall is broken. A broken nose or fracture is a common fracture of the face. It normally occurs alongside facial fractures and after an injury.

A skull fracture is quiet dangerous because a brain injury is most likely. In addition, since a skull fracture does not all the time come with visible injuries on the scalp, injuries on the back of the head can go ignored and are particularly more dangerous.

First Aid for Skull Fracture
Here’s what you need to do for a skull fracture:

• Immobilize the head, back and the neck
• Clear and open airway
• Make the victim lie down and keep still
• Monitor breathing and resuscitate if necessary
• Check the pulse
• Dress the wounds on the skull and control bleeding
• Keep the head end of the stretcher raised
• Avoid giving a stimulant
• Keep the person warm
• The person can go into a shock so treat accordingly
• Put some padding around the fracture and neck so that the skull fracture bears no direct pressure from lying down on the head

Remember that a skull fracture means serious injuries to the head. The neck and spine also become very vulnerable during a skull fracture.

A broken rib is caused by a severe squeeze or a direct blow on the chest. Characterized by pain whilst breathing, tenderness and deformity a fractured rib can anything but easy to endure. First aid for a broken rib should see you through much support and treatment for shock.

First Aid for Broken Rib
Follow the steps below for a broken rib or fracture:

• Provide support by carefully padding the injured ribs
• Two cravat bandages should be wrapped around the chest so as to support the pain from either side
• On exhalation tie knots on the opposite side of the body and pad
• Loosen the cravat bandages if they cause a lot of pain
• Support the arm for the injured or broken side of the ribs with the help of a sling
• Broken ribs can lead the person into a shock so provide first aid accordingly
• Get medical help at once

The chest should be wrapped gently if the victim starts coughing blood or if the ribs seem depressed. This could be a sign of a punctured lung. Place the person with the injured side down in a semi-prone position and if the neck and spine are not injured. This will help the absolutely fit lung to expand.

Finger fracture or a broken finger can lead to great discomfort, pain, swelling and deformity in worst cases. The rule for any fracture is to immobilize the area and to support it with the help of a splint. The same care and application has been suggested for a broken finger.

First Aid for Broken Finger
Listed below are some steps you should follow while suffering a broken finger or fracture, or helping someone with it:

• A narrow padded splint should be placed under the broken finger and the palm
• Pass a narrow piece of cloth around the palm and splint and tie over the splint
• Again taking a narrow strip of cloth pass around the splint above the fracture and the broken finger and tie over the splint
• Take a narrow piece of cloth once again and pass it around the splint below the fracture and the broken finger and tie over the splint
• Finally just support the broken or fractured finger around a bandaged sling

First aid for a broken finger should see you through safety and proper medical assistance.

Insect bites and stings can leave behind many symptoms of discomfort by injecting venom or substances that the body may identify as harmful. Though mosquitoes, spiders, ticks and flies cause milder reactions; wasps, bees, fire ants and yellow jackets cause very serious symptoms.

First Aid for Milder Reactions
For milder symptoms treat the victim as follows:

• Move to a different and safer location
• Remove the stinger in a sideways motion with tweezers but don’t pull it out
• Apply cold pack to reduce swelling
• Calamine lotion or baking soda paste can be applied to the bite to reduce the itchiness
• Antihistamine pill can be taken

First Aid for Severe Insect Bites and Stings
For severe symptoms and allergic reactions, provide the necessary first aid to the victim:

• Call for medical help
• A person maybe taking medication for allergic attacks so administer on the thigh as per directions (auto-injector or epinephrine)
• Administer an antihistamine pill after the epinephrine
• Make the person lie down with legs elevated
• Loosen the clothes of the victim
• Cover with a blanket
• Do not give any food or drinks
• If the person vomits or bleeds from the mouth turn the person sideways
• For no signs of breathing, movement or coughing start giving the CPR or chest compressions

Family members should know how to give the auto-injector or epinephrine in case of an allergic reaction and as explained by the doctor.

Asphyxiation is a condition where the body suffers from a lack of oxygen. If first aid is not given to the person in time, he or she could die because the nerve cells in the brain can be without oxygen for just three minutes. There could be many causes for asphyxiation such as – blockage of the airway with food, vomit, etc, damaged lungs due to an accident, gas poisoning, suffocation, strangulation, electrical accidents or a severe attack of asthma or bronchitis.

First Aid for Asphyxiation
First aid tips for asphyxiation include the following:

• Remove obstructions from mouth or nose
• Stop the source or drag the victim away from the source (gas poisoning)
• Remove rope or cloth from the neck if the victim seems to have been strangulated but do not remove the knot for evidence
• Monitor breathing and clear airway
• Administer mouth to mouth respiration if the victim is not breathing but there is pulse
• If you think the airway is blocked by food treat the victim as for choking
• Place the person in recovery position once he or she begins to breathe
• Call 911 or emergency services at once
• Do not leave the victim alone
• Continue artificial respiration if required

The victim may turn blue and lose consciousness. There is a possibility of the victim getting fits as well, so provide first aid accordingly.

Altitude sickness, otherwise known as mountain sickness is referred to a condition where one ascends to a height of 2500 feet or more and suffers a kind of uneasiness accompanied with symptoms such as headache and vomiting. It can also turn fatal for a person if there is a rapid build-up of fluids in the brains and lungs or both as one ascends great heights. Such a condition occurs while quick ascent, which makes it difficult for the body to adapt to the changing pressure and the reduced oxygen levels.

First Aid for Altitude Sickness
Follow these steps for altitude or mountain sickness:

• Stop climbing higher; camp till symptoms go, which can take several days
• Avoid cigarettes and/or alcohol during the climb
• A recommended dose of paracetamol can be given
• Deep breathing can reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the blood
• A recommended dose of dexamethasone can be given
• For severe altitude sickness, aim for a 500-1000m descend immediately
• Give diuretic drugs that increase urine to reduce fluid accumulation
• The person may need oxygen from the oxygen cylinder

Irrespective of being fit or not having experienced it before, altitude sickness can strike anyone, at anytime of quick ascent. The only way to prevent altitude sickness is to climb up slowly.

Though it is always better to prevent it, you cannot be completed shielded against it. Especially with the rapid spread of H1NI flu, it is no easy escape. So if you have already contracted the H1N1 flu, all you need to worry about is to take care of it in the right way.

First Aid for H1N1
Here’s what you need to do if you are diagnosed with the H1N1 flu:

• Seek medical help: A H1N1 patient needs medication, monitoring and certain amount of isolation to recover and not spread the disease to others. Seek medical help to determine whether you need to be hospitalized or you could stay home and visit the doctor from time to time.
• Swine flu vaccine: If diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, you need to get vaccinated. Living with family members can increase their risk too so they need to be vaccinated as well. Keep an eye on your kids for H1N1 symptoms as the risk gets higher with the cold season approaching.
• Be prepared for an emergency: Though it may not seem as severe, the patient’s condition can worsen without warning, and you would have to rush him or her to the hospital that moment.
• Think positive: With numerous H1N1 deaths reported in recent times, the answer is only to hope for the best. Sometimes, the psychological strength helps healing a disease faster than expected. So hope for the best and stay precautious of the symptoms and home care.