BLISTER

1. For a Blister That Has Not Popped

Try not to pop or drain it.
Leave it uncovered or cover loosely with a bandage.
Try not to put pressure on the area. If the blister is in a pressure area such as
the bottom of the foot, put a donut-shaped moleskin on it.
2. For a Blister That Has Popped
Wash the area with warm water and gentle soap. Do not use alcohol, hydrogen
peroxide, or iodine.
Smooth down the the skin flap that remains.
Apply antibiotic ointment to the area.
Cover the area loosely with a sterile bandage or gauze.
3. When to Drain a Blister
To drain a blister that is large, painful, or in an awkward spot:

Wash the area.

Sterilize a needle with rubbing alcohol and water.
Make a small hole at the edge of the blister. Gently squeeze out the fluid.
Wash the blister again and pat dry. Don’t remove the skin over the blister.
Smooth down the skin flap.
Apply antibiotic ointment.
Cover the area loosely with a sterile bandage or gauze.

4. Follow Up
Change the bandage daily and whenever it gets dirty or wet.
Avoid wearing shoes or doing the activity that caused the blister until it heals.
Wear thick socks or work gloves for blisters on the feet or hands.
See a doctor for signs of infection, including pus, fever, red or warm skin around
the blister, red streaks leading away from blister, swollen lymph glands, or
increased pain or swelling, or if your last tetanus shot was more than 10 years
ago.

CATFISH STING

1. Get the Person Out of the Water

2. Do CPR if the Person Is Not Breathing
For an adult, start adult CPR.
For a child, start CPR for children.
3. Clean Wound
Use tweezers to remove all catfish spines.
Scrub wound with soap and water.
Rinse extensively with fresh or salt water.
4. Submerge Wound in Hot Water
Soak for at least 30 minutes in hot (not scalding) water with epsom salt.
5. Do Not Cover Wound
6. Treat Pain
Give over-the-counter medication such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen
(Advil, Motrin).

7. See a Doctor As Soon As Possible

8. Follow Up
The doctor will clean and treat the wound and may give a tetanus shot, if needed.
The person may receive pain medication and antibiotics to prevent infection.

CYANIDE POISONING

1. Treat Inhalation or Ingestion

Get the person to fresh air immediately.
If you can't get away from the area where cyanide gas is, stay low to the ground.
If the person has difficulty breathing or has stopped breathing, do hands-only CPR:
For a child, start CPR for children.
For an adult, start adult CPR.
Do not do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
2. Treat Skin Exposure
Avoid touching a person whose skin has been exposed to cyanide; only emergency
personnel with special protective clothing should have direct contact with the
victim, as secondary contamination is possible.

3. Treat Eye Exposure

Remove the person's contact lenses or glasses.

Immediately irrigate eyes with plain water for at least 10 minutes.

Put contact lenses in a plastic bag for emergency personnel to dispose of.
Glasses may be used after washing with soap and water.
4. Follow Up
At the hospital, the person will be treated with antidotes and oxygen.

ECZEMA

1. Bathe Your Child

Use lukewarm water. Hot water can make eczema worse.
Limit your use of soap and discuss with your doctor the type of soap you should
use.
Rinse your child's skin twice to remove soap residue.
Keep baths short since prolonged contact with water can be irritating.
2. Moisturize
Put a gentle moisturizer on your baby's skin as soon as your child is out of the
bath. Reapply it several times a day or with every diaper change.
Do not use any medications or medicated creams unless a doctor recommends it.
Hypoallergenic fragrance-free moisturizers are best.

3. Dress Your Child in Comfortable Clothing

Light, breathable cotton fabrics may be most comfortable. Wash clothes before
wearing.
Avoid heavy, tight, or scratchy material such as wool, nylon, or synthetic fibers.
4. Prevent Irritation
Try to keep your child from scratching. Keep your child's fingernails short and
clean.
Avoid any substance you know will trigger an allergy.
Avoid irritants such as perfumed soaps and detergents.
Use cold compresses to relieve the itch.
Don't let your baby get too hot or sweaty. Either one can make eczema worse.
Never give a baby an antihistamine without talking to a pediatrician first.
Ask your pediatrician about medications to relieve itching and whether food or
environmental allergens could be triggering the eczema.

ELECTRIC SHOCK

1. Separate the Person From Current's Source

To turn off power:

Unplug an appliance if plug is undamaged or shut off power via circuit breaker,
fuse box, or outside switch.
If you can't turn off power:

Stand on something dry and non-conductive, such as dry newspapers, telephone book,
or wooden board.
Try to separate the person from current using non-conductive object such as wooden
or plastic broom handle, chair, or rubber doormat.
If high voltage lines are involved:

The local power company must shut them off.

Do not try to separate the person from current if you feel a tingling sensation in
your legs and lower body. Hop on one foot to a safe place where you can wait for
lines to be disconnected.
If a power line falls on a car, instruct the passengers to stay inside unless
explosion or fire threatens.
2. Do CPR, if Necessary
When you can safely touch the person, do CPR if the person is not breathing or does
not have a pulse.

For a child, start CPR for children

For an adult, start adult CPR.
3. Check for Other Injuries
If the person is bleeding, apply pressure and elevate the wound if it's in an arm
or leg.

There may be a fracture if the shock caused the person to fall.

For burns, see Burn Treatment.
4. Wait for emergency to Arrive
5. Follow Up
A doctor will check the person for burns, fractures, dislocations, and other
injuries.
An ECG, blood tests, urine test, CT scan, or MRI may be necessary.
The person may be admitted to the hospital or a burn center.

FISH HOOK INJURIES

Do not remove the fishhook if:

Do not try to remove the fishhook if:

The fishhook is in or near an eye. See first aid measures.

The fishhook is in a joint, in a bone, or deep in a muscle.
You are concerned that removing the fishhook may damage nearby blood vessels or
nerves.
The person who is injured is not calm and cannot help.
You are afraid to remove the fishhook.
For a Fishhook in or Near Eye:
1. Protect Eye From Further Injury
Do not try to remove fishhook or put pressure on eye.
Call for emergency medical help.
Place a paper cup over the eye and tape it in place. Be careful not to put pressure
on the fishhook or eye.
If possible, cover the uninjured eye, too.
1. Remove Hook
If the hook is not near the eye or has not penetrated into a joint, bone, or
muscle:

Cut any fishing line, fish, bait, or lure from the fishhook.
Use ice or cold water for 2 to 3 minutes to numb the area.
If the barb of the fishhook has not entered the skin, pull the tip of the hook back
out.
If the barb is embedded in the skin, first try the string-pull method.
If medical help is not available and the fishhook is deeply embedded in the skin,
try the advance-and-cut method. Push the hook the rest of the way through the skin,
snip off the barb with wire cutters, and remove the rest of the fishhook from where
it entered the skin. If medical help is available, have a deeply embedded fishhook
removed by a doctor or nurse.

2. Get Medical Help Immediately

See a doctor or go to a hospital emergency room.
The person may need a tetanus shot and pain reliever.

HIVE(CHILDREN)
1. Use an Antihistamine, If Your Pediatrician Approves
An antihistamine formulated for children may help with swelling and itching. Call a
pediatrician before using an antihistamine in infants or toddlers.

2. Remove Allergens
If the hives are on one part of your child's body, they may have been triggered by
something that got on her skin. Wash off your child's body with soap and water.
Change your child's clothes.
3. Treat the Itch
Apply calamine lotion, 1% hydrocortisone cream, or a mixture of baking soda and
water for itch.
Put your child in a cool bath for 10 minutes.
Put a cold compress or cold pack on itchy areas.

4. Observe Your Child

If your child's symptoms seem to be getting worse, call a doctor.

HYPERVENTILATION

CALL HOTLINE NUMBER IF THE PERSON HAS..

Chest pain, including pain that is crushing, squeezing (feels like a heavy weight
on the chest), or is sharp and stabbing, especially if it is worse with deep
breaths
Difficulty breathing
Racing heartbeat
Fevers or chills
1. Reassure the Person
Calm the person to help reduce anxiety.
2. Help the Person Relax Breathing
3. When to Get Medical Help
Go to a hospital emergency room if:

The person's symptoms don't get better after several minutes.

Symptoms get worse or the person is in pain.

HYPOTHERMIA

Symptoms of hypothermia in adults and children include:

Confusion, memory loss, or slurred speech
Drop in body temperature below 95 Farenheit
Exhaustion or drowsiness
Loss of consciousness
Numb hands or feet
Shallow breathing
Shivering
In infants, symptoms include:

Bright red, cold skin

Very low energy level
2. Restore Warmth Slowly
Get the person indoors.
Remove wet clothing and dry the person off, if needed.
Warm the person's trunk first, not hands and feet. Warming extremities first can
cause shock.
Warm the person by wrapping him or her in blankets or putting dry clothing on the
person.
Do not immerse the person in warm water. Rapid warming can cause heart arrhythmia.
If using hot water bottles or chemical hot packs, wrap them in cloth; don't apply
them directly to the skin.
3. Begin CPR, if Necessary, While Warming Person
If the person is not breathing, start CPR immediately. Hypothermia causes
respiratory rates to plunge, and a pulse might be difficult to detect.
For a child, start CPR for children.
For an adult, start adult CPR.
Continue CPR until the person begins breathing or emergency help arrives.
4. Give Warm Fluids
Give the person a warm drink, if conscious. Avoid caffeine or alcohol.

5. Keep Body Temperature Up

Once the body temperature begins to rise, keep the person dry and wrapped in a warm
blanket. Wrap the person's head and neck, as well.
6. Follow Up
At the hospital, health care providers will continue warming efforts, including
providing intravenous fluids and warm, moist oxygen.

JELLY FISH STING

1. Get the Person Out of the Water

2. Stop the Stinging
Wash the area with seawater to deactivate stinging cells. Or you can remove
tentacles by scraping with a credit card or other plastic object.
For a sting in tropical waters -- especially from the Hawaiian box jellyfish or a
Portuguese man-of-war:

After removing the tentacles, immerse the affected arm or leg immediately in hot
water at 40 to 45°C (104 to 113°F) for at least twenty minutes. A hot shower can be
used instead for other parts of the body.
Anti-venom is available for severe Australian box jellyfish stings. It should be
given right away to be most effective.
3. Decontaminate and Remove Tentacles
For jellyfish stings, the American Heart Association recommends the following:

Rinse the area with vinegar for at least 30 seconds. If vinegar is not available, a
solution of baking soda can be used. This will help deactivate the stinging cells
of certain species of jellyfish.
Next, soak the area in hot water for at least 20 minutes if possible. Cold packs
can be used instead if the area can’t be soaked in hot water.
These treatments are based on research done in the Indo-Pacific areas, however, and
may not be effective in the oceans of the North Atlantic. In fact, in this area,
vinegar may actually make the symptoms worse, depending on the type of jellyfish.
Some experts therefore recommend removing the stinging cells and rinsing in
seawater.

4. Treat Discomfort
Use mild hydrocortisone cream or oral antihistamine to help relieve itching and
swelling.
5. Follow Up
For less severe sting:

Use ice packs or over-the-counter pain relievers for welts.

Clean open sores 3 times a day and apply antibiotic ointment. Bandage if needed.
For a severe reaction:

The person may be hospitalized for several days.

Anti-venom may be administered for box jellyfish stings.