The reason you feel panicked in an emergency is the result of your body’s automatic overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol. The cortisol goes to the brain and slows down the pre-frontal cortex, which is the region responsible for planning complex action. By overriding your body’s reaction, you can continue to access your critical thinking faculties. You won’t be responding from emotion but from rational thought. Look around and assess the situation to see what needs to be done before acting.
Answer all of the questions the dispatcher asks. The job of the dispatcher is to provide quick, appropriate emergency response. She can only do this by asking these questions. If you’re calling on a traditional telephone or a GPS-equipped cell phone, emergency services may be able to track your location even if you’re unable to speak. Even if you can’t talk, call emergency services and someone will be able to find you to provide help. It may be a good idea to go over how you would communicate during an emergency, especially if you have a reason to expect an emergency might arise.
An injury due to a motor vehicle accident, smoke inhalation, or burns from a fire are examples of medical emergency situations. A medical emergency consists of sudden physical symptoms, such as seizure, intense bleeding, head trauma, loss of consciousness, chest pain, lack of breath or pulse, choking, sudden dizziness, or weakness. Intense desire to hurt yourself or someone else constitutes a mental health emergency. Other mental health changes may also be considered an emergency, such as sudden changes in behavior or experiencing confusion, which can be an emergency if they occur without cause. Behavioral emergencies are best met by remaining calm, watching from a short distance, and encouraging the person in crisis to stay calm as well. This way you can react appropriately if the situation becomes volatile.
When assessing emergency situations, be aware that the situation may be volatile. It may change rapidly. If you have advance warning of an emergency, prepare ahead of time for the best results.
If you find yourself in an emergency of this nature, keep yourself safe. Run to a safe location, or find shelter in place. Do not fight, except as a last resort. Being attentive to warning signs in your workplace, including any act of physical violence (pushing, shoving, etc. ) should be immediate. Your office should have a procedure for workplace violence, including a phone number you can call to report the situation. If you don’t know your office’s procedures, ask your supervisor or a trusted coworker. Open, honest communication between employees and supervisors is part of maintaining a safe, healthy workplace.
If the threat isn’t contained, this will affect your response. Be aware that any emergency situation may change abruptly, so ongoing assessment is required.
In a situation where you cannot leave, find the safest possible location within your given area. For example, hiding beneath a solid surface, such as a desk or table, may help if there is a chance of being hit by falling debris. If you’re near a car accident, make sure you’re not in the line of oncoming traffic. Get off the road. Be aware that in an emergency, elements are likely to change quickly. In your assessment, notice if volatile or combustible elements are present. For example, in an auto accident, gasoline may catch fire abruptly.
Offering verbal reassurance to an injured person if he is conscious will help another person, even if you can’t move them. Let that person know who you are and what is happening to them. Ask them questions to keep them conscious. If the emergency is stable, stay with the victim.
If others on the scene are upset or fearful, reassure them. Employ them in going to get help. It’s better to remain with someone in a supportive way than to do an action that may result in additional damage. If you’re not sure what to do, simply stay with the person. If possible, take their pulse, make notes of events as they happen, and ask them about their medical history. This is information you may need when talking to the emergency team.
Things change suddenly in emergency situations. Don’t panic if things suddenly go in a different direction than you’d expected. Take time to pause whenever you’re overwhelmed, panicky, or confused. If you need to stop in the middle of taking an action to calm down, that’s okay.
If you can’t retrieve the first aid kit, consider what other items in your immediate vicinity might be good substitutes. You should keep a first aid kit at your home, and your workplace is required by law to maintain a first aid kit. A good first aid kit should also have a “space blanket” which is a light-weight piece of special material meant to conserve body heat. This is a vital piece of equipment for people who are chilled or shaking, as it can help keep them from going into shock.
Questions you should ask include: What is your name? What is the date? How old are you? If they do not respond to questions, you can try rubbing their chest or pinching their earlobe to keep them conscious. You can also gently touch the eyelids to see if they will open. Once you’ve determined the basic mental status of the person, check with them about any medical complications. Ask them if they have a medical alert bracelet or another medical ID.
If the person can’t walk because of leg or foot injuries, you can help move them by holding them at the shoulders. If the person is afraid to leave a dangerous situation, respond with reassurance.
If you’re not sure if you’re in a true emergency, call emergency services and the dispatcher can help you figure out if emergency officials should be sent. Don’t try to document the emergency unless you are sure you are out of danger. Taking “selfies” or posting about your situation on social media in ongoing emergency situations may result in additional injury and legal complications.
Your emergency plan should have an assembly place to gather once you’ve evacuated the home or building. Keep emergency phone numbers posted near the phone. Important medical data should be stored on your phone or in your wallet.
If you don’t know the physical address, be ready to say the name of the street you’re on and any nearby intersections or landmarks. If your cell phone has GPS, you can use it to determine your physical address. However, this wastes much needed time in an emergency.
Choose two places where you can regather with your family or coworkers. One location should be outside the home or workplace. The other location should be outside the immediate vicinity, in case the neighborhood is unsafe. Emergency exits should be physically accessible, according to ADA laws.
Many Red Cross courses are also offered online. First aid courses can be age-specific. If you have children, or just want to know how to help children in case of an emergency, take a first aid course specific to assisting children in an emergency. If you work with children, you’ll be required by law to receive this training.
A chest compression is hard pressure applied swiftly to the ribcage at the rate of 100 compressions per minute, or just over 1 per second. CPR for children and infants is taught by the Red Cross. If you have children, take a course in providing CPR for children in order to be prepared in case of an emergency. If you work with children, you may be required by law to receive this training.
Your workplace should have an eyewash station if you regularly come into contact with hazardous chemicals. Make sure you are prepared to share any relevant information regarding chemicals with your emergency response team.
All members of your house, including your children, should be able to access these phone numbers in case of an emergency. For children, elderly people, or disabled people, consider having a posted script to help them remember what to tell others when calling on the phone with an emergency situation. You can even role play with them to go over the script and teach them proper actions for different emergency situations.
Most medical responders look on a person’s wrist for medical ID tags. The second most common place to look is at the person’s neck, as a necklace. People with disabilities and health conditions, such as Tourette syndrome, autism, dementia, etc. , may wish to consider wearing medical ID badges to help any emergency responder better understand their needs and behavior.
