Construction Medicine
**Let's start off by saying nobody at Yellow Weld is a medical professional, and we are not giving you medical advice so please don't sue us. We are just trying to pass on some good information that might keep somebody on a jobsite alive or make a work week a lot less painful.**
First call 911, or direct a specific person to call 911. The first step should always be calling emergency personnel. Every second counts. DO NOT just yell at a group of people to call 911. Pick a specific person nearby, make eye contact and tell them to dial 911. Do that to 2 more people just in case person number one freaks out and doesn’t call in time. Otherwise, the group will think someone else took care of it, while the injured party just has to lie there and wait or be trapped for longer than is necessary for no good reason.
Medical kit packing list minimum recommendations:
Gloves
Get non latex gloves, I recommend NAR Bear Claw gloves
Superglue
Dermabond/Vetbond are the best but the single use cheap glue works well enough on small cuts.
Band aids
Get waterproof Band-Aids (get the real Band-Aid brand ones). They won't come off inside your gloves when you sweat.
Duct tape
Good for blister management in those new work boots, and literally hundreds of other things.
Tourniquet
Have at least 2 C.A.T. gen 7 from NAR. (Don't buy a knockoff.) I recommend these because they have an excellent track record and they are what virtually every paramedic and military professional trains with all the time.
Ibuprofen
Reduces muscle and joint pain. Also helps reduce inflammation.
Rolled gauze
Used to pack a wound or as a pressure dressing (NAR s rolled gauze).
Acetaminophen
Reduces muscle and joint pain.
Space blanket
Keeps core temperature up if they are in shock or are going into hypothermia.
Benadryl/Allergy Relief
Can help alleviate symptoms of an allergic reaction.
Eye flush
Removes metal shavings that hurt the eye and can cause serious damage.
Pepto bismol/Gas Relief
Because of gas station food and taco bell.
NPA
Nasopharyngeal airway (28f is the most common).
Shears
For severe wounds it can be good to just cut the clothing off around the injury
Aspirin
325 mg of aspirin for cardiac arrest (heart attack) then call 911.
There are plenty of other things that are useful to have in a medical kit but this will handle the big accidents on a site and some boo boos as well. Feel free to add more to suit your needs. One thing that merits mentioning is that you (and those around you) should learn how to use all this stuff, because it's no good in the hands of somebody who can't use it.
Common site injuries and how to take care of them
Let's start small and work up to the bad stuff.
Cuts and scrapes
If its not bleeding (just a scrape) then I would clean it with an alcohol wipe and put on some Neosporin or Bacitracin on and toss a Band-Aid on and it'll be just fine. If the wound is bleeding you need to get it to stop bleeding before anything else can really happen, hold it above the heart if possible and apply firm pressure for 5-10 minutes. Once the bleeding stops, take care to not make it start bleeding again and treat it basically the same way you would a scrape.
Finger cut off
This happens a lot more than we would all like (think about it, we all know a guy missing a finger from a saw) especially with with circular saws. Apply a tourniquet immediately and call 911, save the lost appendage if you can (preferably on ice and in a sealed container), because they can sometimes be reattached, and might even be very little damage done after it heals up.
Head trauma
BONK!! Try not to move the injured person unless it is absolutely necessary, check for bleeding and obvious signs of severe trauma. Apply a pressure dressing if suitable, call 911 and keep the patient awake.
Fall from heights
Call 911, attempt to rescue them if you are capable, but don't put yourself in unreasonable danger.
Heavy objects falling on somebody
First, if possible, you need to get the heavy object off of them. Then make sure they are breathing and not bleeding out. Call 911 and don't move them unless absolutely necessary.
If you are interested in learning more I would suggest watching PrepMedic on Youtube, and taking a medical class such as one from the Red Cross.
