10. Stings, bites, ticks & Weil’s disease What causes stings and bites? How do you treat these? How do you remove a tick? What is Lyme disease? What are the dangers of drinking ‘dirty’ water? What might you monitor about a casualty if you are with them for a long time? What would you put in a first aid kit?

Stings! From bees and wasps SYMPTOMS Pain Redness Stinging sensation WHAT TO DO Reassure the casualty and scrape off the sting if necessary Raise the bitten or stung part, if possible Apply an icepack or cold water If the pain or swelling continues seek medical help. If they are having an allergic reaction – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrueP382UjY&list=PLvd0isBh6beQJ1YrlssqzKoXY_aw- qvoW&index=7

BITES ! What can bite you? Dogs, cats Snakes Ticks (later) What is the problem? Passing bacteria deep into the tissues Damage to tissues Treatment? Clean the wound as best as you can and seek medical help What are the risks? Tetanus infection (vaccination required) Rabies (vaccination required) Hepatitis HIV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_DSIJOmUiM (tetanus 0-1:30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semfQRtPumw (rabies 0-1:30)

Ticks & Lyme Disease https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Na6_CORwTE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27McsguL2Og You can also use a tick removal tool if you have one (we have them in DofE first aid kits) Ticks carry a bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Symptoms are flu-like and include aching muscles, pain and tiredness. A ‘bullseye’ rash sometimes appears 3-30 days later. Untreated it can cause nerve and heart disease so can be fatal! It can be treated with antibiotics but the earlier the better!

Ticks can also transmit a virus from small mammals to humans causing encephalitis No symptoms for up to 10 days Fever, headache, nausea, photophobia (sensitivity to light) This can lead to death.

Weil’s disease Urine from infected cats, dogs and rats containing bacteria can enter water supplies easily. Bacteria can enter the body through cuts or through your mouth. Flu-like symptoms occur after 2-12 days, including pain in the back or calf muscles, sometimes followed by jaundice – Weil’s disease is very serious but can be treated with antibiotics.

Casualty Monitoring & Assessment Remember when we looked at the primary survey (AAABCD) and have mostly looked at unresponsive casualties? We also talked about what to ask a conscious casualty. What do you remember about the questions we could ask? S Signs and symptoms Can I take a record? How are you feeling? Can I have a look? A Allergies and age Is this the first time this has occurred? M Medication Have you recently taken any medication? P Past history When did you last visit the doctor or hospital? L Last meal What have you eaten recently? E Events What happened? What happened? How are you feeling? Can I take a look? Can I take a record of what I find? (this might be important for when medical help arrives, especially if it will be a long time until help arrives)

A possible casualty monitoring card Time (24 hour clock) 17:50 18:10 18:20 18:40 Pulse (rate and character) Breathing (rate and character) Temperature Colour Consciousness Beats per minute (adult norm 60-90, child 80-90) Fast/slow Strong/weak Breaths per minute (adult norm 12-18, child 20-30) Fast/slow Shallow/deep Cold & dry Cold & wet Hot & dry Hot & wet Pale, Red, Yellow Alert Vocal Pain Unresponsive

First Aid Kits Can you get 20 things ? Make a list of what should be in a full first aid kit! Can you get 20 things ? Container Gloves Wound dressings Bandages Scissors Saline pods Antiseptic wipes Plasters Steri-strips Triangular bandages Safety pins Tick remover Tweezers Casualty monitoring card Pencil Micropore tape Painkillers Glucose tablets