Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Provide first aid
• Part 2 of 4: Assessing the victim's condition
• Part 3 of 4: Treating wounds on arms and legs
• Part 4 of 4: Treating a sucking chest wound
• Tips
• Warnings

You are unlikely to ever have it, but a gunshot wound is one of the most traumatic injuries you can receive. It is difficult to estimate how much damage the bullet did, and usually you cannot treat it yourself with first aid. Therefore, it is best to get the victim to the hospital as soon as possible. However, there are some precautions you can take before the ambulance arrives.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Provide first aid

1. Make sure you are safe. If the victim is accidentally shot (for example while hunting), make sure the guns are not aimed at others, that there is no ammunition left in them and that they are secured. If the victim was shot in a crime, make sure the perpetrator is no longer around, and that both you and the victim are safe and can no longer be injured. If possible, wear protective clothing such as latex gloves.
2. Call the emergency number. Call 112 so you can ask for an ambulance and possibly the police. Tell us where you are and what happened.
3. Let the victim lie still. Do not move the victim unless necessary to get him to safety. Moving the victim can exacerbate any spinal damage. Raising the body part with the wound can reduce bleeding, but you shouldn't do that if you're not sure if the spine is damaged.
4. Act quickly. Time is your worst enemy when dealing with the victim. Victims who are in the hospital within an hour are much more likely to survive. Try to act quickly without the victim of these panics.
5. Apply pressure to it stop bleeding. Take a piece of cloth, bandage or gauze and press it against the wound. Keep this up for at least ten minutes. If the bleeding doesn't stop, find out where the wound is and if you are pressing in the right place. Apply new bandage over the old; do not remove old dressing if it has become soaked.
6. Dress the wound. If the bleeding subsides, put a cloth or gauze over the wound. Wrap bandage the wound to apply pressure. However, do not pull it so tight that it impedes circulation or causes the victim to lose sensation in the limbs.
7. Be prepared for shock treatment. A gunshot wound can lead to shock, a condition caused by an injury or blood loss. Know that the victim with a gunshot wound may show signs of shock, and provide appropriate treatment by ensuring that body temperature is maintained - cover the victim so that he does not get too cold. Loosen any tight clothing and wrap it in a blanket or jacket. It is usually okay to elevate the legs of a person in shock, but do not do so if there is a possibility that the spine is damaged or the wound is in the trunk.
8. Reassure the victim. Tell him he'll be okay and you'll help him. Reassurance is important. Keep the victim talking and make sure he is warm enough.
   • Ask the victim if he is on any medications, has conditions (such as diabetes or high blood pressure), and if he is allergic to any medications. That is important information and it provides a distraction from the wound.
9. Stay with the victim. Continue to reassure the victim and keep warm. Wait for the ambulance or police. If the blood clots around the wound, do not remove the gauze as it may cause it to bleed again.

Part 2 of 4: Assessing the victim's condition

1. Try to estimate the victim's condition. Assess the following five critical factors to determine what kind of help the victim needs.
2. Check the trachea. If the victim can still talk, the trachea is probably clear. If the person is unconscious, see if the trachea is clear. If the trachea is not clear, and there is no sign of spinal damage, tilt the head back.
   • Gently apply pressure to the forehead with the palm of your hand, and place your other hand under the chin so that you can tilt the head back.
3. Watch your breathing. Is the victim breathing regularly? Can you see the chest rise and fall? If the victim is not breathing, feel the mouth is empty and give immediate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
4. Check blood circulation. Apply pressure to the bleeding wound and see if you can feel the victim's pulse on the wrist or neck. If not, perform CPR. Do try to prevent serious bleeding.
5. Pay attention to whether the victim can move. See if he can move his hands and feet. If not, there may be damage to the spine or neck. Check for visible breaks, shifts, or other unnatural things. If the victim can't move, you shouldn't move him.
6. Look for an exit wound. See if the victim has any other wounds that you didn't see at first. Pay particular attention to the armpits, buttocks and other hard-to-reach areas. Do not undress the victim completely for this, because then he could go into shock before the ambulance arrives.

Part 3 of 4: Treating wounds on arms and legs

1. Raise the limbs and apply pressure to the wound. Assess the situation carefully to make sure there is no damage to the spine. If not, you can raise the limbs to reduce blood flow to the wound. Apply direct pressure to the wound as described above.
2. Apply indirect pressure. In addition to applying direct pressure, it is also possible to apply indirect pressure to the limbs to restrict blood flow to the wound. You do this by pressing on the arteries, or pressure points as they are sometimes called. These feel like large and hard veins. Pressing this will reduce internal bleeding, but you will only notice after pressing whether this vein supplies the wound site.
   • To slow blood flow to the arm, press on the brachial artery that runs on the inside of the arm and on the inside of the elbow.
   • With an injury to the crotch or femur, you apply pressure to the femoral artery, which runs between the croup and the thigh. This is a very large vein. You must use your entire foot or hand to reduce blood flow.
   • With a wound to the lower leg, you exert pressure on the leg artery, in the back of the knee.
3. Make a turnstile. The decision to install a turnstile should not be taken just like that, as it can lead to the loss of a limb. However, if the blood loss is very severe and you have a piece of cloth or bandage, you may want to consider making a tourniquet.
   • Wrap the bandage tightly around the limb, between the wound and the heart, as close to the wound as possible. Wrap it around the limb several times and secure with a knot. Make sure you have enough fabric to make another knot around a stick. This allows you to obstruct the blood flow even better.

Part 4 of 4: Treating a sucking chest wound

1. Recognize a sucking chest wound. If the bullet has entered the chest, the victim may have a sucking chest wound. Air then enters through the wound, but does not come out, which can cause the lung to collapse. Signs of a sucking chest wound are a sucking sound, coughing up blood, foamy blood coming from the wound and shortness of breath. When in doubt, treat the wound as if it were a sucking chest wound.
2. Find the wound and expose it. Find the wound. Remove clothing from the wound.If there is fabric stuck to the wound, trim around it. Determine whether there is an exit wound, and exercise if so, on both sides of the wound pressure.
3. Tape the wound closed on three sides. Take airtight material, preferably plastic, and place it on the wound, so this is closed on all sides except the bottom. Oxygen can escape through this.
   • Ask the victim to exhale completely as you close the wound, and to hold their breath. Then you remove all air from the wound before closing it.
4. Apply pressure to both sides of the wound. This can be done by two pieces of cloth or gauze to impose both wounds, and very good to keep in place with a bandage.
5. Keep a close eye on the victim's breathing. You can do this by continuing to talk when he is conscious, and goes up and down on to watch or chest.
   • If you find stops breathing, reduce the pressure on the wound so that the chest easier to go up and down.
   • Prepare to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
6. Keep applying pressure and let the bandage sit until the emergency services arrive. They will continue to use your bandage or apply a new bandage.

Tips

• If the emergency services are there, share what you have done so far.
• Gunshots can cause three types of trauma: penetration (destruction of the flesh by the projectile), cavity formation (damage from the shock wave that caused the bullet in the body) and fragmentation (from the pieces that came off the projectile)
• It can be very difficult to estimate the severity of a gunshot wound from what is visible to the victim; the internal damage can be very serious even if the entrance wound and the exit wound appear to be small.
• If you don't have sterile dressings, don't worry. An infection can be treated later. But do take precautions to protect yourself from the victim's blood. Always wear latex gloves if possible.
• Gunshot wounds often damage the spine. If you suspect that the victim has damage to the spine or neck, move it or not, except when there is no alternative. When moving the victim, try to keep the head, neck, and back aligned.
• The most important thing is to apply pressure: this will reduce blood loss and allow the blood to clot at the wound.
• If there is a sucking chest wound, lay the victim than on its side so that the blood can not walk in the other lung.
• Stay calm. If you panic, the victim will panic too.

Warnings

• Avoid contamination with blood-borne diseases. Make sure that the victim's blood cannot get into any open wounds you have yourself.
• Even with the best first aid, a gunshot wound can be fatal.
• Don't risk your own life by helping someone with a gunshot wound.