Even with the most careful work, it may happen that we injure our hand with a chisel, inhale a toxic gas while working with chemicals, or fall from a ladder during assembly work.
The most common accidents and precautions
Burns. Dangerous places, activities and means: kitchen, laundry room, bathroom; melting fat, welding; irons, stoves, faulty heaters, hotplates. Particularly flammable materials: gasoline, ether, alcohol, turpentine, especially as cleaning agents and insecticides.
Precautions: do not pile up waste, newspaper, rags; do not leave ash in a wooden box or basket; on cookers and stoves, place cooking vessels so that their handles are not turned toward the field; handle flammable cleaning agents very carefully; do not leave fire or an open flame unattended.
Carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke. Ironing with a charcoal iron, a stove with faulty combustion, or a stove closed too early, faulty chimneys.
Precautions: chimneys and stoves should be checked and cleaned regularly; when using charcoal irons, iron with the window open; smoking in bed is prohibited; if we park a car in the garage, it should then be left open for some time.
Gas poisoning, gas explosion. Defects in illuminating gas pipelines. Improper handling of water heaters (boilers), faulty or unclosed valves. Three types of hazards: explosion, fire, gas poisoning.
The most dangerous component of illuminating gas is carbon monoxide. Signs of poisoning are: pallor, headache, weakness, dizziness, numbness of the limbs, vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, occasional muscle spasms, fainting. Finally, death may occur due to paralysis of the respiratory organs.
If poisoning develops gradually over a longer period of time (for example, a gas leak smolders slowly and continuously in an apartment), the signs are: a characteristic pale bluish-gray complexion, muscle weakness, fatigue, nervous tremors, trembling of the mouth, hands and feet, fainting (especially when standing up), weakening of hearing and vision, unsteady walking, reduced memory and concentration, restlessness, and reduced strength of will.
Precautions: if we smell gas, we must immediately open doors and windows, ventilate the room for a longer time, do not light a match, do not switch on the electric light; the gas valve must be closed completely; rubber hose without a fabric insert should not be used for gas lines; the tightness of gas installations must not be checked with an open flame, only with soapy water!
If the gas water heater (autogeyser) will not ignite, the hot water tap should be closed immediately and one should wait at least 10 m minutes until the entire amount of released gas has evaporated. After this, the pilot flame should be lit first and only then the hot water tap opened.
The combustion of the gas flame should be continuously monitored. If the flame is yellowish in color with long and faded outlines, combustion is incomplete. An appliance with incomplete combustion must not be used. The combustion products of gas stoves should be vented through a chimney. Where this has not been provided for, great attention should be paid to ventilation.
Electric shock. Faulty wires, household appliances, tools, uninsulated conductors, worn switches, plugs, lamp sockets; especially in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and basement; portable lamps, improper repairs of faulty fuses (e.g. with wire).
Precautions: all freely hanging electrical wires should be removed; we must not use weak and uninsulated switches and accessories; any fault must be eliminated immediately; we must not repair switches and wires with wet hands!
General safety precautions in the home workshop
The workshop, machines, working equipment and protective equipment should be suitable, durable and in proper working order.
The floor should be smooth, but not slippery, in good condition, and suitable for keeping clean.
The workplace should be spacious, well lit, with a free space at least 80 cm wide.
Let us use only ladders that have sound and strong rungs and that have been tested before use! Single-section ladders must be secured against slipping. Double-section ladders must be secured with hinges or chains so that they do not open. When working at height, a safety harness must always be used.
Electrical devices shall be manufactured and used only in accordance with the applicable standards and regulations.
Natural and artificial lighting should be sufficient and practically free of shadows at the workplace and on the hands, and at the same time must not be glaring.
Work clothing — especially near dangerous machines — should be appropriate. Loose clothing with freely hanging parts must not be worn; aprons, scarves and ties are not allowed. Hair should be protected by a cap.
Protective goggles and masks should be used if there is a danger of chips, sparks and drops of corrosive liquids. Against strong light, proper dark glasses should also be used.
Combustible and explosive gases, vapors, as well as dust, should be removed by powerful exhausters. If there are combustible or explosive gases, vapors, or dust in the room, heating or lighting with an open flame must not be used. Likewise, internal combustion engines or grinding machines must not be installed in such rooms. Special attention must be paid to the ventilation of such rooms. If there are means and devices (hand-held) for fire extinguishing, they must always be in proper working order, and their use should be practiced from time to time.
It is forbidden to pile up self-igniting materials, chipboard and greasy rags!
Protective guards should be installed on moving parts of machines so as to eliminate even the accidental possibility of these parts coming into mutual contact.
First aid after an accident
Stopping external bleeding. The most important thing is to close the injured arteries and protect the wound from infection with an appropriate bandage (Fig. 1). Blood remnants must not be removed from the wound, nor should the wound be poured over or rinsed with liquids. A properly applied bandage reduces the injured person’s pain. A person with external bleeding should sit or lie down, and the bleeding part of the body should be elevated. The necessary first-aid materials are sterile gauze, cotton and bandages. If the wound or its surroundings are contaminated with dust, mud or other infectious materials, the wound must be wiped with sterile gauze (or rinsed with hydrogen peroxide), and the area around the wound lightly coated with 5%-percent iodine (if there is no iodine, then with alcohol or cologne).
A distinction should be made between bleeding of capillaries, carrying vessels, and main arteries.
Minor capillary bleeding is stopped with a simple dressing bandage (fig. 1, 1. part). More severe bleeding is stopped with a pressure bandage. A sterile gauze pad is placed on the wound, and cotton is placed on the gauze. Then a “tampon” is formed, gauze or cotton wrapped in gauze and folded into a ball shape (the size of a walnut, egg, or fist, depending on the size of the wound), placed over the cotton, and everything is wrapped a little more tightly. (Cotton must not be placed directly on the wound!) If blood soaks through, the bandage should not be removed; instead, a new bandage should be placed over it! The most suitable for dressing wounds are the so-called first-aid dressings, which consist of sterile gauze (in the form of a pad) and a sterile bandage. Bleeding from large vessels of the limbs is stopped by applying a tourniquet above the wound (fig. 1, 2. part).
An injury to the main artery can be recognized by blood spurting out in a strong jet and having a very bright red color. In injuries to the vessels supplying the limbs, depending on the size of the wound, blood spurts from the wound or only seeps out slowly. In both cases, bleeding can be stopped only by applying a bandage. Bleeding of the limbs is easier to stop if the bleeding part is raised (fig. 1, 3. part) and tightly bandaged, starting from the end toward the body. This procedure is especially necessary if the injured person has lost a lot of blood, because in this way we will restore normal blood pressure. In the case of bleeding from the main artery, the pressure bandage should be placed between the heart and the injured site, and in the case of bleeding from the vessels supplying the limbs, on the part of the limb toward the fingers. Before bandaging the wound, the injured part should be raised slightly, as this will reduce the bleeding. The most suitable tourniquets for stopping bleeding are: a wide rubber strip or a rubber tube. An important rule is that the tourniquet should be applied only if bleeding has not been stopped by a dressing or compression bandage. In addition, it is very important that the tourniquet must not be left on the leg or arm for more than 1-1,1/4 hour, because it will become numb. (This means that rapid medical intervention is needed, or the injured person should be sent to the hospital immediately.) In very severe bleeding, an attempt should be made to stop the blood by finger pressure (figure 1, 4. part); in injuries to the main artery, between the heart and the injured site, and in the vessels supplying the limb, toward the periphery. Bleeding from the main artery in the neck can be stopped until the doctor arrives only by finger pressure. A patient who has lost a lot of blood, if conscious and without a tendency to vomit, should be given coffee or tea and given an enema with a lukewarm salt solution.
FIGURE 1
Stopping nosebleeds. The patient should be placed in a sitting position, his head tilted back, and the cartilage of the nose pressed with the thumb for 10-15 m min. If this does not stop the bleeding, the nostrils should be packed with clean gauze or cotton, the head bent forward, and in this position one should wait until the bleeding stops.
Burns. On a person whose clothes have caught fire, a thick blanket or coat should be placed and water poured over it. A burn wound should be covered with gauze or soft cloth soaked in a greasy or oily cream, and then bandaged. Burned areas should not be touched with fingers or any objects (bursting a blister, etc.) until the doctor arrives.
In burns caused by strong acids, the acid should be wiped off, the area should be rinsed immediately with water, gauze soaked in ointment should be placed on it, and a bandage applied.
Contusion. The site of the contusion is painful, swollen, and red. If the skin is injured and abraded, it should be lightly covered with alcohol or iodine and a bandage applied.
Sprain. An injury to the ligament bands that fix and protect the joints is accompanied by pain, but not as severe as in a dislocation. First aid: rest and cold compresses.
Dislocation. An abnormal position of the ends of the bones in the joints after an injury is accompanied by severe pain. The shape of the joint changes and the injured person cannot move. A layperson must not attempt to set a dislocated joint, because this will only increase the injury. The injured person should be placed at rest and a doctor should be called. If the dislocated joint is set quickly, the patient will recover more quickly.
Bone injuries. A bone fracture is a break in the continuity of a bone. The patient cannot move the injured part of the body, cannot stand, for example, on a fractured leg. A bone fracture may be of different degrees: a crack, a fracture with small broken-off pieces, a break or a crack and, finally, an open fracture. Of all injuries, the most serious is an open fracture, which also carries the danger of infection. Therefore, sterile gauze is placed on the injured area. If we determine, or there is a suspicion, that it is a bone fracture and if we can quickly secure medical assistance, it is best to place the patient in a lying position and wait for the doctor. If, however, the patient must be carried, then we must immobilize the injured leg (fig. 2). Removing the patient’s clothing should begin on the side without injury (dressing in the opposite order). The clothing should be ripped open at the seams, taking care not to move the injured part of the body unnecessarily. Immobilization of the arm is done by securing the arm to the chest. This is also possible without binding (fig. 2, 1. part) or with a bandage, i.e. a cloth scarf (fig. 2, 2. part). In the case of a leg fracture, we secure the injured leg to the uninjured one. If we are not sure that it is a fracture (it may also be a dislocation), we should still act as if it were a fracture. The broken bone should be immobilized together with two adjacent joints: the broken arm together with the wrist and the elbow; the broken leg together with the knee and the ankle (fig. 2, 3. part). Immobilization aids may be a stick, a sturdier plank, or some flat object. All these aids should first be wrapped in some fabric.
FIGURE 2
Until first aid is provided, the fractured limb should be supported on a flat surface (Fig. 2, 4. part).
Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur: from defective or improperly sealed stoves; in a garage from automobiles; during smoldering gas combustion (defective pipes, valves, improper flame combustion, etc.). Initial signs of poisoning: headache, dizziness, nausea, urge to vomit. Later, such a degree of weakness occurs that the patient cannot walk and, despite being conscious, cannot escape. Breathing is first accelerated, and later the injured person begins to suffocate and breathing becomes shallower. The injured person should be taken into fresh air immediately (and the room ventilated); if conscious, tell them to breathe deeply and, if they can swallow, give them strong coffee or tea. If unconscious, artificial respiration should be applied.
Carbon dioxide poisoning. This is actually suffocation due to lack of oxygen. It occurs in deep cellars during wine fermentation, in sewer pipes, and when descending into old wells. A rescuer should have protective equipment (oxygen supply) when entering these spaces; if such equipment is not available, he should tie a strong rope around his waist, with the end held by those outside the space, breathe in deeply upon entry, and try to rescue, or carry out, the injured person without breathing.