7 common medical emergencies and how to respond to them

Stephen Shelton, MD

Emergency Medicine

Medical emergencies can happen anywhere to anyone. Although we don’t want to think about it, there might come an emergency to where our reaction could help save someone’s life. Steve Shelton, MD, explained what to do for some of the more common medical emergencies so you feel empowered to help if the need arises.

First things first – make sure you are safe

“As a first responder, it’s important that you’re monitoring your environment, so you don’t become a casualty yourself,” Dr. Shelton said.

Look for potential hazards. For example, if there’s an accident, look for downed electrical wires, gas leaks and flames. In a medical emergency, consider the possibility of poisons or fumes. Make sure you’re safe before offering help to someone who’s in trouble.

Here are several common emergencies and what you can do to help.

1. Life-threatening bleeding

If possible, have the person who is bleeding lie down and relax. Use some type of bandage – it could be a T-shirt – and use it to put pressure directly on the wound.

If the wound happens to be on a limb, raise that limb above the heart and continue to apply pressure. If there is squirting blood that you’re having difficulty controlling, use a tourniquet if you’re trained to use one.

2. Choking

“The universal sign for choking is one or two hands around your neck,” Dr. Shelton said. “Often these individuals have a very panicked look. You may notice they have noisy breathing, or even worse, no breathing at all.”

If the person is breathing, encourage them to cough.

“The cough mechanism is much better than anything you can do,” he explained.

If the person is not able to cough, provide back blows. Use the palm of your hand to strike them right between the shoulder blades in an upward motion and repeat it about four times. If that doesn’t clear the airway, use the Heimlich maneuver.

This is where you put your arms around the individual and with your fist, give an upward movement in the abdomen, applying force under the ribcage into the abdomen,” Dr. Shelton said. “Use four breast thrusts to try and clear the airway. Alternate doing those until whatever foreign body is cleared.”

3. Heart attack

The classic symptom of a heart attack is heavy chest pain.

“Folks often complain of having an elephant sitting on their chest,” Dr. Shelton said. “They may have some difficulty breathing and they’re often sweaty.”

However, not everyone has those classic symptoms. Women or people with diabetes might have different symptoms, such as indigestion, nausea or jaw pain.

If you think someone may be having a heart attack, call 911. Then encourage them to sit down, cool off and rest. If you have aspirin available, have them chew and swallow an aspirin. If the person has heart disease and has been prescribed nitroglycerin, help them take it.

4. Stroke

To identify if someone is having a stroke, use the acronym BE FAST, which stands for:

B – Balance. A sudden change in balance or coordination.

E – Eyes. Sudden blurred double or loss of vision without any pain.

F – Face drooping or numbness on one side of the face. You can ask the individual to smile and notice they often have a crooked smile.

A – Arm weakness. Have them hold up their arms and look to see if there is one that does not move as well as the other.

S – Speech difficulty. Slurred, hard to understand speech or the inability to speak are important signs.

T – Time to call 911. Time is brain, so make sure to call 911 early.

“There are treatments for stroke, but they’re often time-dependent on getting the individual to the hospital as quickly as possible,” Dr. Shelton said.

5. Seizure

“While seizures can seem scary and violent, they only last a couple minutes,” Dr. Shelton said. “Do not try to hold the person down. That will not stop the seizure and can potentially cause injury. Also, do not put anything in their mouth to try to keep them from biting their tongue. That’s also very dangerous. It can impede the individual’s airways or potentially harm you, especially if you try to use your finger.”

The best thing you can do is to try to protect the person. Move away any objects that could cause harm and, if you’re able, roll the person up on their side. When someone is having a seizure, they often have some difficulty breathing and a lot of saliva associated with the seizure. If you can roll them up on their side, it makes it much easier for them to breathe.

If someone has a seizure that goes longer than two minutes or if they have multiple seizures, call 911 for assistance.

6. Fainting

If someone has fainted, the first thing you want to do is make sure they’re still breathing. Look to see if the chest is rising and listen closely to their mouth and nose to hear if they’re breathing. If the person is not breathing, feel for a pulse by touching their neck next to their Adam’s apple.

If there’s no pulse and the person is not breathing, call 911 immediately.  If you’re trained in resuscitation, begin using CPR.

“Even if you don’t have any significant experience, you can try to get some heart activity, Dr. Shelton said. “Get the individual on their back, tilt their head up so their airway is open and start doing some chest compressions, which is a downward motion on the sternum. If you happen to be in a public place, have someone look for an AED.”

An automated external defibrillator looks for a heart rhythm and provides an electrical shock to get the heart beating normally.

“These are public access devices, but they require training to operate them,” Dr. Shelton said.

7. Allergic reaction

“Fortunately, many allergic reactions are fairly minor,” Dr. Shelton said. “But some can progress to severe emergencies that involve facial swelling, mouth swelling, difficulty breathing and vomiting.”

If you encounter someone who’s having an allergic reaction like this, call 911 immediately. You can also try to remove them from whatever is causing the allergic reaction. Sometimes fresh air can help.

If the person has a known history of allergies, look for an EpiPen and assist them with using it. Benadryl is also helpful to use early on.

What should you do if you’re unsure about the problem?

Sometimes emergencies are obvious, but sometimes they’re not. What should you do when you’re not sure? Dr. Shelton said your primary care provider is a great resource for advice on where you should go to seek help.

“If you don’t have access to a doctor and you’re really unsure, I would suggest erring on the side of caution,” Dr. Shelton said. “Go to an urgent care or an emergency department to be evaluated to make sure you do not have an emergency.”