WATCH: What to do in an emergency

Not knowing how to deal with emergencies including what to do when someone faints or how to deal with a cut or burn wound, can cause havoc at your holiday destination where you don’t know any doctors.

To prevent a stressful situation, ER24 has given a few answers to general questions they encounter on a daily basis.

What should I do if someone faints?

Try to prevent the person from getting hurt when falling.

Put the patient in the recovery position on a bed or on the floor.

They should wake up within a few seconds.

If it doesn’t look like a normal fainting spell or the person appears to be seriously ill, call an ambulance immediately.

How do I help someone who appears to be choking?

A choking victim can’t speak or breathe and needs your help immediately.

Follow these steps to help a choking victim:

If he or she can’t speak because of an obstructed airway or shows signs that he or she is choking (both hands around the neck), then you can attempt the Heimlich manoeuvre on an adult or backslaps and chest thrusts on a small child.

The Heimlich manoeuvre:

• From behind, wrap your arms around the victim’s waist.

• Make a fist and place the thumb side of your fist against the victim’s upper abdomen, below the ribcage and above the navel.

• Grasp your fist with your other hand and press into their upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Do not squeeze the ribcage. Confine the force of the thrust to your hands.

Repeat until object is expelled.

I’ve burnt my hand on the stove, should I go to the hospital?

First aid is the most important first step. Keep your hand under clean, cool running water for 15 to 20 minutes even if there is no blistering.

This will prevent further damage to the deep skin sections that cause scarring and other complications.

If there are many blisters or you are experiencing unbearable pain, you should consider going to the hospital for further assessment.

Warning: Don’t use ice or frozen peas directly on a burn because the freezing is harmful to the skin.

How deep should a cut be before I seek treatment?

Minor cuts can also become infected, therefore it is important to clean them with a lot of tap water and to ensure that your tetanus vaccinations are up to date (every five to 10 years).

If the wound is gaping, even a little bit, or won’t stop bleeding after three minutes of direct pressure, then you should seek medical advice.

Take special care with wounds on the face (these have cosmetic implications) and hands, in case of nerve, tendon or vessel damage.

If I suspect a child has ingested a poisonous substance, how should I react?

Stay calm and call a poison advice service immediately.

Don’t induce vomiting or give the patient anything to drink before consulting a health care provider.

You can take your child to the nearest emergency centre for an examination and further treatment if he or she looks ill or if you’ve been instructed to do so by the poison advice line.

Take the container along to help identify the suspected poisonous substance.

If the child is unconscious, behaving unusually or breathing is irregular, rather call an ambulance to stabilise the child before he or she is transported to a doctor.