Let us start by understanding what we mean by the word unconscious. Being unconscious is where a person becomes incapable of responding to stimuli and appears to be sleeping. How long a person loses consciousness may vary, with some only being unconscious for a few seconds while others lasting for several minutes or even hours depending on the cause of the unconsciousness. When one is unconscious, they cannot respond to stimuli such as shaking and loud noises. Sometimes they stop breathing or have a faint pulse and when that happens, they need to get immediate medical attention. The sooner someone received medical assistance when they become unconscious, the better their chances of making a full recovery faster. That is where emergency medicine and first aid kit come in.
What causes unconsciousness?
There are so many causes of unconsciousness, ranging from complications caused by drug and alcohol abuse and major illness or injury. Some of the factors that commonly cause loss of consciousness include car accidents, drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, and trauma to the head or chest among many others.
Besides the causes named above, it is also possible for someone to become unconscious when certain changes occur in their body suddenly. These changes usually cause temporary loss of consciousness and they include low blood pressure, low blood sugar, dehydration, failing heart rhythm, straining too much, hyperventilation, syncope, and neurologic syncope among many others. Neurologic syncope refers to the loss of consciousness that is caused by transient ischemic attack, stroke, and seizures.
Before someone becomes unconscious, there are usually certain signs that they exhibit. These signs include slurred speech, sudden inability to respond to stimuli, rapid heartbeats, dizziness, and confusion. As such, when you see someone exhibiting these signs, it may be a good idea to stay close to them because they may fall down and injure themselves when they become unconscious.
How do you administer first aid?
When someone becomes unconscious, it is important that you perform first aid on them as soon as possible. As part of administering first aid, you should check to determine if the person is breathing or not. If you determine that they are not breathing, you should call emergency medical services. In fact, you should have someone else place the call while you focus on administering CPR on the person. If you know how to administer CPR, you should start straight away. Get the person on their back before you administer CPR.
What you should do next
If the person is wearing any tight clothes that may be restricting them, you should start by removing them. You should also check the airway of the person to make sure that the inability to breathe is not caused by some kind of obstruction. If there is an obstruction, you should remove it and if you can’t you should help the person to breathe through their mouth. In case the person is bleeding, you should place your hand tightly around the area where blood is coming out through to prevent a reduction in blood pressure.