Offering first aid treatment comes in different levels; some are very simple, while others require special knowledge to administer. Growing up in the village, we didn’t learn most of the first aid treatments we knew in school because we were practically living a kind of life where the alarm of injury could blow at any time.
One of the major first aid treatments I have ever given to someone was when a scorpion bit my dad while we were working on the farm. It was a normal day; we went to weed grass with wooden cutlasses, and you know, sometimes one hand gets on the ground to shake off the sand from the cleared grass or to heap them somewhere. That was what we were doing when he(my dad) suddenly called out my name in a sympathetic manner. I rushed to the spot and met him holding the bitten spot very tightly, fighting the ground in pain. I didn’t need to ask questions about what to do; I quickly rushed to the farmhouse, cut a rubber rope from the bike, and hurried back to the spot. I tied the upper part of the finger where he was bitten. That didn’t reduce the pain, but it was a way to prevent the poison from circulating all over the body.
That was the end of work for that day; we closed immediately. Fortunately, I had already learnt how to ride a motorcycle back then, so I drove the bike with him, and we headed home directly to a chemist shop so that drugs could be applied to stop the pain. That first aid treatment is a common and popular one. The victim may still experience the intense pain of a scorpion’s harsh bite, but preventing the dangerous poison from circulating in the body is a good step.
There’s another method whereby the first aider puts their mouth on the bitten spot to suck out the poison. However, not everyone can do that because it requires special skill, such as the use of herbs alongside the process. Scorpion bites were very common when we were living in the village.
Another first aid treatment I could always give smoothly and with ease is the aid provided to a victim of a cutlass cut. This happened a lot back then when I was in the village going to the farm. We knew many herbs to apply to a wound to stop bleeding before taking the victim for proper treatment.
Apart from the usage of herbs, urinating on the spot of a cutlass cut can also stop the bleeding instantly. Oh yes, we did this a lot back then, but it can only be done on a victim who has the ability to withstand pain because applying urine on a fresh wound comes with another level of pain entirely. I did this to my dad many times while on the farm during bush-clearing seasons. You know, when clearing the forest, the cutlass is very sharp, and any mistake could lead to a cut in either the leg or hand. It happened to my dad many times, and he would instruct me to urinate on it. After that, we added some herbs to help “cook” the wound. This method worked perfectly because, after stopping the bleeding, one could just rely on medicine without needing to take the case to the hospital for major treatment.
I also know how to bring out water from the body of someone who drowned in a water body. We were taught this countless times in school during Physical & Health Education.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Week 180, Edition 02 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community