What is the difference between poisoning and accidental first aid

The core difference is that the priority of first aid is completely different - the first priority of first aid for poisoning is to block the continued absorption of poison, while the first step of ordinary first aid for accidents is often to ensure the stability of vital signs and avoid secondary injuries.

I met a class that left a particularly deep impression on me when I was rotating in the emergency department. Two unconscious patients were brought in at the same time at two o'clock in the morning. One was riding a scooter on a rainy day and hit a flower bed, and the other was poisoned after having a meal with friends. Our first reaction to the one who had been hit was to fix the neck collar and clear the foreign body from the mouth. We did not even bother to deal with the abrasions on the body. We were afraid that the displacement would damage the spinal cord and the vomit would block the airway and suffocate. But for the one who ate poisonous mushrooms, we first used a tongue depressor to induce vomiting and put a gastric tube on the stomach to lavage the person who had eaten poisonous mushrooms. When I fell, I cut my lip and it started to bleed. I had to go through the steps of cleaning out the poison before dealing with the injury. It only took ten minutes. In the end, both of them were rescued. When I reviewed it later, I said that if the first aid order of the two was reversed at that time, something might have gone wrong.

However, it must be mentioned that the pre-hospital first aid community currently has different views on whether sudden syncope of unknown causes should be treated first as poisoning or as an ordinary accident. Especially for fainting in a confined space, some people think that the first step is to check whether there is craniocerebral trauma or spinal injury. If you move hastily, it may cause irreversible paralysis; others think that in a confined space, you must first consider the possibility of carbon monoxide and toxic gas poisoning, and move to a ventilated area first. The first priority is to keep away from the wind. If you really fall and get injured, moving dozens of seconds later won’t be a big problem. If you are really poisoned, you may be dead dozens of seconds later. There are actual cases to support both sides. There is no absolute standard answer. Most of them still need to be judged based on the on-site situation.

Don’t think that this is something that only doctors and nurses need to understand. If ordinary people get confused when they are in an emergency, it can really be a disservice. A parent rushed over with a child who accidentally drank 84. She said that when the child first drank it, her first reaction was to wipe the child's mouth and pat the child's back to calm him down. She also coaxed the child for a long time, and it took almost ten minutes before she remembered to induce vomiting. In the end, the gastroscopy revealed that the heartburn was much worse than that of the child who accidentally drank the same dose. You say it is a pity, but it is not a pity.

To put it bluntly, the difference between the two is a bit like saving lives for crops in disaster. Ordinary accidents are like seedlings being blown down by strong winds or hit by stones. You have to remove the stones pressing on the seedlings first, stabilize the seedlings, and then talk about the follow-up. Watering and fertilizing; poisoning is like a seedling with herbicide on its roots. Don’t worry about whether it is crooked or whether its leaves are broken. First wash off the herbicide on the roots. Otherwise, no matter how steady you hold it, the toxins will move up the stem and you will not be able to save it in the end. Moreover, the first aid window for poisoning is generally much narrower than that for ordinary accidents. Most poisons can enter the blood from the digestive tract in ten minutes. Once they enter the blood, it is several times more difficult to deal with them. This is why first aid for poisoning always puts detoxification first. If you are really unsure, just call 120 and state the situation clearly. The operator will give you the most appropriate guidance. Just don't guess.