When to Call 911 for Emergency Care
911 is the go-to number that comes to mind whenever we are faced with a situation that requires us to stop or report a crime, report a fire or save a life. For the purposes of this article, we will be looking at the “save a life” part, which as is explained over at frontlineer.com, is the part of the 911 response that triggers emergency medical services, EMS, to respond as well as emergency medicine technicians, EMT, and paramedics depending on where you are located. We should first state that you should only call 911 for a medical emergency, and also that prank calling on 911 is a crime that is punishable by law. So, what is a medical emergency? Well, in simple terms, a medical emergency is a medical condition that is life threatening or limb-threatening and as such immediate medical attention is required to prevent death or serious and permanent impairment respectively. While in all medical emergencies one is advised to call 911, there are those where one has to definitely do so. This may be due to the fact that they may be incapacitated and are as such unable to drive themselves to the hospital or they need medical attention immediately and can’t wait until they reach the emergency room. It is therefore important to know the instances when you need to call 911 for emergency care and that is what this article will look to help with.
You should call 911 immediately if the person you are helping has stopped breathing. If you check for breathing and it seems as if they have stopped breathing, then you should ensure that you call 911 as soon as possible as this is a matter of life and death; a genuine medical emergency. If someone is still breathing but has lost consciousness, then you should call 911 as well as soon as possible. Even if they recover consciousness soon after, you should still ensure you call 911 so that they may be attended to. Another instance where you should call 911, as is discussed in detail by the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, is in the event one is choking. This may be due to the one having something stuck on their throat that needs to be removed, among other causes, and ibn such instances one should call 911 so that they receive immediate medical attention as they can’t wait. A severe allergic reaction should also be cause to call 911, as such a person requires immediate medical attention and they can’t wait to get to an ER since we all know that this leads to anaphylactic shock which is a life-threatening condition.
As had been mentioned above, sometimes one may suffer a very severe accident, that there is a chance that they could suffer even more injury if they were to be moved. In such circumstances one should also ensure they call 911 rather than trying to take them to the ER on your own. This, as is revealed in discussions over at frontlineer.com, include situations where one has been involved in a motor vehicle accident or even a high fall. In such instances one may have internal injuries that may impossible to know about, which could be made worse by moving them. For instances one may have broken the lower ribs and if moved the broken ribs may injure the organs underneath the ribcage such as the spleen, lungs among others. Such instances may also involve injuries to the neck or spine, which may be made worse if they are moved by someone who is not a medical professional. This is especially true if one is experiencing a loss of sensation or feeling as well as loss of movement at a certain place of the body after an accident. In such situations, it is better to call 911 as soon as possible and have them handled by the medical professionals.
If one has suffered very severe burns, it is also recommended that you call 911 rather than looking to take them to the ER yourself as they need to be handled by medical professionals. Given that these instances cause internal injuries that may be herd to be aware of, it is also important to call 911 if one has suffered from an electric shock or a lightning strike. These, as is covered over at frontlineer.com usually do a lot of damage internally and as such moving someone on your own may do more harm than good. If one has experienced a fever that has lasted for 3 to 5 minutes, then it is also recommended that you call 911. The above scenarios involve someone calling 911 on your behalf, but if you are alone, you should always call 911 if you are experiencing a medical emergency even if you could wait until you reach the ER. Never drive yourself as you could faint or suffer from vision impairment while behind the wheel. It is also recommended that for heart attacks and stroke you call 911 as well as it will allow paramedics to deliver life-saving care as you head to the ER which could save your life or prevent permanent damage.
The above are some of the instances when you should definitely call 911 for emergency care, with more on this to be found over at frontlineer.com.
