Scouts (UK) – 10A Major Illness

Notes and revision resources for Module 10A – Major Illness.

This module includes information on asthma, anaphylaxis, heart attack, stroke, seizures, diabetes, sepsis and meningitis.

Basic Premise of Life Support

  • We need the gasses (air) to come in and out
  • We need the blood to go round and round
  • We need the brain to send the signals that make these things happen

Anything which stands in the way of this is an immediate life threat.

Secondary Assessment

  • Vital Signs (particularly mental status)
  • Physical Exam
  • SAMPLE History

SAMPLE History

  • S– Signs & Symptoms
  • A– Allergies
  • M– Medications
  • P– Past Pertinent History
  • L– Last Ins and Outs
  • E– Events Prior

Asthma

  • 2 puffs every 2 minutes until they’ve had 10 puffs (as required)
  • Use a spacer, improvised spacer or hold the inhaler 4cm from the patient’s mouth
  • Red flags include symptoms not responding to the inhaler, the patient becoming exhausted or too breathless to speak

Manufactured Spacer:

Demo Video

Improvised Spacer:

Demo Video

Anaphylaxis

  • Can develop or reoccur up to 24 hours after exposure to the allergen
  • Epinephrine (Adrenaline) is the definitive treatment
  • Auto-injector (epipen) administered to the side of the mid-thigh
  • Evacuate the patient with additional epinephrine wherever possible

Demo Video

Heart Attack

  • Central chest pain radiating to the arm, jaw or back, light headedness, pale cool clammy skin, shortness of breath,.
  • Sit them on the floor, with their knees bent and their head and shoulders supported
  • Help administer GTN if they have had it previously prescribed
  • Chew 300mg of aspirin if not allergic and over 16

Heart Attack

  • Facial Droop
  • Arm Weakness
  • Speach difficulties
  • Time to call 999
  • Even a resolving TIA should be treated emergently

Seizures

  • Calm, Cushion, Call
  • If you can’t get the danger away from the patient, get the patient away from the danger

Diabetes

  • Hypo = Low
  • Hyper = High
  • Hypo = sudden onset: Mental status changes, sudden confusion, sweaty, clammy skin, weakness, fainting, hunger
  • Hyper = slow onset: presents like dehydration, loss of appetite, nausea, intense thirst, flushed skin, decrease in AVPU
  • Never administer insulin, but you can help a compliant patient do so
  • Rule of 15s for hypo
  • If unresponsive, disove sugar in warm water and rub around the inside of the gums

Meningitis

  • Differentiating symptoms are stiff neck, photophobia and rash that doesn’t disappear when pressed against a glass
  • Seek urgent medical advice

Sepsis

  • S – Slurred speach or confusion
  • E – Extreme shivering or muscle pain
  • P – Passing no urine in a day
  • S – Severe breathlessness
  • I –It feels like you’re going to die
  • S– Skin mottled or discoloured

A quick reminder, in order to fully validate module 10A, there are 4 steps:

  1. Module 10A Part 1 – Life Support (Video Call)
  2. Module 10A Part 2 – Trauma & Injury (Video Call)
  3. Module 10A Part 3 – Major Illness (Video Call)
  4. Module 10B – Practical Skills Session

If you ever have any questions about first aid, or if you have an incident and want to debrief, I’m happy to jump on a call with you. You can reach me via my BSO email address, or on WhatsApp on +60 12 555 8350. Do remember I’m in GMT+8 so am unlikely to be online during the evenings GMT/CET.

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