Medical emergencies - how to recognize them

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the following are warning signs of a medical emergency:

• Bleeding that will not stop
• Breathing problems (difficulty breathing, shortness of breath)
• Change in mental status (such as unusual behavior, confusion, difficulty arousing)
• Chest pain
• Choking
• Coughing up or vomiting blood
• Fainting or loss of consciousness
• Feeling of committing suicide or murder
• Head or spine injury
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Sudden injury due to a motor vehicle accident, burns or smoke inhalation, near drowning, deep or large wound, etc.
• Sudden, severe pain anywhere in the body
• Sudden dizziness, weakness, or change in vision
• Swallowing a poisonous substance
• Upper abdominal pain or pressure

BE PREPARED

• Determine the location and quickest route to the nearest emergency department before an emergency happens.
• Keep emergency phone numbers posted by the phone. Everyone in your household, including children, should know when and how to call these numbers. These numbers include:
  • Fire department
  • Police department police
  • Poison control center
  • Ambulance center
  • Your doctors' phone numbers
  • Contact numbers for neighbors or nearby friends or relatives.
  • Work phone numbers
• Know at which hospital(s) your doctor practices and, if practical, go there in an emergency.
• Wear a medical identification tag if you have a chronic condition or look for one on a person who has any of the symptoms mentioned.
• Get a personal emergency response system if you are elderly, especially if you live alone.

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE NEEDS HELP

• Remain calm, and call your local emergency number (such as 911).
• Start CPR or rescue breathing, if necessary and if you know the proper technique.
• Place a semiconscious or unconscious person in the recovery position until the ambulance arrives. DO NOT move the person, however, if there has been or may have been a neck injury.

Upon arriving at an emergency room, the person will be immediately evaluated. Life- or limb-threatening conditions will be treated first. Persons with conditions that are not life- or limb-threatening may have to wait.

CALL YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY NUMBER (SUCH AS 911) IF:

• The person's condition is life-threatening (for example, the person is having a heart attack or severe allergic reaction)
• The person's condition could become life-threatening on the way to the hospital
• Moving the person could cause further injury (for example, in case of a neck injury or motor vehicle accident)
• The person needs the skills or equipment of paramedics
• Traffic conditions or distance might cause a delay in getting the person to the hospital

Blackwell, TH. Emergency Medical Services. In: Marx JA, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, et al, eds. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 190.