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Anthropomorphic Analysis: Fur and Band-aids
10 years ago
General
Learning first aid and becoming an EMT had its challenges. With all the different species as well as features it was difficult at times to remember the procedures for different injuries.
For starters, as handy as fur and scales is for the cold and protection, it can be a pain to determine where and how extensive a wound is. Furthermore fur does not bond well with the adhesive on the dressings, bandages, and defibrillator pads. Electric and manual razors were standard issue to clear fur out of the way, treat the wound on the ambulance and make it easier for the doctors to treat the wound.
Another issue is dealing with injuries to tails and wings. Broken tails are more common with soft tails. While not life threatening, it creates a problem when placing them in the ambulance and securing a proper splint to avoid further injury. Injuries to hard tails are typically cuts, scrapes, breaks, and occasionally amputations. Fairly straightforward to treat, no razors needed, but tight bandages and a tourniquet for the really bad injuries.
For wings, feathered or non, a very gentle touch was needed to avoid more damage to the area. Immobilizing a broken wing in the confines of an ambulance could be difficult but not impossible. Some soft splints to keep it still, and a lot of cloth straps to keep the wing from moving.
Another difficult thing to remember was blood pressures/ and volumes of the various species. Most species have a similar range in blood pressure but larger breed had more volume and could last a little longer before going into shock. Smaller species had to be monitored more closely with dosages of drugs and amount of blood lost.
The challenges associated with administering effective CPR are having a proper air seal around the muzzle of the patient. Thankfully at our disposal are several masks for different muzzle sizes. Scales and think hides make for more difficult compressions but proper placement of place of paws is key.
One common injury that happens when tensions are high are lacerations and cuts caused by claws and teeth. Having claws and sharp teeth is great for when you need to open envelope or cut wrapping paper ,but bad knowing that everyone is armed with an edged weapon. EMTs and medical personnel have to keep their claws dull and short by policy to avoid ripping the glove or creating other cuts on the patient.
Priority was on stopping the bleeding, because they can create nasty irregular wounds. If the attacker was venomous, than the best medicine we could provide was a heavy application to the gas pedal to get to the hospital ASAP.
Feel free to comment on your thoughts and opinions as well as feed back.
For starters, as handy as fur and scales is for the cold and protection, it can be a pain to determine where and how extensive a wound is. Furthermore fur does not bond well with the adhesive on the dressings, bandages, and defibrillator pads. Electric and manual razors were standard issue to clear fur out of the way, treat the wound on the ambulance and make it easier for the doctors to treat the wound.
Another issue is dealing with injuries to tails and wings. Broken tails are more common with soft tails. While not life threatening, it creates a problem when placing them in the ambulance and securing a proper splint to avoid further injury. Injuries to hard tails are typically cuts, scrapes, breaks, and occasionally amputations. Fairly straightforward to treat, no razors needed, but tight bandages and a tourniquet for the really bad injuries.
For wings, feathered or non, a very gentle touch was needed to avoid more damage to the area. Immobilizing a broken wing in the confines of an ambulance could be difficult but not impossible. Some soft splints to keep it still, and a lot of cloth straps to keep the wing from moving.
Another difficult thing to remember was blood pressures/ and volumes of the various species. Most species have a similar range in blood pressure but larger breed had more volume and could last a little longer before going into shock. Smaller species had to be monitored more closely with dosages of drugs and amount of blood lost.
The challenges associated with administering effective CPR are having a proper air seal around the muzzle of the patient. Thankfully at our disposal are several masks for different muzzle sizes. Scales and think hides make for more difficult compressions but proper placement of place of paws is key.
One common injury that happens when tensions are high are lacerations and cuts caused by claws and teeth. Having claws and sharp teeth is great for when you need to open envelope or cut wrapping paper ,but bad knowing that everyone is armed with an edged weapon. EMTs and medical personnel have to keep their claws dull and short by policy to avoid ripping the glove or creating other cuts on the patient.
Priority was on stopping the bleeding, because they can create nasty irregular wounds. If the attacker was venomous, than the best medicine we could provide was a heavy application to the gas pedal to get to the hospital ASAP.
Feel free to comment on your thoughts and opinions as well as feed back.
I would venture to ask the size of the ambulance? Some large species like elephants or those with large appendages like dragons would take up sizable space in the back of an ambulance. Especially with two EMT's in the same vehicle providing care.
excellent point about the cold and warm blooded compositions.
I thought dragons were all bad and tough until I had to treat one with a cut on their tail. She is searing up and down that she is going to die. A simple pressure bandage did the trick.