Emergencies and setbacks / Chapter 13
This section outlines exactly what steps to take, what to avoid, and what not to do at all. The entries on first aid and wilderness survival focus on specific causes of death and survival rates. Those dealing with scams and threats relate to financial loss and personal liberty. These two sets of figures aren’t interchangeable. Items are listed in descending order based on how common each situation is and how much difference proper action can make to someone’s chances of survival. These guidelines are primarily meant for you, your spouse, and close family members. Since 79.2% of cardiac arrests happen at home, you’ll most likely be helping someone you love. Friends and coworkers come next. Helping strangers can still be worthwhile, but this category ranks lowest in priority; doing so may even expose you to fraud or legal complications. Therefore, protective actions and legal safeguards are highlighted first in these entries.
Only actions that must be taken within minutes are included here. Recognizing scams or handling blackmail situations requires longer-term responses and thus fall outside this section. Detailed anti-fraud rules and seven common scam types are covered in Section 8, Item 3. If someone threatens to release private photos or intimate videos, refer to Section 8, Item 32. Should money already have been transferred, call 110 or 96110 immediately to request a stop on the payment, as explained in Section 8, Item 2.
The entries are grouped by topic, with item numbers shown in parentheses.
CPR and choking: If someone collapses and stops breathing (Item 1), avoid rushing to help an elderly person who has fallen (Item 2). In cases of choking where speech is impossible (Item 26) or when an infant can’t cry due to blockage (Item 43), proper CPR techniques apply (Item 44).
Sudden medical emergencies: Watch for facial drooping or weakness on one side (Item 3), sudden dizziness or loss of balance (Item 4), sudden vision loss in one eye (Item 5), intense eye pain and swelling (Item 6), chest pressure or pain (Item 7), tearing pains elsewhere (Item 8), the worst headache imaginable (Item 9), confusion following a head injury in seniors (Item 10), sudden leg swelling (Item 11), allergic reactions leading to shock (Item 15), seizures (Item 16), and sudden tremors in diabetics (Item 17).
Wounds and burns: Apply direct pressure to stop bleeding (Item 12), treat dog or cat bites (Item 13), cool burns with water (Item 14), and never remove foreign objects from wounds (Item 40) or move suspected fractures (Item 41).
Poisoning, fires, and accidents: Cut power first if someone is electrocuted (Item 18), respond to carbon monoxide alarms (Item 19), handle accidental ingestion of cleaners, pesticides, or medicines (Item 20), flush chemicals off skin (Item 21), recognize heat exhaustion without sweating (Item 22), give mildly salted water to heatstroke victims (Item 23), crawl low during fires (Item 24), spot drowning victims (Item 25), and check building safety after earthquakes (Item 30).
Wilderness survival: Stay put if lost in remote areas (Item 27), watch for shivering and slurred speech as signs of hypothermia (Item 28), never cut or suction venom after snake bites (Item 29), handle encounters with bears, wild boars, or stray dogs (Item 31), seek shelter during thunderstorms (Item 32), ascend high altitudes gradually (Item 33), remove ticks carefully (Item 34), and always boil wild water before drinking (Item 35).
Conflicts and aftermath: Defend yourself if robbed in isolated areas (Item 36), intervene cautiously if witnessing a fight (Item 37), and claim compensation for injuries or expenses incurred while saving others (Item 39).
Sexual assault and HIV exposure: Seek immediate medical care after possible HIV exposure (Item 38) or sexual assault (Item 42).
Most people you’d need to help are family members — 79.2% of cardiac arrests happen at home. When someone performs CPR, the survival rate jumps from 3.9% to 16.1%. …
This guidance is primarily aimed at one’s own elderly relatives and people you know well. First, check whether they’re breathing; if not, follow step 1 (perform chest compressions). …
If someone’s face suddenly droops, they can’t lift one arm, and their speech becomes slurred, call 120 right away. …
Out of 736 stroke cases, 14.1% showed none of the classic FAST symptoms at onset — no facial droop, no arm weakness, no slurred speech. Relying solely on those three signs would miss many cases. …
When one eye suddenly goes dark, as if a curtain has been pulled shut, it means a blockage has occurred in the blood vessels at the back of the eye. The longer the blockage persists, the less of the retina can be saved. …
This is an acute glaucoma attack. Fluid can’t drain from the eye, so pressure spikes quickly. The longer it goes untreated, the more damage occurs to the optic nerve, and that damage is permanent. …
If you feel chest pressure, tightness, or heaviness that lasts over 15 minutes without easing up, call 120 right away. For patients treated within 55 minutes of arrival at the hospital, the mortality rate within 30 days is 2.8%. …
This condition causes a tearing-like pain that starts in the chest and travels down the back and waist. When calling 120, simply describe it as “a tearing pain that’s moving downward.” …
The key point isn’t how intense the pain is, but how quickly it reaches its peak. In 2,131 people experiencing severe headaches that peaked within an hour, 6.2% had a ruptured blood vessel on the surface of the brain. …
After a head injury, blood usually starts accumulating only around the third week. At the time of impact, there may be absolutely no symptoms at all, and the person might not even recall the injury. …
If one leg suddenly swells, becomes noticeably thicker than the other, and is painful to press, get a leg vein ultrasound done as soon as possible. …
Begin by pressing hard on the wound with your hand or a cloth; if bleeding on a limb persists, fasten a tourniquet and call 120 right away. Once applied, never loosen it. …
Once rabies symptoms appear, the fatality rate is practically 100%. Rinsing with soap and water followed by vaccination is the sole safeguard. …
Rinsing a burn with cool running water for at least 20 minutes within 3 hours of injury reduces the likelihood of needing skin grafts to roughly 60% of the rate for those who do not perform this step. …
If someone suddenly develops a full-body rash along with trouble breathing or dizziness, treat it as anaphylactic shock. …
Move any hard objects away from the person. Lay them on their side with their mouth facing down, and start timing the seizure. …
First, give 15 grams of sugar — sugar cubes or a small carton of juice both work fine. Retest blood sugar levels after 15 minutes; if they’re still low, repeat the process. A blood sugar level below 3. …
First, turn off the power, or use a dry wooden stick to move the electrical source away before touching the victim. Pulling them by hand directly can turn one victim into two. …
When the alarm sounds, or when multiple people in one room start experiencing headaches, nausea, and dizziness, move everyone outdoors first and then call for help. …
If someone swallows detergent, pesticides, or medicine, do not make them vomit — spitting out corrosive liquids would burn the esophagus all over again. …
Follow three simple steps. First, strip off any clothing, shoes and socks that have been exposed — the areas covered by fabric sustain the worst injuries. …
Red, hot skin, slurred speech and confusion are signs of heatstroke. It can take just minutes for someone to go from feeling dizzy to losing consciousness, and the mortality rate is very high. …
Only conscious individuals should drink. Consume cool, lightly salted water or sports drinks in small portions, about 500–1000 ml per hour. …
Drop to the ground and crawl toward the nearest exit, staying under any smoke layer. …
A drowning person instinctively pulls their rescuer underwater, so anyone who enters the water risks drowning too. …
First ask, “Are you choking? Can you speak?” If the person can still cough or make sounds, let them cough on their own. …
Stay right where you are, preferably next to your vehicle — it serves as the best shelter from the sun. …
When body temperature drops below 35°C, hypothermia sets in. Victims start to shiver, speak unclearly, walk unsteadily, and have trouble thinking. …
Sit down and stay motionless; immobilize the bitten limb. Remove any rings or watches right away, as swelling will set in quickly. …
First, determine what kind of building you’re in. …
Never run — bears can sprint uphill or downhill just as fast as racehorses. Also, don’t climb trees; both black bears and brown bears are excellent climbers. Stand your ground and keep speaking to the bear in a low, calm voice. …
There is no safe spot outdoors during a thunderstorm. You must get into a hard-topped vehicle or building; convertibles and motorcycles do not qualify. …
This guideline focuses on sleeping altitude, not daytime elevation. Sleeping above 2,450 meters already poses a risk of altitude sickness. …
Use fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick’s head right against the skin, then pull steadily outward. …
Any microbes capable of causing illness through water are killed within seconds at boiling temperature. …
Give him the money, do not fight back, and do not argue. By demanding a few hundred yuan, he is committing robbery — a crime punishable by at least three years up to ten years in prison. …
If you intervene, your actions shift from “trying to calm things down” to “taking part in a fight.” …
If you suspect you’ve been exposed to HIV, 72 hours is the hard deadline — ideally you should start PEP within 2 hours. The medication must be taken for 28 consecutive days. …
If you get hurt while saving someone, you’re not simply out of luck. Those injured while acting in the public interest should receive treatment first, with costs covered afterward. …
Pulling out the object can cause severe bleeding and makes it harder for doctors to assess the extent of the injury. …
Treat any limb injury as a possible fracture first; being able to stand or move does not rule it out. …
Physical traces on the body, on clothing, and in the room are the most crucial evidence for identifying the perpetrator. …
If the child can still cough or cry audibly, let them cough while you watch closely. …
No response to foot stimulation and no normal breathing — call 120 on speakerphone and do not stop. Encircle the chest with both hands and compress with two thumbs; if you cannot encircle, use the heel of one hand, about 4 cm (1.5 inches) deep, about 2 compressions per second. After every 30 compressions, give 2 breaths covering mouth and nose. Most infant cardiac arrests start with breathing failure; CPR that includes breaths improves survival.
This part comes from the parveen0029/The-Evidence-Based-Life edition.
A button battery lodged in the esophagus can generate caustic electrical burns that cause irreversible necrosis within 2 hours, even while the child appears cheerful. …
This part comes from the parveen0029/The-Evidence-Based-Life edition.
An intoxicated person who loses consciousness can choke to death on their own vomitus or suffer respiratory arrest. …
This part comes from the parveen0029/The-Evidence-Based-Life edition.
First apply direct firm pressure to the stump wound to halt bleeding and call emergency services. …
This part comes from the parveen0029/The-Evidence-Based-Life edition.
Handle the knocked-out tooth strictly by its white crown and never touch the root surface. …
This item has not been translated yet. Showing the original Chinese text.
大便变成黑色、粘马桶，还很臭，通常是食道、胃或十二指肠在出血，当天去急诊。只有黑便、没有吐血的人，更容易拖着不去。拖着去的人血红蛋白更低，要输血的更多。头晕、出冷汗、晕过去，或吐血、吐出咖啡渣样的东西，别自己开车，打 120。
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