How to Avoid Contracting a Disease in an Emergency Situation

Often times, when we think about helping someone in an emergency situation, we are reluctant to do so because we fear getting a disease from them. Knowing how to help prevent the transmission of diseases and reduce our risk can help many of us step up and help in an emergency situation.

In order to know how to best protect yourself, it is helpful to understand how diseases are transmitted from person to person. An infectious disease is one that can spread from one person to another. They are transmitted when germs invade a person's body and cause an illness. The most common germs are known as viruses and bacteria.

Bacteria can live outside of the body. These germs do not rely on another organism to live. There are only a small number of bacteria that actually infect humans, but some of these can cause very serious infections. These are illnesses that can be treated with antibiotics most of the time.

Viruses rely on other organisms to live, and once they are in a person's body, it is hard to get rid of them. There are not many medications that are available to fight of an infection caused by a virus. In the case of viruses, the body's own immune system is its best defense.

Viruses and bacteria can be spread from person to person through biting, breathing, and touching. If you touch and infected person you stand the chance of becoming infected through contact with their bodily fluids. If you come into contact with bodily fluids by touching them and then touch yourself, or your personal belongings, you stand the chance of becoming infected yourself.

There are some diseases, such as the common cold, that are transmitted through tiny droplets in the air that we breathe. These diseases are also transmitted through sharing objects such as spoons, doorknobs, pencils, or any other object that has been exposed to germ carrying droplets. It normally takes more than just being exposed to the germs to contract these diseases; the germs still have to enter your own body in some way.

Animals and humans can spread diseases when they bite. It is not common to actually get a disease from a bite when you are helping in an emergency situation, but the possibility is there and you should be aware. Some diseases that can be transmitted this way can be dangerous, but most of them are not. Diseases like the flu can be transmitted through being bitten, but are not normally life-threatening, although can create discomfort for the person who has it.

Other diseases are more serious. Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV are all more serious diseases. They are very serious, but not easily transmitted. They are not spread through casual contact, such as holding hands. The easiest and most common way these diseases are transmitted when one person is helping another in an emergency situation is through blood to blood contact. This means that if you have an open wound, and the person is bleeding, you can contract the disease if their blood gets into your open wound.

The first and probably most important thing we can do to avoid contracting a disease is to avoid contact with another person's bodily fluids. Many people think that this is often an impossible thing to do, but there are many ways that it can be done.

Using a breathing barrier, of any kind when giving rescue breaths to a person who is not breathing is one way to avoid bodily fluids. A breathing barrier is anything that can be placed between your mouth and the mouth of another person. The best type of breathing barrier is obviously one that is made of plastic or keeps your mouth completely off another person's. Most first aide kits have a breathing barrier in them, but in the event that one is not readily available, use your imagination. If you have a plastic bag, or even a small piece of plastic, you can easily rip a small hole in it to place directly over the person's mouth and enable the transfer of air while protecting you from bodily fluid contact. If nothing else is available, you can always use your shirt to cover their mouth. As I said, a breathing barrier can be anything that helps keep you from having physical contact with another person's mouth.

If you have any cuts, scrapes, or any type of open wound, you should always cover it to avoid another person's bodily fluids from entering your wound. A band-aid is the ideal solution, but if one is not available or the wound is too big, you can cover it with just about anything. Covering a wound on your own body is a good way to help prevent disease transmission.

You should wear something to protect your hands from having contact with another person's bodily fluids too. Rubber or latex gloves are the best option, but once again, they may not always be available. If you have plastic bags handy, you can put them over your hands to help protect you. If nothing else is available, use whatever is around. Anything can provide a barrier and help to protect you from coming in physical contact with another person's bodily fluids.

While you are helping someone, you should never touch your face, eyes, nose, or mouth, and you should never eat or drink while helping someone. It is very important to wash your hands after helping someone and before touching yourself, your personal belongings, and before eating or drinking.

You should avoid touching objects that have blood, vomit, or other bodily fluids on them with your bare skin. If you must touch them at all, be sure that you have some protection on your hands before doing so.

It is best to have a first aid kit on hand just in case of an emergency. You first aid kit should have a breathing barrier, gloves, scissors, bandages, plastic bags, gauze rolls, tape, tweezers, anti-bacterial soap, and even hand sanitizer in it. These are all things that can not only help another person in the event of an emergency, but also things to help keep you protected.

If you have come in direct contact with another person's bodily fluids when helping them in an emergency, be sure to tell the emergency medical personnel when they arrive. You may think that you coming into contact with their bodily fluids is minimal in comparison to the emergency situation at hand, but if the person does happen to have a disease, you may need to be treated yourself. By telling the medical personnel that you came into contact with fluids, they know to notify you if the person does have a disease.

By protecting yourself from contact with bodily fluids, and being sure to wash your hands thoroughly after caring for another person, you are greatly reducing any chance of disease transmission. Knowing what to do to protect yourself can help you feel better about stepping up and helping another human being in the event of an emergency.