Posted By Roger the Dodger
First of all I assume she was stood on 2 feet and standing straight.

You are quite right, 1st aiders should not be administering Asprins or any other drugs or applying creams etc.

If somebody wishes to self-administer that is up to them or has already has prescribed drugs for a condition, the first aider should encourage the person take the prescribed drugs as previously directed by a doctor.

There is no requirement under the First Aid at Works Regs for a first aid kit to hold any medicines/drugs, neither does a first aider get trained in the administration of any drug.

Posted By Roj Smith
The problem with pain killers is that they can mask the symptoms of a serious injury (e.g. a blow to the head) and thus delay the seeking of treatment or hinder an accurate diagnosis by the paramedic or doctor.

First Aiders know this and are therefore prohibited from dispensing such drugs other than under very specific circumstances. Untrained people don't officially know the down side of pain killers so are free to give people whatever they want.

Roj

Posted By Roger the Dodger
Guess the training could have changed since I did mine

Posted By Roj Smith

My training covered the following

First aiders can give the victim of a suspected heart attack ONE aspirin to chew slowly. This makes it easier and quicker to digest. It thins the blood making it easier to pump. It also gives the patient something positive to do and stops them worrying quite so much about the attack.

Roj

Posted By Brett Day
It used to be recommended in first aid training that a heart attack casualty should be given aspirin, however, IMO it is an absolute no no for the following reasons:

1. As well as nut insect sting allergies, aspirin allergies can also cause anaphylaxis.
2. Can trigger asthma attacks in asthmatics, how many first aiders have knowledge of a casualties medical history?
3. Dosage, if the person has already taken aspirin for a heart condition under prescription they could overdose, minor but in an emergency the little things can mount up, also in an emergency in the stress of whats going in will the dosage be recorded? Will the dose given be passed on to the Paramedics when they arrive?
4. Aspirin helps by thinning the blood, if the casualty is already on a blood thinning medication then adding aspirin could thin the blood even further - heamorragic rash anyone, complications with ulcers.

This is in addition to the reasons already given.

Whilst in the RAF I attended quite a few call outs for heart attacks, one that stuck in my mind was a call that according to the coroners inquest could have been survivable, unfortunately the casualty had a history of bleeding ulcers, this wasn't conveyed to the first aider who administered apsirin. The casualtly 'bleed out' from the ulcers once the blood had started to thin.

Some civillian first aid organisations still talk about keeping drugs in first aid kits. But as far as the HSE is concerned first aiders at work MUST NOT administer medication. Assisting a casualty self medicate is acceptable, they may have prescription drugs that due to injuries/condition they may not be able to administer or even get out of the packaging.

Without any medical or pharmicutical training, there might be a hard time justifying medicating a casualty.

Brett

Ex RAF Search & Rescue, currently HSE first aider.

Posted By Peter MacDonald
Is it legal for a company to install a vending machine and stock it with over the counter non prescription pills?

Peter

Posted By Ken Taylor
Note the use of the terms 'fully conscious', 'give' and 'advise' as used in the first-aid manual - and the fact that the term 'administer' is not employed.

When it comes to someone having a life-threatening heart attack, I would go with having the aspirin ready for the willing recipient in order to save their life.

Another interesting dimension of first-aiders and drugs is the increasing use of the 'Epipen' to actually administer epinethrine to persons not fully conscious or able to self-administer - and who have previously requested (or whose parents have previously requested) such use in order to save their life in the event of an anaphylactic attack. Once again the basic principles of first-aid come into play and the primary objective of keeping them alive determines the appropriate response.