How to Apply First Aid to a Gun Shot Wound

Video Transcript

"My name is Alv Rios and I am a paramedic with Lansing Mercy Ambulance on behalf of Expert Village. In this clip we are going to go over the treatment of a gunshot wound. What you want to do for a gunshot wound is you want to make sure that you have closed up the wound. We are going to say that the gunshot wound has gone through the chest. This is now referred to as a sucking chest wound. Because every time you take a deep breath what's going to happen now is your air is going to be pulled through the easiest resistance. Normally that would be through your mouth but because there is now a hole through the chest it's actually going to pull air through that which is not going to adequately get to the tissues it needs to in the lungs. So what you need to do is seal up that hole. There is different techniques and ways you can do that. Some of them are taking something such as a simple plain cloth. What you then want to do is cover it in something such as Vaseline. By covering it in Vaseline you are making it both resistant to air and water getting through and it also has a little bit of a sticky surface now and you are able to stick it right over the injury site. Normally it will actually hold itself on. Another thing you can do then is secure it on with tape. You could also use something such as saran wrap. Preferably you want to use something sterile. If you do choose to use whether it's Vaseline gauze or if you use the saran wrap once you have it in place. It's important you want to let air out but not in. So what you want to do is create kind of a flutter valve. What you are going to do is take three quarters across take down and another side you are going to leave one corner exposed. When you take a deep breath in the wound will suck in and seal its own opening. But when the person exhales air is able to escape through and go through the actual flutter valve you have left open. This allows for the pressure in the chest to equalize to normal. "