ADAM Health Encyclopedia

Recognizing medical emergencies

Alternative Names

Information

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the following are warning signs of a medical emergency:

• Fainting or loss of consciousness
• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, or choking
• Continuous bleeding
• Coughing up or vomiting blood
• Suicidal or homicidal feelings
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Chest pain
• Upper abdominal pain or pressure
• Change in mental status (such as unusual behavior, confusion, difficulty arousing)
• Head or spine injury
• Sudden, severe pain anywhere in the body
• Sudden dizziness, weakness, or change in vision
• Ingestion of a poisonous substance
• Sudden injury like motor vehicle accident, burns or smoke inhalation, near drowning, deep or large wound, etc.

WHAT TO DO

• Remain calm.
• Start CPR or rescue breathing if necessary and you know the proper technique.
• Know the location and quickest route to the nearest emergency department.
• Keep emergency phone numbers posted by the phone. Everyone in your household, including children, should know when and how to call these numbers. These numbers include police, fire department, poison control center, and ambulance services as well as your doctors' numbers and contact numbers for work and neighbor or nearby friend or relative.
• Know at which hospital(s) your doctor practices and, if practical, go to that facility in an emergency.
• Upon arriving at an emergency room, the person will be immediately evaluated. Life- or limb-threatening conditions will be treated first. People with conditions that are not life- or limb-threatening may have to wait.
• Wear a medical identification tag if you have a chronic condition or look for one on a person who has any of the symptoms mentioned.
• Obtain a personal emergency response system if you are elderly, especially if you live alone.
• Place a semiconscious or unconscious person in the recovery position until the ambulance arrives. DO NOT move the person, however, if there has been or may have been a neck injury.

CALL YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY NUMBER (SUCH AS 911)IF:

• The person's condition is life-threatening (like a heart attack or severe allergic reaction)
• Moving the person could cause further injury (for example, in case of a neck injury or motor vehicle accident)
• Distance or traffic conditions might cause a delay in getting the person to the hospital
• The person needs the skills or equipment of paramedics
• The person's condition could become life-threatening on the way to the hospital