First Aid Injury and Illness Procedures

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, symptoms, and classifications of common in-flight medical emergencies and first-aid conditions.

Appendicitis (Warning Signs)

A serious disorder indicated by severe abdominal pain that typically begins around the navel and shifts to the lower right abdomen.

Anaphylactic Shock

A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction that may be caused by medication, food, insect bites, or animals.

Anxiety / Panic Attack

A sudden acute psychobiologic reaction of intense anxiety and feeling of panic.

Asthma

A medical condition that causes shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing, which can sometimes be fatal.

Cyanosis

A blue and gray coloring of the skin that serves as a late sign of severe breathing distress or asthma.

FAK Bandage Types

The four types of bandages found in the First Aid Kit: roller gauze, compress gauze, triangular, and adhesive/band aids.

Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding

Any vaginal bleeding unrelated to normal menstruation, which can present with very heavy, gushing bleeding, weak pulse, and paleness.

Respiratory Distress

A breathing emergency condition in which breathing becomes difficult and can lead to respiratory arrest.

Respiratory Arrest

A breathing emergency condition in which breathing completely stops.

First Degree Burns (Superficial burns)

Burns characterized by redness of the skin, pain, and possibly mild swelling.

Second Degree Burns (Partial thickness burns)

Burns characterized by deep reddening of the skin, blistering that may open and weep clear fluid, mottled skin, and intense pain.

Third Degree Burns (Full thickness burns)

Burns characterized by loss of all skin layers, white or charred tissue, possible leaking of fluid (plasma), and severe pain or no sensation of pain due to nerve damage.

Chemical Burns

Burns that will continue to cause damage as long as the substance remains on the skin, requiring rapid removal from the body.

Electrical Burns

Potentially fatal injuries resulting from direct contact with an electrical current, typically showing entrance and exit wounds with possible severe underlying tissue damage.

Cardiac Arrest

A condition that occurs when the normal beating of the heart stops and the heart begins rapid, ineffective contractions that fail to pump blood through the body.

Diabetic Coma

A diabetic emergency with gradual onset caused by low insulin and high blood sugar levels, often presenting with a flushed face and fruity breath odor.

Insulin Shock

A common diabetic emergency with sudden onset caused by low blood sugar and high insulin levels, presenting with hunger, shakiness, heavy sweating, and weakness.

Opioid Overdose

A toxic substance emergency marked by pinpoint pupils, slowed or irregular breathing, respiratory arrest, blue or purple lips/fingertips, and unresponsiveness.

Benzodiazepine Overdose

A toxic substance emergency characterized by profoundly impaired mental status, marked confusion, slurred speech, slowed/labored breathing, coma, and uncoordinated movements.

Stimulant Overdose

A toxic substance emergency characterized by dangerously increased body temperature, hyperventilation, rapid or irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, panic, hallucinations, and seizures.

Fainting

A brief period of unconsciousness brought on by insufficient blood supply to the brain, which can be caused by excitement, emotional upset, hunger, or fatigue.

Food Poisoning

An illness that occurs 1 to 48 hours after eating contaminated food, marked by severe nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and dehydration.

Fracture

Any break in a bone, including chips, cracks, splintering, complete breaks, and injuries to the skull, spine, and chest.

Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)

A condition occurring when part of the heart muscle suddenly dies due to a lack of blood flow, causing dull, tight, or squeezing chest pain and decreased circulation.

Heat Exhaustion

A condition in an individual exposed to excessive heat, characterized by cool, moist, pale, ashen, or flushed skin, headache, nausea, and weakness.

Heat Stroke

A serious medical emergency that develops when the body's systems are overwhelmed by heat and cease to function, characterized by hot, red skin (dry or moist).

Hyperventilation

Frequent and shallow breathing that creates a decrease in carbon dioxide and an increase in oxygen levels in the bloodstream.

Acute Hypothermia

A rapid cooling of the body that usually results from sudden immersion in cold water (e.g., a ditching emergency).

Chronic Hypothermia

A cooling of the body due to its inability to keep warm, usually resulting from exposure to cold temperatures for a prolonged period of time (hours to days).

Hypoxia

A condition resulting from decreased oxygen supply in the body, usually caused in flight by a drop in cabin pressure due to decompression.

Scuba-Related Illnesses (The Bends)

A condition occurring when nitrogen normally dissolved in the bloodstream forms bubbles in joints or tissue, often triggered by decompression or flying within 12 hours of scuba diving.

Seizure (Convulsions)

A medical event caused by disturbances in the normal electrical impulses in the brain, presenting with stiffening motions, clenched teeth, and loss of consciousness.

Shock

The failure of the circulatory system (heart and blood vessels) to maintain enough oxygen-rich blood flowing to the vital organs of the body.

Stroke

A condition typically caused by a blockage in the arteries supplying blood to the brain, often presenting with weakness or paralysis on one side of the body and slurred speech.

Unconscious

A state in which a customer cannot be aroused, even with irritable stimulation such as ammonia inhalants, and is not asleep.