Gunshot injuries can be regarded as the most painful,
traumatic and extremely dangerous type of injury one
can ever suffer. Not only is it difficult and confusing to
figure out the extent and severity of the damage, most
gunshot injuries turns out to be so fatal and sometimes
surpasses the capabilities of a first aid treatment. But
the idea is that the time and actions taken by the victim
and the people around him or her has a lot to do with the
victims survival. The knowledge of First aid treatments in
this case is very important so as to keep the victim in a
stable condition before he/she is taken to the hospital.

What most people call the bullet isn’t the bullet but the
casing, the bullet is the projectile which flies out to hit
the intended target; it is propelled by the explosion of the
chemicals inside. while the cartridge is the correct name
when referring to the whole. A modern cartridge consists
of the following:
1. The bullet, as the projectile; lies on the superior part of
the cartridge, help on its inferior margin by the case.
2 . The case, which encloses all parts together;
3. The propellant, i.e the chemicals that its reaction will
provide the explosion that will send the bullet flying.
4 . The rim, which provides the extractor on the firearm a
place to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber
once fired;
5. The primer, which ignites the propellant.
The pointed apex of the bullet flies our with its high
velocity and when it finds its resting place, maybe
someones body it will go a long way to tear through the
flesh, muscles and bones. For the treatment of any
gunshot injury to be successful several factors has to be
considered:

- Factors like the part of the body on which the
bullet penetrated.
The rate at which a bullet that found its rest inside
a major blood vessel will bleed, would be different
from how a bullet that penetrates a region where
no blood vessel is located.
-The Dept of the penetration,
-The structures that has being affected and
damaged.
-The type of bullet.

To administer first aid treatment to a gunshot victim you
need to be knowledgeable, fast thinker, someone that is
not easily carried away by the fear of traumatic events
and more especially blood, because you will see lots of
them. He/she must be able to look into the victims eyes
and read the victims condition and pain. If the victim is
conscious, you have to develop the soft heart to be able
to persuade the victim that everything is okay and that
he/she is not dying. So the following are the procedures
by which you can administer first aid treatment to a
gunshot victim.

Stay Safe:
If you are not the victim, try to take
cover some where safe and peruse the
environment for further danger, a rescuer is of no
use if he too gets hurt. Take precautions like,
making sure every bodies arm is in safe mode if
the victim was shot during a team hunt or
something like that. If it is a crime scene , make
sure that the shooter is no more around before
you make any move towards the victim.

Send A Call For The Ambulance:
Surviving a gunshot wound depends greatly on how
quickly a victim gets to a hospital . The first aid is just to
stabilize the injury and reduce the rate of bleeding which
is the major thing that kills people from gunshot injuries.
Ideally, a gunshot wound victim should be on the way to
a hospital in an ambulance within 10 minutes of being
shot. Make sure to tell the emergency call consultant the
condition of the victim and all the information she needs
to hear.
Do not move the victim unless his or her safety is
in jeopardy. Move the person only when it is very
necessary.
Make sure the victim’s airways is free. If the
victim is unconscious but breathing, keep the
airway open and clear . But if the victim is not
breathing at all, engage him/her in a
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, (C.P.R) it is an
emergency procedure performed in an effort to
manually preserve intact brain function until
further measures are taken to restore
spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a
person who is in cardiac arrest.

Control bleeding:
Based on the dept of the bullet penetration, blood vessels
damaged and organs the bullet came in contact with,
there must be bleeding, most times severe. Remember
when stated above that the rescuer is going to see a lot
of blood. The blood that have being confined into tubes
all day will ooze out hot and happy. The first aid you
have to consider most paramount in such a condition is
how to control bleeding and this is how: The blood needs
to clot for the healing process to start, this is because,
just like ice wont form soonest in the middle of a rapid
flowing river, the blood wont clot quick in the midst of
blood flowing rapidly continuously from the interior.
Applying direct pressure is the best way to control
bleeding in most injuries. Use a pad over the wound and
apply pressure directly to the injury. If you have nothing
available, even your hand or fingers can be used to
control bleeding. Add new bandages over the old; do not
remove bandages when they become soaked. Use
pressure points in the arm (between the elbow and
armpit), groin (along the bikini line), or behind the knee to
control bleeding in the arm, thigh, or lower leg,
respectively.
Gunshot injuries around the neck of face can be very
dangerous more than any other part of the body. These
wounds typically bleed severely. Use direct pressure to
control bleeding and keep the victim upright. Be careful
not to obstruct breathing while controlling bleeding. With
injuries to the neck, be careful that blood flow to the
carotid arteries (arteries that carry blood up into the
head) isn’t disrupted, as this can reduce blood flow to the
brain.The brain cant survive for long without blood
supply.
Gunshot injuries to the chest and back is another fatal
and difficult to treat injury. The ribs are there to hinder
your actions. Just apply direct pressure to control
bleeding; understand that it may be difficult to control
chest bleeding because the ribs make it difficult to
compress the structures that are bleeding. Gunshots to
the chest can cause what is known as a “sucking chest
wound.” These happen when air travels in and out of the
wound with each breath. Treat these as follows:
Seal wound with hand or airtight material (e.g.,
plastic film).
Apply an airtight bandage on three sides of the
wound (see image below). Do not close the
bandage on the fourth side. This will allow the chest
to achieve its usual negative pressure state. Air will
escape through the valve during inhalation.

Treat Shock:
The victims should experience shock which resulted from
blood loss and reduced blood flow throughout the body.
Try as much as you can to stabilize the victims
temperature by using something to cover the body if his
skin is feeling so cold, but fan him steadily if the body is
burning real hot while you wait for the ambulance.

More Tips You Should Know About:

Do not give the victim anything to eat or drink,
including water.Seal gunshot wounds to the chest
with some type of plastic to keep air from being
sucked into the wound. This helps prevent the
development of a collapsed lung. If the victim
begins complaining of worsening shortness of
breath, remove the seal.

Let conscious victims sit or lie in a position most
comfortable for them.

Unconscious victims should be placed in the
recovery position.

Do not elevate legs to treat for shock if the
gunshot wound is above the waist (unless the
gunshot wound is in the arm). Gunshot wounds to
the abdomen and chest will bleed more quickly
once the legs are elevated, making it harder for
the victim to breathe.

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