There are loads of websites out there that provide medical advice. If you type in something like stomach pain, you’ll literally come up with hundred of thousands of hits. This can often be overwhelming. Some of the other sites, are written exclusively for medical professionals. They cite all kinds of statistics and clinical studies, and don’t really talk about how to treat the patient should you need to. Even worse, there are many sites that simply copy what other authoritative sites have written, often misinterpreting valuable information.
Recently, my son woke up with a high fever, and I had to take him to the emergency room for what was in my view, was a serious condition. After a 5 hour visit, they told us there was nothing to worry about, and that it would go away soon.
Then I began thinking there must be a website that could help me decide in the early morning hours of the morning, if I really had to go to the emergency room. A basic reference for simple problems, that could help me make simple decisions and help me decide what was serious, and what I could handle at home. Nothing too difficult, just some common sense tips. Here’s what I found:
I stumbled across this cool free site called OnlineFirstAid.org that is written by emergency personnel in plain English. Their mantra is “practical first aid for everyone”, and they try to give you enough information to help you decide whether you need to go to the ER or not. Also they give you easy to follow, common sense steps for hands on first aid techniques. You can learn to take care of many ailments yourself, whenever possible, saving you time and money.
The articles are all written my medical doctors and physician assistants, who actually are employed in busy emergency departments. The information is straightforward and concise. I’ve found everything from hangnails to abdominal pain. They even have methods for setting dislocated fingers and how to do basic suturing, should you be far away from a real ER.
[...] Original post: Practical First Aid for Everyone [...]