Dealing with the stubborn family member

Consider the following situation. You have been out for the evening; say to a meeting.

Coming home, you find a family member sitting on the couch. Rugged up for bed but it’s still a few hours from their normal bedtime. Their face is pale. Occasionally they give a small shudder but they greet you with their normal smile.

You know something is up. They’ve had a shower, there is a rug in their lap and the house is overly warm.

“I’m alright… Now,” they say. Sigh! “What happened?” you ask.

The family member tells you that they have been vomiting, feel light-headed, are thirsty, and nauseated. Oh and to top it all off, they fainted not long ago and believe they had been unconscious for a few seconds. You notice a small lump above their left eye which has not even begun to bruise yet.

What are your thoughts? What questions are going through your mind? You need to make some assessments but it is important not to get ahead of yourself. Before you help someone out, you need to determine what actually happened.

Do your primary survey. You remember what that is, don’t you? Of course you do and because they are talking to you, Primary Survey is done. Move on.

Now we need secondary survey. Your “head to toe” examination, Vital Signs Survey and questioning are all important in determining what is going on with this casualty.

Nothing appears obviously wrong with them, right? Perhaps. Look closely at how they look, sit and breath.

My key indicator that something is wrong is the loss of consciousness. With me, there is no argument. Off to hospital we go. “No! It’s not that serious,” they say. Think back in your training to the effects and potential injuries from head injuries. (Note the small lump over their left eye.) Backwards and forwards the discussion goes for some time about going/not going to hospital.

Funny how the same instruction from a health professional will be treated differently. Even if you do actually know what you are talking about. Persist with convincing the family member to go for medical assessment. If it’s not apparently too serious, try the likes of Nurse on Call (in Victoria) but if you have any concerns, ring triple zero straight away.

Never take head injuries, loss of consciousness or fainting for unknown reasons lightly.