Key points
- Warning signs come first: pale skin, sweating, yawning, blurred vision, nausea
- At the first sign, stop, release restraints and help the person lie down
- Someone who stays unresponsive needs the emergency number and the recovery position
- Heat stroke is an emergency: call for help and keep cooling at the same time
In detail
- Fainting: standing bondage, long stillness, heat, fear, pain and getting up too fast let blood pool in the legs. Signs: lightheadedness, pale or gray skin, sweating, tunnel vision, nausea, sudden quiet
- Respond: lay the person flat and raise their legs if no injury speaks against it. Offer sips of water once they are fully awake. Most people come round within about a minute
- In suspension, a faint is an emergency: bring the person down quickly and safely, supporting head and neck
- Shock: cold, clammy, pale skin, a fast weak pulse, fast breathing, confusion; often after blood loss, a severe allergic reaction or serious injury. Call for help, lay the person down, keep them warm, give nothing to eat or drink
- Heat exhaustion: heavy sweating, headache, nausea, dizziness, cramps. Move somewhere cool, remove latex, leather and hoods, cool the skin with water and moving air, offer water
- Heat stroke: hot skin, confusion, odd behavior, collapse or a seizure. Call the emergency number and keep cooling until help arrives
- Recovery position: for someone unresponsive but breathing normally. If breathing is not normal, start CPR and have someone fetch a defibrillator (AED)
Warnings
- Call emergency services if someone does not wake within a minute or two, faints again or was hurt falling
- Do not sit or stand someone up quickly after a faint
- Never leave a person who fainted or overheated alone
Resources and next steps
- A first aid course with CPR and recovery position practice
- Cool water, towels and a fan in the play space
- Your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US and Canada)