Marine First Aid Level 4 (VTQ)
Course Content
- Course Introduction
- Human anatomy and physiology for immediate emergency care
- Safety and Calling for Help
- What3Words - location app
- Marine band radios
- Marine VHF Radios
- Common Coastal Water Dangers
- Common Fresh Water Marine Dangers
- Emergency Flares
- LED Flares
- The Coastguard
- The Air Ambulance
- Personal Location Beacons
- Accident Prevention
- Boat Safety
- Calling for help
- Water safety tubes
- Types of Blankets
- Emergency response for hybrid and electric boats
- First Aid and Safety Equipment\
- Initial Assessment and Care
- Basic airway management in emergency care
- CPR
- AED
- Administration of oxygen therapy
- Drowning
- Choking
- Shock
- Bleeding
- Catastrophic Injury
- Injuries
- Hypothermia
- Illness
- FIrst Responder - Management of injuries
- Prioritising first aid
- Pelvic Injuries
- Spinal Injuries
- Rapid Extrication
- SAM Pelvic Sling
- Box Splints
- Spinal Injury
- Stabilising the spine
- Spinal Recovery Position
- Introduction to Spinal Boards
- The spinal board
- Using the Spinal Board
- The Scoop Stretcher
- Using the scoop stretcher
- Cervical collars
- Vertical C-Spine Immobilisation
- Joint examination
- Adult fractures
- Types of fracture
- First Responder - Management of trauma
- Elevated Slings
- Lower limb immobilisation
- Elevation Techniques
- Helmet Removal
- Different Types of Helmets
- The Carry Chair
- Applying Plasters
- Strains and Sprains and the RICE procedure
- Eye Injuries
- Electrical Injuries
- Foreign objects in the eye, ears or nose
- Nose bleeds
- Bites and stings
- Chest Injuries
- Foxseal chest seals
- Abdominal Injuries
- Treating Snake Bites
- Types of head injury and consciousness
- Dislocated Shoulders and Joints
- Other Types of Injury
- Dental Injuries
- First Responder - Management of medical conditions
- Asthma
- Asthma Spacers
- When an Asthma inhaler is not available
- Accuhaler®
- Heart Attack
- Warning signs of cardiac arrest and heart attack
- Heart Attack Position
- Aspirin and the Aspod
- Stable angina
- Hypertension
- Pulse Oximetry
- Epilepsy
- Epilepsy treatment
- Meningitis
- Diabetes
- Blood Sugar Testing
- Poisons and Food Poisoning
- Shock
- Near and secondary drowning
- Cold water shock
- Allergic Reactions and Anaphylaxis
- Course Summary
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With three types of blood vessels that are carrying blood in various forms around the body, the first one we need to consider is the arteries. Now, they have muscular, thick walls, and they can contract much like a muscle would. They push blood around the body and they carry predominantly oxygenated blood, so that's blood that is carrying oxygen. Capillaries branch off from the arteries. They have very thin walls and they're almost one cell thick, so very, very thin walls, and this means that gases and nutrients can diffuse easily through those walls. There are more capillaries in the body than any other blood vessel type.The other one we need to consider is the veins, represented on this model in blue. The veins carry deoxygenated blood. The blood isn't blue, but it is a darker colour, a darker, deep red. Veins have smooth muscle inside them and they contract like in a wave motion. They carry blood under low pressure, and so they have a series of one-way valves and gravity to help them get blood back to the heart and then, ultimately, to the lungs. These valves stop blood pooling.So, we've gone through and I've described to you the different types of blood vessels. If we were to cut an artery, for example, we have a major, major artery in our leg, the femoral artery. If we cut that, the blood is under pressure. It's oxygenated, so it will be bright red. Because it's under pressure from the heart, from the aorta, ultimately, that's pushing that around the body and the muscles in the arteries, a serious cut then, we would get a pumping motion. The blood would spurt out.A vein, on the other hand, if we cut a vein, as we said previously, it's not under huge pressure. It's under low pressure. The blood, when it comes through, will be a darker colour like a dark, deep red, and rather than spurting out, it would ooze. It's like a steady flow.Capillaries, again, are different. As I said, there are more, in the way of blood vessel, there are more capillaries in the body than anything else, and capillaries, when they bleed, because they're such small vessels, they bleed like an oozing formation through the skin, quite like when if you fall over, and you graze your knee quite badly to break the skin, and to get the blood oozing through. That is the capillaries that you have damaged. Of these, a capillary is quite easy to deal with. We can clean it up and put a plaster on. A vein might need a little bit more pressure for a little bit, but should be able to be bandaged quite quickly. An artery is a lot more serious and we need to apply pressure. We need to raise that limb if at all possible, to try and get the blood moving back towards the heart.
Types of Blood Vessels and Their Roles in the Circulatory System
This guide explores the three main types of blood vessels in the human body - arteries, capillaries, and veins - their structures, functions, and response to injuries.
Arteries
Arteries have muscular walls and contract to push oxygen-rich blood around the body. A major artery, like the femoral artery, if cut, would spurt bright red blood due to high pressure.
Capillaries
Capillaries, branching off from arteries, have extremely thin walls, allowing for efficient diffusion of gases and nutrients. They are the most numerous blood vessels in the body.
Bleeding from Capillaries
Capillary bleeding, often seen in skin grazes, appears as oozing blood and can usually be managed with simple first aid like cleaning and bandaging.
Veins
Veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart and lungs. They operate under low pressure with one-way valves and rely on gravity and muscle contractions for blood flow.
Response to Vein Injuries
If a vein is cut, the blood, darker and under less pressure than arterial blood, will flow out steadily rather than spurt.
Emergency Response to Blood Vessel Injuries
Different types of blood vessel injuries require specific responses:
- Capillary injuries are typically easy to manage with basic first aid.
- Vein injuries may require pressure and bandaging but are usually less severe.
- Arterial injuries, being more serious, require immediate pressure application and elevation of the limb to reduce blood loss.