Pet First Aid Level 2 (VTQ)
Course Content
- Introduction to Pet First Aid
- Course introduction
- Course overview
- Before we start - Coronavirus COVID 19 advice for pet owners from the government
- Meet Your Vet
- Pet First Aid and The Law
- The vet and your role in first aid
- When is Veterinary Care Required?
- Keeping your pet safe in an emergency
- Car Accidents
- Pet Proofing your home
- How Pets Show Pain
- Checking Your Pet's Health and Finding Out What Is Normal
- Taking a Pulse
- Pet First Aid Kits
- CPR, Pet Accidents and First Aid
- Medical Conditions
- Types of Bleeding
- Dressings, Bandages and Controlling Bleeding
- Collaclot - Collegen pad to stop bleeding and promote clotting
- Pet Wrap Bandages
- HaemoCap™ MultiSite - Pets
- Paw Problems
- Nail and Claw Injuries
- Eye Injuries
- Bandaging the Ear
- Bandaging the Tail and Tail Injuries
- Bandage Aftercare
- Dog Digestive Process
- Vomiting in Animals
- Dehydration in Pets
- Fluid balance in dogs and cats
- Oralade - treating dehydration
- Oralade - The Science
- Pets and Illnesses
- Stings on animals
- High Temperatures and Heatstroke
- Hypothermia Treatment
- Choking Overview
- Choking
- Snake Bites
- Fleas
- Ticks and Lyme Disease
- Fly Strike
- Illnesses
- Different types and sizes of animals
- Summary of Pet First Aid
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Get StartedDressings, Bandages and Controlling Bleeding
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Create account Close and continue watchingWhat we are going to look at in this video are different types of dressings and bandages that you can use on your pet. We are also going to have a look at how to put a dressing on Deco's leg here. Now there are lots of different dressings you can get. I mean these are typical ones. They come in different sizes: Large, medium, small. But this is a medium type dressing. It is quite a common one used in first aid. With all dressings like these, they have expiry dates on them, so it is worth having a look and seeing what the expiry date is, so we can make sure that the dressings that we are putting on are sterile. Now, if you have a dressing that is over its date, it is not to say you cannot use it, but the manufacturers will not guarantee from that moment on that they are sterile. So, a way of checking to see if the packaging is intact, you just squeeze it and you should find that the air inside does not escape. If the air escapes, then the dressing is no longer sterile. So, in an ideal world, use a new dressing if you have got one. To open them, just hold them on the end and just twist them and you will find that the wrapping will just tear open. And the dressing itself is a bandage but as you undo it you can see that there is the pad already there. Now, this type of medium pad, if it is too large, you can get your scissors and cut down the side and cut these side bits off and it would be a bit smaller. But it is not a problem leaving it on if you need to apply it. The important thing when you are putting bandages on is to not let go of this end. If you let go of the end, that is going to get on the dirt and then you are introducing dirt, and water, and that straight into the wound. The other thing with dressings are, they are designed within first aid terms as a temporary measure. We do not want to be leaving them for a long time because there can be problems. With the dressings themselves, put them on and then if it is bad enough for a dressing like this you can take it to the vet anyway but any sort of smaller cuts, things like this, do not leave them on for more than just that day really and then take them off and check them over. More serious cuts, obviously we would take them to the vet straight away. So as far as actually applying the dressing on, one other thing we want to do is when we put the dressing on we want to give direct pressure but not too much pressure. If we put too much pressure on it will have the tourniquet effect and actually cut off all circulation from that point onwards. So, the problem we then got is beyond the wound you are going to start getting toxin build-up and soon become very unwell and you are going to make the situation worse. So, take the dressing, apply it over the cut, try and always apply the bandages on distally. Distally means furthest away from the heart. So, we are applying the dressing on. Apply it over, start to cover the pad just over the end of the gauze pad. The tail just keeps that out of the way because you are going to need to tie off on that later on. Apply the bandage over, just good constant pressure the whole time you are doing it. We want to just apply above the top of the pad where possible. Now it does not matter so much that some of her hair gets through. You do not want to get the hair caught and it is going to cause a problem. But it should be fine. Check the dressing the whole time to make sure it is not on too tight because that would restrict the blood flow. Tie the dressing off. You can either tie it off, but do not be tempted to pull really hard because that can cause another problem with cutting the circulation off. Again, when you apply it on, pop a knot in, and if you put bows in, they are very easy for dogs to undo but a knot is not too bad because it is on secure. The next thing, if we left these tails on, what she is going to do is she is going to get hold of these and start pulling them. So, we need to cut those off just above the knot so that it is nice and smooth. What you can then do is take a bit of the Micropore tape and just pop that over the cut, so everything is smooth and there are no loose ends. So once the dressing is on, just make sure that the temperature of her paw is the same on both sides, make sure there is no swelling on the top or the bottom side of the dressing, and make sure she has got feeling so she can move it okay. Now, if a dog has got an injury to its leg or something like that it is typically going to hold its leg up or limp, which is fine. When taking them to the vet, this is going to secure the wound, it is going to stop bleeding, it is going to keep everything safe, it is going to help the healing process, ready for when a vet looks at it they can clean up the wound and then give whatever treatment is needed.
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Types of Bleeding
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Collaclot - Collegen pad to stop bleeding and promote clotting
- For more serious cuts apply a dressing and take your pet to see a vet
- For minor injuries, do not leave the dressing on for too long, normally a day is long enough
- Make sure you don't apply the dressing too tightly as this may cut off the circulation and cause serious problems
- Apply the dressing over the cut, always start applying the dressing from the furthest point
- Check the temperature above and below the dressing and check for swelling
- If in doubt always seek veterinary help