Q. Why is water not given to a patient after an accident?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Seconmedic Expert

When someone has been involved in an accident or is injured, it’s important to provide them with proper medical attention. Giving the patient water after an accident can actually do more harm than good.

In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic injury there is often a large amount of pain and swelling associated with the wound site. This can make drinking liquids difficult or even impossible due to difficulty swallowing or breathing difficulties as a result of airway trauma. If liquids are swallowed they may also enter into any open wounds, which increases risk for infection and further tissue damage. Additionally, some injuries such as severe spinal cord trauma could cause aspiration (inhalation) of liquid into the lungs leading to pneumonia or other respiratory issues.

Giving fluids immediately following an accident may disrupt care provided by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel like splinting broken bones and providing oxygen therapy. Depending on their severity, some accidents require urgent medical attention that takes precedence over other treatments such as fluid administration – so EMS personnel must be able to quickly assess patients needs and take action accordingly while en route to a healthcare facility where diagnosis and treatment can be undertaken in no particular order.  Furthermore interfering with EMS care could delay transport times resulting in worse outcomes for patients  who need emergent interventions during their transport time window like blood transfusions or surgical interventions at hospital locations distant from their incident site location(s).   Patient outcomes are greatly improved when provided with appropriate treatment without delays caused by disruptions not pertinent to urgent medical attention being transported by local EMS personnel.

Rather than giving water directly after an injury, patients should receive prompt medical evaluation from qualified health professionals who will determine if hydration is necessary depending on what type of injury was sustained; It is always best practice for certified medical personnel trained in basic life-saving techniques (BLS) guide treatment decisions related patient resuscitation measures rather than relying on well intentioned bystanders without expertise about potential complications associated with self administering fluids post trauma incidents beyond possible exacerbations already discussed above related consumption requiring monitoring/titrating against worsened versus improved morbidities associated within adjacent reaction/response directed changes affecting bodily functions instigated through participation administered toward eventually desired positive clinical outcome improvements yet still containing warning signals requiring continual vigilance based upon recognition response protocols...

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