Want to Play Doctor

First Aid For BDSM

By Mistress Norische

After a thoroughly invigorating and fulfilling scene, the submissive dresses and walks from the play room to the social room, perhaps 20 feet away. The social room is quiet with only three or four people inside, almost no one notices as she enters the room. The submissive walks over to a secluded corner of the room and sinks down to the floor. Across the room a Dominant just happens to look over and see her sink down the wall, something didn’t appear right so the Dominant went over to see if something was wrong. When the Dominant reached the sub, the Dominant found the submissive was disoriented, her skin was cold and clammy, she couldn’t speak very well and she was very weak. The Dominant then noticed that the submissive had several packs of sugar in her hand. The Dominant realized that the submissive was having some sort of insulin reaction, so the Dominant took the sugar packets and opened the submissives mouth and poured the sugar into her mouth. Then the Dominant rushed over to the refreshment table and picked up a few more sugar packets and a glass of ice water, she tried to get the submissive to drink a little water. At this point the submissive passed out, the Dominant tried calling her name and gently slapping her face trying to rouse her, but it was to no avail, she would not come out of it. The Dominant ran over to another person in the room and told them what was going on and had them go get the Dungeon Moderator. The Dominant hurried back to the submissive and managed to get a couple more packs of sugar down her as several people came running into the room. Several men from the group helped get the submissive into a chair and get her to come around, within a few minutes they had managed to get her reasonably lucid. She was ok, the quick responses of the group had saved her from perhaps a disastrous night, as it was she was merely incredibly embarrassed. Latter it was learned that she is hyperglycemic and that she had not eaten for several hours.

This example is real, fortunately for the submissive this incident happened at a group function and there were several people that care a lot about her and were willing to help her out. For those that know of this story and know the young woman involved we are all thankful that things turned out the way they did, it would be a tragedy indeed to loose her, and for those that helped her that night, I thank you.

I used this example to help you understand that a medical emergency is not something we can avoid unfortunately sometimes they just happen. The only thing we can do is plan and prepare for such unfortunate circumstances. This is one reason that I highly recommend that every Dominant and preferably every submissive and switch out there take a class on basic first aid and be CPR certified. I myself was trained as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) I also am a registered First Responder, that is the person that gets there before the ambulance does. Most police officers must go through First Responder Training. My slave is a physician trained medical assistant.

Every group should have a medical emergency bag available; also there should be at least one person at every meeting that has emergency first aid or medical training. Also every one in the group should know who they can run to incase of a medical emergency, normally that individual is the Dungeon Monitor or the group leader, if not then they will undoubtedly know who to turn to. There should also be a cell phone or portable phone available to use, for such emergencies... that one really isn’t hard to cover, almost everyone has a cell phone.

There are three types of medical emergencies. First those medical issues that can be handled without professional assistance, such as a pulled muscle or minor bruising. Second those medical issues that need prompt but not emergency medical assistance such as a superficial laceration of the arm. Third those medical issues that need immediate emergency assistance such as a heart attack or severe allergic reaction.

Most people can use common sense and determine which kind of emergency they are dealing with. The first step is to stabilize the situation; by this I mean to turn an unstable perhaps unsafe situation into a stable, safe situation. Be familiar with what recourses you have available to you and learn when your emergency needs require a professional to assist.

There are several conditions that you may encounter within the BDSM community, you should familiarize yourself with each one and learn the signs/symptoms of each, as well as the proper method of treatment.

1. Airway blockage, by tongue or foreign object.
2. Heat stroke
3. Stopped breathing
4. Burn
5. Electrical burn
6. Cardiac arrest
7. Allergic reaction
8. Diabetic reaction
9. Laceration, even blood loss
10. Stroke
11. Asthma attack

There are several other possible situations that you might incur and to be honest the possibilities are endless. Knowing basic first aid, and being willing to step in and help in an emergency will take you a long way.

Specific Injuries

Circulatory Problems
When using restraints there is always a risk of cutting off the flow of blood to the extremities. This may cause tingling, numbness and/or a cold sensation, in extreme cases the extremity may become blue or feel hot, and have diminished sensation. While this is a minor issue it can become a major problem if the circulation is not restored as quickly as possible. As you become familiar with your partner you will learn what level is considered dangerous and what level is tolerable.

Choking
There are some types of BDSM play that involves asphyxiation, and if you are involved in this type of play you must understand there is a very fine line between exciting and deadly. If the larynx is some how damaged during play it is necessary to seek prompt medical attention, if not emergency medical attention. Choking may also be from the tongue swelling or a foreign object becoming lodged in the throat, in such cases it is necessary to first clear the airway. Learning the Heimlich maneuver is an absolute necessity, as well as learning CPR. The local Red Cross frequently gives classes on CPR that are free to the public or at a very nominal fee.

Bruises
When I started to write this section my slave stated that there are enough places that tell everyone how to prevent bruises, what she wants to see is someplace that will tell you how to create a bruise. As you should be able to tell my slave loves being "marked" by myself, she wears her bruises as banners of honor and loves it when they last for a while. There are those that hate leaving marks and those that love it, so I will leave all the other authors to tell you how to prevent them. To treat a bruise is relatively easy though, put ice or cold compresses on the area for the first 24 hours and after that use warm compresses. There are several types of medicines that will encourage bruising, such as aspirin, ibuprophen, naproxen, and anti-inflammatories as well as steroids if I am not mistaken. Individuals that use these medicines frequently may bruise without you ever having to touch them, so use caution and ask before you play.

Lacerations
Whenever the skin is broken and blood is present there are several things that need to be addressed. First blood born pathogens, bacteria and the risk of infections. There are several diseases that may be transmitted through the blood, not the least of which are HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis. Remember safety first, wear disposable medical gloves in any situation where blood is present. Lacerations should be washed with warm soapy water,  if the laceration is significant you should use a antiseptic ointment on the wound and then place a sterile dressing, such as a band-aid or gauze, over the entire surface of laceration. If there is a substantial amount blood, apply firm pressure to the laceration. If the blood flow is massive or coming in spurts (basically flowing with the beat of the heart) then apply pressure to the nearest pressure point such as a joint or pulse point, place dressing on as best as possible and seek prompt medical attention. If the injured person feels light headed, cold, or is unconscious, seek immediate medical attention the individual may be going into shock.

Abrasions
An abrasion is a wound received by rubbing. Typically in the BDSM realm the culprit is restraints such as rope or cuffs, however abrasions maybe caused from any surface like carpet. Although abrasions do not normally break the skin they do have the ability to do so. The abrasion is very sensitive to the touch, so handle gently. Clean the area with warm soapy water and apply an anti-bacterial agent to the area and cover with a sterile dressing.

Burns
Burns are categorized in three degrees. A first degree burn is identified by reddening on the skin and painful to the touch. A second degree burn is identified by blisters, as well as reddening and pain in the effected area. A third degree burn is identified by white skin, or destroyed tissue, there is little to moderate pain, this is the deepest type of burn and tends to do a great deal of nerve damage. Normally the only one that you will experience in the BDSM realm is first and perhaps second degree burns. For minor burns, submerse the affected area in cold water, do not put grease or butter on the area. If there are blisters, when open the area should be treated in the same manner as an abrasion. With severe second degree and third degree burns seek medical attention immediately.

Allergic Reaction
An allergic reaction can come in many forms, anything from slight redness of skin, and itching to complete cardiac arrest. Some individuals are severely allergic to spiders, perhaps in the middle of a scene one crawls up the back of the cross you have them strapped to and bites, within minutes they appear to drop into subspace, in reality they are having a severe anaphylactic reaction. Most of the time individuals that have such severe reactions to allergies carry either a med-alert bracelet, or medical card and normally they will have medicine that they take. If the allergic reaction is minute simply remove the allergen from their presence if possible, if not ask them how sever they normally react and what treatment is normally followed, since everyone is different. If the reaction is severe, first call for emergency assistance, you may only have a few minutes until breathing stops. If the individual is unconscious look for any medical information on the person or in their belongings, check and see if there is an epi-pen, this is a injectable form of antiallergenic that will help control the reaction. If you don’t find this look for an inhalant of some form, it may look like what individuals use for asthma. Quickly read and follow the instructions provided with the medicine. In severe cases a few moments may mean the difference between life and death.

Blood Sugar Reactions
There are several levels of diabetic or insulin reaction. Simple dizziness, disorientation, to complete unconsciousness are typical when someone is having an insulin reaction. In most cases an insulin reaction can be minimized when caught early enough. Hopefully you will know your partner well enough to know if he or she is diabetic and what to do if they have an insulin reaction. If you are unfamiliar with the medical issues of the individual and something like the opening story occurs then there are some simple steps you should follow. First if the person is conscious and able to speak, ask questions, normally people know their body well enough to know if they are having a insulin reaction, If they are having problems speaking get him or her some orange juice, if none is available any sugared pop (not sugar free) is the next best thing, a few sips and they are feeling better and you can give them some form of protein to even out their blood sugar. If they are going between lucid and unconscious then place some sugar underneath their tongue, try to keep them conscious. As the sugar hits their system they will become more lucid and can explain to you what you need to do for them.

These are just a few examples of the types of medical issues that one might encounter, others are sprains, strains and dislocated joints, asthma attack, heat stroke, anxiety attack, or cardiac arrest. While this article was long and drawn out, it by no means covers all the issues that may arise. I recommend to everyone take a basic first aid class, before you take responsibility for someone else’s life. The American Red Cross frequently has basic first aid and CPR classes at no charge, it is well worth the time and effort you put into it to save you and perhaps someone else latter. Also this advise is for everyone, submissives, slaves, Masters, Mistresses, Dominants, Switches alike,  it doesn’t matter if you have a partner or not, the person in the opening story was not associated with the submissive in any way other than being in the right place at the right time.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE BASIC FIRST AIDS AND CPR TRAINING.

If you have any questions or would like to email me my address is Norisch1@mchsi.com.