I hear this all the time, someone’s freezing and they need to stay awake to stay alive, or they’re overdosing and need to be woken up or kept awake so they don’t die. I don’t understand that though, wouldn’t that put extra stress on the body and actually kill you?
In: Biology
I’m no doctor but I’ve been led to believe that in many cases it doesn’t matter. It just makes for better tv.
essentially you want to keep the body running and moving blood around even if it is a lot of work because the alternative is worse – the sudden shock from the full system shutting down at a critical moment can be fatal
It does matter more in the sense it’s easier to assess if things are going downhill neurologically if they are awake. They won’t necessarily die it’s just easier to make sure they aren’t severely going downhill super fast if the person is awake so they can see how they answer questions, respond to things, etc. so not required but still very, very, VERY much preferred.
When someone goes into a state of unconsciousness, a number of the body’s functions will automatically begin to slow such as heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. It also helps track if there are any impairments occurring within the brain like the ability to form coherent sentences or track their thought.
That’s my understanding, anyway.
If someone is responsive, they’re definitely not dead. You can assess their responsiveness and check for any change in status like confusion, panic, and even slurring of speech. They can also actively control themselves in cases like laboured breathing.
If someone is unconscious or sleeping, you have no feedback on changes in condition, and they can’t ‘look after’ themselves. It’s much easier for someone to slip away, or for symptoms to be missed.
Former EMT here.
Ultimately, my #1 concern in keeping a trauma patient alive was blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate. My job was to keep the plumbing working until a surgeon could fix the problem. Medical patients could have a few more issues but in general, the same story.
But as others have said, it’s easier to assess people when they are awake, and the longer I could keep folks awake, the better. No longer being able to wake someone up signals a severe issue.
If a patient was A&O x 4 (awake and oriented to person, place, time, and event), I felt much better about their status.
EDIT: Sorry, a bit more detail. One of the heart’s hardest jobs is pumping blood to the brain. It has to fight gravity to do that and of all human organs the brain is one of the least equipped to go without blood flow. If blood is no longer getting to the brain, a person loses consciousness. So someone talking to me, or even moaning in pain, was a good sign because it means blood, and therefore oxygen, was still getting to the brain.
Its called pain complience. Met a drug addict flat out on the ground, called the cops and they showed up really quick. Did you try to wake him up? Not really….. and he pushed his index finger in his breast, rubbing it so it REALLY hurts. He woke up…. “see… a bit of police violence is all we needed…..” Good morning sir!
Truly, being awake isn’t necessarily important.
But in an emergency situation, someone being awake tells you 3 crucial things: first, they must have a heartbeat that is getting blood to their brain. Second, they must have enough oxygen in their blood to feed the brain. Third, they must have a high enough blood pressure to deliver that blood and oxygen to the brain.
If someone is awake and talking to you, you don’t need to be checking vitals as much.
If someone passes out, you now need to start checking vitals frequently
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