1.Your three-year-old seems to be having a seizure; he's shaking violently, his eyes are rolling, and he's drooling. What should you do?

(a)Restrain the boy to keep him from hurting himself.

(b)Put a spoon between his teeth to prevent him from choking on his tongue.

(c)Call for medical help and let the seizure run its course.

2.A dinner guest appears to be choking. What's your first step?

(a)Ask him if he's choking.

(b)Hit him on the back.

(c)Do the Heimlich maneuver.

3.Your 12-year-old daughter has just knocked out her front tooth in a home accident. But because the tooth is still intact, it may be implanted if you get to a dentist immediately. What should you do with the tooth?

(a)Rinse the tooth and wrap it in a cloth.

(b)Rinse the tooth and put it in a container of milk.

(c)Scrub the tooth and the root with a toothbrush; then put the tooth in alcohol.

4.Your brother is helping you move a couch when he suddenly hurts his back, falls to his knees and can't get up. What should you do when you wait for an ambulance?

(a)Nothing.

(b)Give him an ice pack.

(c)Use a heating pad.

5.Your workmate cut off part of his finger while using a power saw. How will you control the bleeding?

(a)Make a tourniquet and use it on his forearm.

(b)Apply pressure to the nearest pressure point.

(c)Use direct pressure and elevate his hand.

6.The woman beside you faints. How should you help her?

(a)Remember your ABCs.

(b)Prop her head up and loosen her constricting clothing.

(c)Start CPR.

7.You've just witnessed a car accident. One driver seems unconscious. How should you help?

(a)Move him out of the car.

(b)Do not move him. Call for emergency assistance.

(c)Lay him down on the car seat, treat him for shock, and call for an ambulance.

8.Your husband mistook a cup of liquid drain opener for the cup beside it that contained his soda. He asks you for something to induce vomiting. What will you choose?

(a)Nothing.

(b)Syrup of ipecac.

(c)Salt water.

9.A friend's preschooler puts her hands on your stove. When your friend responds to her daughter's shrieks, she finds the child's hands are red and blistered. How should you treat them?

(a)Put the hands under cold running water.

(b)Pop the blisters and apply medicated first-aid lotion.

(c)Soothe the burns with butter.

10.After a big meal, your mother complains of indigestion. She has a history of heart attack. You want to take her to the hospital; she insists you're overreacting. What should you do?

(a)Nothing. She knows what a heart attack feels like.

(b)Call an ambulance.

(c)Give her an antacid and ask her to lie down for an hour. If the pain hasn't lessened, call a doctor.

11.Your husband is vomiting and has diarrhea. You suspect it may be a case of food poisoning. What's your first step?

(a)Give him water to prevent dehydration.

(b)Give him anti-diarrhea medicine.

(c)Take him to a doctor.

12.Your child is bitten by a stray dog. What should you do first?

(a)Catch the dog so it can be tested for rabies.

(b)Stop any bleeding and clean the wound.

(c)Rush the child to a doctor.

13.Your wife returns from a winter hike with her toes frostbitten. How should you treat them?

(a)Rub snow on them.

(b)Wrap them in an electric blanket.

(c)Soak them in warm water.

14.A car has hit a utility pole, and a downed power line is lying across the vehicle. What will you tell the occupants to do?

(a)Stay put until help arrives.

(b)Get out carefully, being sure not to touch anything metal.

(c)If you're wearing rubber-soled shoes, tell the occupants that you will open the door and help them out.

15.Your daughter, stung by a bee, breaks out in hives and seems short of breath. Earlier stings never caused an allergic reaction. What should you do?

(a)Apply antihistamine cream.

(b)Bathe her in baking soda to relieve the itching.

(c)Call for medical help.

16.Your teenage son is hit on the head with a hard ball, knocking him unconscious. He soon comes to and seems lethargic. What should you do?

(a)Keep him lying down and call for medical assistance.

(b)Wait for him to awaken completely and take him home.

(c)Help him stand. If he seems disoriented, take him to hospital.

Answers

1 (c) Most seizures in your children are related to fever and last under five minutes. The seizure itself isn't life-threatening. It should be allowed to run its course. Putting a spoon in the mouth will only lead to broken teeth. Your son won't choke on his tongue, but he could choke on vomit, so turn him on his side. Since seizures also accompany poisoning, severe infection and epilepsy, he should get emergency medical care if this is his first seizure or if it lasts more than five minutes. If the child has had previous seizures, talk to his doctor.

2 (a) If a choking victim can breathe or cough, his airway isn't completely blocked and it's best to let him cough up the food. But be prepared to perform the Heimlich if that fails, or if he starts making high-pitched noises while trying to breathe. Don't pound on him for you could drive the food fall down his airway.

3 (b) The key to successfully implanting a tooth is getting to a dentist within 30 to 45 minutes. Carefully rinse the tooth, but don't scrub it and don't touch the root. Some dentists suggest transporting the tooth in milk, but you can use water. Don't use alcohol.

4 (a) Wait for medical personnel, they will know how to move your brother without further injury. Hot or cold treatment could make diagnosis more difficult.

5 (c) Tourniquets can cause tissue damage, and pressure points are hard to find. Maintain steady pressure on the wound with sterile gauze or a clean towel. Keep the hand raised above his heart to slow the blood flow. Have him lie down and keep him warm and calm. Call for immediate medical help.

6 (a) Propping the woman's head would block her airway, and you should never administer CPR without first going through the ABCs, namely, checking airway, breathing and circulation:

* Open her mouth and make sure the airway isn't blocked. If it is, put one hand on her forehead, put two fingers of the other hand under her chin. Tilt her head back by lifting her draw.

* Put your ear beside her mouth and nose, and listen to make sure she's breathing. See if her chest rises and falls. If she isn't breathing, start artificial respiration while someone calls for medical help.

* Check her circulation. Does she have a pulse? The carotid pulse on either side of her neck can be found in the groove between the Adam's apple and the neck muscles. If there's no pulse, begin CPR.

7 (b) Watch for smoke before you assume the car will burn. If the victim is not in immediate danger, don't move him until medics arrive. Initiate the ABCs (see answer No. 6) to confirm that the patient is breathing and has pulse. If he's bleeding profusely, apply direct pressure to the wound. (Diseases such as hepatitis B and AIDS can be transmitted through an infected person's blood. Avoid allowing blood to enter your own open cuts, mouth or eyes.)

8 (a) Never induce vomiting unless instructed to do so by a poison-control specialist. Corrosives such as liquid drain openers can cause further damage when vomited. Call a poison-control center or a hospital emergency room.

9 (a) The skin continues burning even after it's removed from the heat; immersing in cold water will stop the burning and ease pain. Lotion would have to be removed before a medical specialist could treat the burn, so you'd only be delaying treatment by applying it. Butter and grease trap heat. Never pop blisters. To protect the child's hands before taking her to a doctor, put wet, sterile gauze between her fingers and on her palms. Then wrap her hands in dry gauze.

10 (b) A heart attack may not feel the same with the last one, and it's often confused with indigestion. Get her to the hospital.

11 (a) Most food poisoning is caused by bacterial contamination. Vomiting and diarrhea are the body's way of cleansing itself, so you shouldn't give medication to counteract them. Prevent dehydration by letting him sip clear liquids. If he can't retain fluids after four to six hours, see a doctor.

12 (b) Don't become a victim as well. Call the police to catch the dog so it can be checked for rabies. Animal bite can cause infections, so first stop any bleeding and clean the wound. Call your doctor.

13 (c) Someone with frostbite will complain of a prickling "pins and needles" sensation of numbness. Her skin will be hard, and usually blue or white. Immerse her feet in water a little warmer than you would normally bathe in but do not apply direct heat (as from an electric blanket) which could damage tissue.

14 (a) A live power line causes an electrical field that surrounds the car and the ground it touches. Tell them to stay put; then call emergency medical service and describe the exact location of the pole.

15 (c) Such a whole-body allergic reaction to a bee sting usually begins within 1 to 15 minutes. It may happen to someone who has not seemed allergic before. Your daughter must receive medical help as quickly as possible or she may have a threatening drop in blood pressure and/or an airway obstruction with swelling in her throat.

16 (c) Your son may have a previous head injury. Keep him as still as possible. Call for medical assistance immediately. Symptoms of head injury include strange behavior, silliness, amnesia, coma and seizure. Anyone who's been knocked unconscious, even briefly, by a blow on the head should be evaluated by a physician for brain damage or internal bleeding. Standing up could cause your son to loose consciousness again. Never give someone with a suspected head injury anything to drink until he's fully conscious.

There is no scoring for this quiz — even one wrong answer could lead to tragedy. Find out the telephone number you may need in emergency — right now, before it is necessary. If you've never taken any first-aid or CPR course to learn Heimlich and other techniques, resolve to do so now.

(Selected from Reader's Digest (Asia edition), June 1992, written by Mandy Matson)