Traveler discomfort in transport, how to help and what to do? : Current Woman Le MAG

“For travelers with discomfort, we will no longer stop the metro trains”, announced Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Île-de-France Regional Council, on February 27 at the microphone of BFM Business. If you witness a situation requiring intervention, what are the right reflexes to adopt? Current wife takes stock with Wenceslas Pronot, national training coordinator within Civil Protection. The latter, however, insists on the need to be trained in first aid procedures with or without equipment.

Discomfort: how to define it and what are the risks?

“The discomfortby definition, it is a person who does not feel well, who is not in their normal state”presents Wenceslas Pronot who specifies that “when we talk about discomfort, we are systematically talking about a conscious person”. This state can subsequently lead to a loss of consciousness which can have a lasting impact on the victim’s health.

When a person experiences discomfort, it can have different impacts. Indeed, “depending on the posture in which the person is feeling unwell, they may possibly be injured by falling”, explains the national coordinator of Civil Protection training, before adding that “in the most serious cases, there may be a progression towards loss of consciousness see towardscardiac arrest and therefore a risk of death”.

What are the warning signs to spot discomfort?

If the signs of discomfort can be multiple, Wenceslas Pronot lists the most common priority signs. However, this is not an exhaustive list. It is :

• a pallor,
• heavy sweating,
• a feeling of hot or cold,
• dizziness.

I witness discomfort: what should I do depending on the different scenarios?

First of all“you must ensure that you intervene safely so as not to become a victim yourself”, indicates Wenceslas Pronot. Then, the expert explains that the victim must be given space and put in a position that protects them.

If the victim is conscious

“In the case of discomfort, we advise to lay the person down. This will help distribute the blood throughout the body and irrigate the heart and brain in order to delay the onset of vital distress as much as possible., he explains. But in case the person has difficulty breathing, the most comfortable position will be the sitting position. “In all cases, we must listen to the victim and place them in the position where she feels best”, he adds. Then, you have to alert the emergency services.

In case of loss of consciousness

If the victim loses consciousness, take them to the ground. Then place the victim in side safety position before calling for help. “When a person is unconscious, all the muscles relax. The tongue being a muscle, it falls on the back of the throat and blocks the airways. This position allows facilitate breathing”, explains the specialist.

If the person is already unconscious, assess whether there is trauma and call for help.

Discomfort: how to call for help?

Once the person’s safety has been ensured, emergency services must be alerted by providing essential information, namely:

• give the precise location,
• indicate the nature of the emergency and the information you have on the victim,
• answer the questions asked precisely,
• if necessary, follow the instructions,
• never hang up first.

As a reminder, here are the emergency numbers:

• the 15th to be preferred in the event of a medical problem,
• the 18th for matters relating to fires or emergency services on public roads,
• the 112 if you are abroad in a country in Europe,
• 114 for help by SMS (for deaf and hard of hearing people).

Discomfort: this mistake not to make

As Wenceslas Pronot points out, it Do not give the person anything to eat or drink. “The only time we give something to a victim is if they ask for their usual medication,” he explains before giving an example. “If a person is diabetic and says they need sugar, it is because they have recognized the signs of their hypoglycemic discomfort“.

Traveler discomfort: what to do if you feel unwell on public transport?

If a person feels unwell on public transport, the RATP recommends:

• ask the person if they feel bad,
• if so, help him get out of the train at the next station,
• call an RATP agent via the call terminal on the platform.

Thanks to Wenceslas Pronot, National Training Coordinator, within Civil Protection