Question

A nurse is providing disaster care in an event that is known to involve gamma radiation. when admitting victims of the disaster, what should the nurse do to best reduce victims' risks of injury?

Answer 1

The right answer is Remove victims' clothing and have them wash thoroughly.

The doctrine of medical management of accidental contaminations with the presence of injured, burned or shocked victims (blast effect ), is clearly established and internationally recognized. It comes down to a golden rule: the medical emergency takes precedence over the radiological emergency. The management of accidental contaminations is essentially operational with a reflex phase where the emergency medical teams must deploy at the accident site an advanced medical post including chains of decontamination, undressing, and showers. The objective is to perform a medical sorting of the victims and to eliminate the radioactivity deposited on the clothes and the skin.

Answer 2

For the answer to the question above, the nurse must remove victim's clothing and have them wash thoroughly.

The nurse should've victim's shower and change clothes and irrigate or wash open wounds with soap and water. Cleansing the skin helps to reduce the transition from external to the internal radiologic contamination. Infectious micro-organisms are not involved, so chlorhexidine is of no particular benefit. Applying PPE over contaminated clothing could make the risk of injury worst. Good ventilation is very important, also the removal of contaminants is the priority because of the increased risk of injury.