Is there a doctor in the house?

[leahbobet]

So if I were to have one character on the floor, in shock, with a nasty, bleedy, but ultimately not life-threatening gunshot graze on the head, and another who's pondering feeding her a codeine pill for the pain, would this be a good idea or a bad idea on his part? As in, is this destined to cause terrible complications and/or endanger her life further?

Your writer thanks you.

Comments

[rosefox]

IANAD but I think it wouldn't be a terribly good idea to drug someone who's in shock. You want to keep them alert, and you shouldn't give any food or drink or they're likely to puke it up; ditto medications. In addition, opiates can inhibit breathing, which would be a real problem for someone who's lost a lot of blood and thus is already low on blood oxygen.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* Thank you.

[rosefox]

Of course, this assumes that the other person is in "first aid until the ambulance gets here" mode. If they're attempting to provide actual medical care, might be different; I can't comment there.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Hee. It's not so much what he's attempting to do, just looking for any adverse side effects. :)