Five Things To Do If You Are Caught In A Blast

It's a lot better to avoid trouble, but that's not always possible. If despite your best efforts, you get caught in the immediate vicinity of an explosion, here are five things you can do to minimize injury.

1. Duck, roll, and cover.

Don't look at that fireball headed your way. Make sure you are down on the ground, preferably in a gutter or a ditch, rolled away from the blast, and covered as best you can before the blast hits.

It's the shock wave from a bomb that causes the greatest number of injuries, not just the changes in air pressure that can take your breath away and make you temporarily deaf.

2. Take a deep breath before the blast hits, and let it out slowly.

There are a number of reasons it is a good idea to take a deep breath, as deep as you can make it, before a bomb blast hits (even though it may be hard to remember to take it and harder still to hold your breath until after the blast has passed). A major cause of death in bombings is lung injury. If you are breathing out when the blast hits, you won't be breathing in dust, broken glass, pulverized metal fragments, asbestos, and toxins. If you breathing out slowly, your heart rate will diminish, and you will have more control over your reflexes and you will be able to think more clearly. And if you maintain air pressure in your throat, your ears are less likely to suffer percussion damage from the blast.

Assuming your injuries from the blast itself appear to be minimal, be sure to seek emergency care for yourself and especially for your children who may have been at the blast site even if the "only" problem is temporary hearing loss. There is a window of just a few hours to a few days in which acute trauma to the eardrum can be treated to prevent long-term hearing loss, and people who have ear injuries tend usually to have concurrent lung injuries that may not be immediately evident.

3. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or Kleenex as you walk away from the area.

Fine particles in the air can do lasting damage to your lungs, and they may even be poisonous. Walking, rather than running, minimizes the amount of particulate matter you will breathe in as you head to safety. Don't return to the area of a bomb blast unless you absolutely must unless you have breathing protection in the form of a face mask or respirator.

4. Keep your head down and your hands in front of you.

Most non-fatal injuries in bomb blasts occur in the head and hands. Larger pieces of shrapnel and shards may get you no matter what, but simply bending your head down and keeping your hands and arms in front of you as you flee the scene will minimize your chances of serious injury.

5. Tend to your own family first.

Americans tend to behave bravely and altruistically in situations like the Boston Marathon terrorist attack and the West, Texas blasts. Many people risk their lives to help total strangers in crises of this nature. But if you are at an event with your own children or elders, and you aren't present in an official capacity, take care of your own first. You'll free up a first responder for another person in need, and you'll cement your bonds in your family for the rest of your lives.