Article: . Getting immediate professional care for the patient is crucial. It can mean the difference between life and death. Before you take steps to dress the wound yourself, call for emergency medical personnel if possible. In many places where cell phone service is not available, it is still possible to call emergency services. If you cannot personally make the phone call for any reason, designate another specific person to make the call. If you know what to do for the wound and there is someone else around, have them call the emergency services while you work on the wound. There are universal precautions that you should take before dealing with an injured person. These are for your protection and theirs. Make sure to be safe even as you work to prevent more serious harm to the victim. Wash your hands with soap and water. Wear gloves, if available. If they are unavailable, you can use shopping bags or bread bags. Wear a face mask and eye protection if possible. Dispose of anything contaminated with blood or bodily fluids in a safe way. If there are both exit and entry wounds, both of them will need to be dressed. The wounds may not be obvious, depending on what the victim is wearing, so be sure to look underneath their clothes and on their back. If there is more than one wound or opening, you should first handle a wound that is gaping and uncovered. Using a cloth or a piece of clothing or plastic, cover the entire wound, as well as two inches past its edge. If you can hear air passing through the chest cavity or see blood bubbling, tape two or three sides of the cloth down. This will stop air from building up in the chest. After you deal with a gaping wound, you should look for wounds where you can stop the bleeding, if applicable. A gaping chest wound should be your first priority, but, after that, you should work to stop bleeding, wherever it may be. A chest wound is often characterized by bleeding, frothy blood, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing. The chest may not rise normally when the person inhales. The wound should be immediately exposed by removing clothing and any other objects from the area. Cut the clothes off if they are covering the wound, but if clothing is stuck to the wound, don't try to remove it, as it could cause more pain or injury. Do not attempt to clean the wound. If you're in a chemical environment, do everything you can to prevent exposing the wound and the first aid provider to the chemicals.

What is a summary?
Call emergency services Protect yourself. Check for entry and exit wounds. Expose the wound.