Basic first aid is the set of all those initial procedures aimed at determining and addressing the needs of a person who is injured or who is in difficulty due to suffocation, heart attack, allergic reaction, drugs or other medical emergencies. First aid techniques allow you to quickly understand the physical condition of the victim and which type of intervention is most suitable. You should always call professional help as soon as you get the chance, but by following the procedures correctly you can make the difference between life and death. Read this whole tutorial or find specific advice in the attached links.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Assessing and Addressing the Situation
Step 1. Check your surroundings
Assess the situation. Is there anything that could put you in danger? Are you or the victim at risk from the presence of flames, toxic fumes, gas, unsafe buildings, free electrical cables or other dangerous situations? Avoid becoming a victim yourself.
If approaching the person endangers your life, call professional help immediately; they are highly trained and trained personnel to handle all dangerous situations. First aid is useless if you are unable to provide it without hurting yourself
Step 2. Call for help
Call the appropriate authorities or emergency services immediately if you believe a person is seriously injured. If you are the only person present other than the victim, try to stabilize her breathing before calling for help. Never leave the person in distress for a long time.
Step 3. Take care of the victim
Caring for someone who has just suffered a severe trauma involves both physical treatment and emotional support. Remember to stay calm and try to reassure the subject; let him know that help is on the way and that everything will be fine.
Part 2 of 4: Caring for an Unconscious Person
Step 1. Determine the patient's degree of consciousness
If he is completely unconscious, try to wake him up by gently tickling his hands and feet or call him. If he doesn't respond to touch, voice, movement, or other stimulation, check that he is breathing.
Step 2. Check for pulse and breathing
If the person has passed out and you cannot wake them up, check that they are breathing right away: search for the presence of chest movements; listens the noise of the air passing through the airways; feel the flow of air on your face. If you don't notice any of these signs, check your heart rate.
Step 3. If the person does not regain consciousness, prepare to perform CPR
Unless spinal damage is suspected, place the victim supine and open the airways. If you are concerned that there is a spinal injury, do not move it and try to make sure it is breathing. If she vomits, move her to her side to keep her from choking.
- Keep your head aligned with your neck.
- Roll the person over so that they are leaning on their back supporting their head.
- Open the airways by lifting her chin.
Step 4. Perform 30 chest compressions and two emergency breaths to begin CPR
Place your hands on top of each other in the center of the patient's chest, over an imaginary line running between the nipples, cover my chest down about 5cm at a rate of 100 thrusts per minute. After 30 compressions, give two breaths and check your vital signs. Make sure the victim's head is tilted back and that the tongue is not blocking the airways. Continue with a course of 30 compressions and two insufflations until someone comes to replace you.
Step 5. Remember the ABCs of CPR
This acronym refers to three critical situations that you need to check and monitor very often while performing CPR. Here it is in detail:
- Airway - Does the victim have an obstruction that prevents them from breathing?
- Breathing - breathing: does the victim breathe?
- Circulation - blood circulation: does the person have a pulse at the main points of detection of the heartbeat (pulse, carotid artery, groin)?
Step 6. Make sure the person stays warm while you wait for help
Wrap it in a blanket or towel, if you have one available; otherwise, take off an item of clothing (such as a coat or jacket) and use it to cover the victim until medical personnel arrive.
Step 7. Pay close attention to what you don't have to do
When providing first aid, remember all that it would not go done in any case:
- Do not give anything to eat or drink to an unconscious person, you could cause choking and asphyxiation.
- Don't abandon the victim. Unless you absolutely need to report your presence or call for help, always stay with the person.
- Do not raise the head of an unconscious person with a pillow.
- Do not slap or splash the face of an unconscious victim with water. These are cinematic tricks.
Part 3 of 4: Treating Common Problems in First Aid Interventions
Step 1. Protect yourself from possible blood pathogens
Don't take the risk of exposing yourself to pathogens that can threaten your health. If you have a first aid kit, sterilize your hands and wear protective gloves. If you have no way of doing this, protect your hands with a layer of gauze or cotton. Avoid direct contact with the other person's blood. If you do come into contact with it, be sure to clean yourself as soon as possible, eliminating any source of contamination.
Step 2. Stop the bleeding first
Once it is determined that the person is breathing and has a heartbeat, your next priority is to check for any blood loss. This is one of the most important things you can do to save an injury victim. Apply direct pressure to the wound before trying other methods to stop the bleeding. Read the article that was linked to this step for more details. <
Treat a gunshot wound. This type of injury is severe and unpredictable. Read the attached article for detailed advice on the necessary treatment
Step 3. Treat the shock
The term shock defines all those physical and sometimes emotional reactions that follow a trauma (also of a physical or emotional nature); shock is often caused by a loss of blood flow in the body. A person in shock has cold, sweaty skin, is agitated or mentally impaired, has a pale face and lips. If left untreated, shock could have fatal consequences. Anyone who has sustained a serious injury or been in a life-threatening situation is at risk of shock.
Step 4. Rescue a person with a fracture
A broken bone, however common, must be treated following these guidelines:
- Immobilize the area. Make sure that the bone does not move and that it does not support other areas of the body.
- Numb the pain sensation. This can be done with an ice pack wrapped in a towel.
- Improvise a cue. A pack of newspapers and sturdy tape might be for you. If it is a broken finger, for example, the adjacent finger can serve as a support.
- Prepare a shoulder strap if needed. Tie a shirt or pillowcase around the broken arm and tie it at the shoulder.
Step 5. Help someone who is choking
Choking causes death or permanent brain damage within minutes. Read the article that you find in the link inside this step to learn how to act. The article deals with both the case where the victim is an adult and a child.
One of the techniques for saving a choking individual is the Heimlich maneuver. This is done by placing yourself behind the victim, hugging her and placing both hands closed in fists above her navel but below the breastbone. At this point, upward compressions must be performed to forcefully expel the air from the lungs (and with it the foreign body). Repeat the maneuver until you can clear the trachea of obstruction
Step 6. Learn how to heal a burn
Treat first- and second-degree ones by soaking them or holding them under a stream of cold water (don't use ice). Do not apply creams, butter or other ointments and do not pop bubbles. Third degree burns should be covered with a damp cloth. Remove clothing and jewelry from the injured area, but do not remove burnt residue from clothing that has stuck to the injury.
Step 7. Look for concussion symptoms
If the person has suffered a blow to the head, check to see if they have a concussion. Symptoms to monitor include:
- Loss of consciousness after injury
- Memory problems and disorientation
- Dizziness;
- Nausea;
- Lethargy.
Step 8. Rescue a spinal injury victim
If you suspect that the person has a spinal injury, it is essential not to move their head, neck, or back unless they are in immediate danger. You will also need to take special precautions for performing CPR and emergency breaths. Read the related article to find out more.
Part 4 of 4: Treating Rare Cases in First Aid
Step 1. Rescue someone who is having a seizure
Seizures can be terrifying to people who have never seen or experienced them. Thankfully, helping an individual who suffers from it is quite simple, albeit traumatic.
- Free the surrounding environment to prevent the person from hurting himself;
- Call the emergency room immediately if the attack lasts more than five minutes or if the person stops breathing
- Once the seizure is over, have her lie on the floor and put something soft under her head. Turn her on her side for easier breathing, but Not hold her back or try to stop her movements;
- Reassure her amicably as she recovers, and do not offer food or water until she has fully recovered.
Step 2. Help a person survive a heart attack
In this case, you need to know the symptoms of a heart attack that involves a rapid pulse, chest pain or tightness, general discomfort or nausea. Take the person to the hospital immediately, in the meantime give them nitroglycerin or aspirin to chew.
Step 3. Find out if someone is having a stroke
Again, it is important to recognize the signs. These include a temporary inability to speak or understand what is being said, confusion, loss of balance or dizziness, severe headache with no warning signs, and many others. Run to the emergency room immediately if you suspect the person is having a stroke.
Step 4. Take action in case of poisoning
This can be caused by natural toxins (such as a snake bite) or a combination of chemicals. If an animal is responsible for the situation, try to safely kill it and take it together with the victim to the poison control center.
Advice
- If possible, use latex gloves or other physical barriers to protect yourself from the victim's body fluids.
- If the person has been pierced by an object, do not remove it unless it is blocking the airway. Removing such an object could cause further damage and increase the severity of the bleeding. Don't move the victim. If you are forced to do this, you can shorten and fix the foreign body.
- As accurate as this article may be, there are many other things to learn. For this reason, seek and take a first aid and / or cardiopulmonary resuscitation course, if possible; this allows you to learn the practical skills needed to bandage fractures, dislocations, dress moderate and severe wounds, and even perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Thus you will be prepared to help those who need it. Additionally, you may receive a certificate of attendance that will help you in the event of a legal action against you. Even if the laws of the Good Samaritan are on your side, a certificate will help.
Warnings
- Never put yourself in danger! While it may seem like a lack of compassion, remember that being a hero, in this case, is worthless if you die.
- Never try to reduce or reposition a broken or dislocated bone. Remember that you are operating in first aid, which only involves preparing the patient to be transported to the hospital. Unless you are 100% certain of what you are doing, know that an attempt to reduce a fracture or dislocation could make the situation much worse.
- Moving a person with spinal damage increases the risk of paralysis or death.
- Giving aspirin to anyone under 16 years of age is dangerous because it could cause fatal damage to the heart and liver.
- If you don't know what you are doing, let the professionals take care of it. If it is not a life-threatening injury, doing the wrong thing could harm the patient. Read the training note found in the “Tips” section.
- Do not touch someone who is suffering an electric shock. Turn off the power source or use a piece of non-conductive material (such as wood, dry rope, or dry cloth) to separate the person from the electrical energy before touching them.
- Don't move the victim. You could do her even worse damage; unless you are in a situation of immediate danger. Wait for the ambulance to take your place to help.
- Before touching the victim and lending whatever help, ask her consent! Check the relevant laws. Remember that helping someone without authorization could cause you legal problems. If someone has given "orders not to be resuscitated", respect it (only if you have clear evidence of this will). If the person is unconscious, at risk of death or injury, and no provisions against resuscitation are known, then proceed with the operations and treat the situation as implied consent.
