What to do when Giving First Aid?
So, let’s assume that you’re in this position as being one of the first on the scene. You need to give first aid. Obviously, there are going to be specific medical emergencies that require specific reactions, however whenever you give first aid, there are three main things that you need to look out for. Emergencies will often fit into one of these categories, and thus give you the best idea of how to respond. Let’s take a look at these categories.
INJURED – Injuries can range from, for example, a burn to a cut, from a break and a severe knock. The severity of the injury will inevitably vary according to the situation, but if they’re just injured slightly then this is a good start. The first thing you’ll want to do in this situation is make sure that they’re as safe as they can be and that they’re not in any more danger of further complications. So ensure there are no naked flames or electrical sparks around if there is gasoline on the ground, for example, or that an unconscious motorcyclist isn’t moved until the emergency responders arrive to properly assess the physical damage – they may well have a broken back. . You’ll want therefore to preserve and prevent further danger. If you need to call an ambulance, do so when you can, but regardless of whether you do or don’t call one, you should carry out basic first aid, for example, cleaning and bandaging a nasty cut, or stop excessive blood flow. Like I said, the medical emergency might be beyond your level of expertise, but even making sure they’re comfortable and relaxed and in a safe position, can help in their possibility of survival and recovery greatly .
UNCONSCIOUS + BREATHING – When people become unconscious, things can get a little bit more serious. Issues arise because there can be no communication between you and the injured person. The most important thing to look out for is whether they are breathing or not. If they are the best thing to do in this situation is to put them in the recovery position. To do this there are some steps you need to take. Of course, care is key in this operation.
– If they’re on their back, you’ll want to take an arm and extend it fully, at 90 degrees to the body, with the palm facing up.
– Next, take their other arm and fold it so the back of their hand is touching the opposite cheek.
– With the help of their legs, you’ll want to gently roll them onto their side, so that the hand on their cheek is touching the floor, supporting their head, and their outstretched arm is acting as a barrier.
– With their legs, you should take the leg on top and bring it up to a right angle, almost like it looks like they’re running.
– Finally, you’ll want to tilt their head back, make sure the airways are clear and stay with them until professional help arrives.
UNCONSCIOUS + NOT BREATHING – However, people aren’t always breathing in this situation, and this is where immediate CPR should begin. CPR, which stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is crucial when saving lives. Given that the heart is like the engine of the body, if that stops working, blood isn’t pumped around the body. When people aren’t breathing, it’s because their heart has stopped.
So, how do you do CPR? Again, there’s a defined process and a method:
– First, interlock your fingers, with one hand on top of the other and place it in the canter of the person’s chest.
– Make sure your shoulders are over theirs, then, using your whole body weight, push down around 5cm and release, but always keep your hands on their body.
– Continue this at a rate of 100-120 times a minute for as long as you can, or until help arrives. That’s a lot of pumping and it needs to be maintained
– also, yes, 5cms of prolonged and rapid chest compressions probably means you will break their ribs, but we need to physically impact and pump the heart itself, if we are less vigorous they will likely die anyway before the professional responders arrive. Broken ribs hurt for a few weeks, but they do heal.
Another common form of CPR involves mouth-to-mouth. It’s important to know both types because using a combination of CPR and mouth-to-mouth can improve the chances of success, and sometimes, in specific situations like when someone has nearly drowned, mouth-to-mouth can be more important and carried out separately. However, in order to carry this out, again there are steps that need to be taken.
– Firstly, give chest compressions at the same rate of a 2 per second, After around 30 of these, which should take around 15 seconds, move to mouth-to-mouth.
– To start, tilt their head back, lift their chin with two fingers, close their nose, and form a seal with your mouth.
– Breath firmly into their mouth for around a second, and make sure that their chest rises.
– Do this twice, then revery back to giving compressions. Again, carry out this process for as long as you can, or until help arrives.
The importance of first aid cannot be underestimated. There’s no doubt that seeing someone in pain will be shocking and scary, but staying calm, understanding and carrying the most basic first aid in those first few minutes could well make a difference to their survival. As I said, life is unpredictable. We never truly know what’s around the corner, and in order to combat this, we have to be prepared for any potential outcome, and one of these is dealing with medical emergencies. First aid helps this, and if you know how to use it, then you just might save someone’s life.