Basic of First Aid

Fundamental of First Aid

1. Safety First
2. Determine if the Victim is Awake
3. ABC's stand for Airway, Breathing, Circulation.
4. While Waiting for the Ambulance

1. Safety First

Professional rescuers practice universal precautions when providing medical care to victims. Universal precautions are steps used to reduce the potential for victims to infect rescuers. Practicing universal precautions requires personal protective equipment such as gloves or eye protection.

To better protect yourself, you should make sure your first aid kit is adequately stocked with personal protective equipment necessary to practice universal precautions.

Staying Safe

Safety is an ongoing concern that must never leave your thoughts.

There is a primal instinct in many people to dash to the rescue of those in need. Regardless of the dire circumstances of whatever terrible accident or injury you may witness, it's urgent that you keep your wits about you and stay safe.

Safety is an awareness of your surroundings and a healthy fear of unstable situations. By it's very nature, an emergency is an unstable situation. If everything were truly under control, nothing bad would've happened in the first place.

If, for example, you see a person struck by a car in a crosswalk, do not rush headlong into the street to see if they're injured. You will no doubt find yourself lying next to them after being struck by the next car barreling down the road.

2. Determine if the Victim is Awake

Probably the biggest indicator of a serious medical emergency is an inability to wake a victim.

If the person you are trying to help does not respond to you as you attempt to wake him or her, then you should call 911 immediately.

If you are out of the house or office and using your cell phone, make sure you know how to call 911 on a cell phone.

If a person is responding to you but is confused, you should still call 911.

Remember: When in doubt, call 'em out!

3. ABC's Stand for Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

After caring for your own safety, checking for responsiveness and calling for help, it is important to check ABC's.

Airway

Checking the victim's airway depends on whether the victim is conscious or unconscious.

If a victim is conscious, ask him or her to speak. The ability to speak directly corrolates with an airway. If a person's airway is blocked, he or she can't speak.

Unconscious victims, on the other hand, require a closer inspection. Put your ear close to the victim's mouth and listen for breathing. Feel for air on your cheek and look at the chest to see if it or the abdomen is rising with each breath.

Breathing

If you do not see, hear or feel normal breathing: start CPR immediately! If the victim is breathing normally, place him or her in the recovery position.

Possible causes of unconsciousness or confusion:

• Diabetes
• Seizures
• Alcohol or drug intoxication
• Poisoning
• Overdose
• Dehydration
• Illness or infection

Circulation

Circulation is the last of the ABC's of first aid. After you have determined if the victim is responding and is breathing, you must determine if the victim has adequate circulation.

Look at the victim's color and feel his or her skin temperature to see if he or she has signs of circulation. If you do not think the victim has circulation and is not responding to you, start CPR.

If the victim is bleeding, follow the steps to control bleeding and wait for the ambulance.

4. While Waiting for the Ambulance

As the ambulance is responding to your emergency, there are some things you can do to help emergency crews find you. Make sure to try to do as many of these things as possible to prepare for the ambulance's arrival:

• Lock up the dogs or other pets
• Turn on the porch light
• Gather the victim's personal medical information
• Send someone to meet emergency crews and guide them to the victim
• Move cars & furniture out of the way to allow access with a gurney
• Don't forget to keep an eye on the victim

Resource: http://firstaid.about.com/