First Aid for Emergencies

In this lesson, you will Learn About…

The various strategies for responding to

accidental and deliberate injuries.

How you can help someone who is bleeding.

What you can do to help a person who is

choking.

What you can do to help someone who has been

burned.

The Vocabulary terms for this lesson are:

First aid

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Rescue breathing

Choking

Abdominal thrusts

Poison control center

First Aid for Emergencies

Taking the right steps to help an injured person can prevent further injury or even death.

First aid can be given for both deliberate and accidental injuries. Proper training is needed to give first aid.

In an emergency situation, follow the American Red Cross guidelines: Check-Call-Care.

What Is First Aid?

What Is First Aid? (cont’d.)

CHECK the scene and the victim. To avoid further injury, move the victim only if he or she is in danger. However, do not put your own life at risk to help the victim.

CALL for help. In most areas, you can dial 911 for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). If possible, stay with the victim, and ask a passerby for help.

CARE for the person until help arrives. Use the first-aid steps discussed in this lesson to treat the victim’s injuries.

Basic Techniques

Injuries can be life threatening if the victim:

Has stopped breathing. Is bleeding severely. Is choking. Has swallowed poison. Has been severely burned.

Basic Techniques (cont’d.)

Victims with life-threatening injuries often cannot wait for professional help to arrive.

If the victim’s heart has stopped, medical professionals or specially trained personnel may perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Rescue Breathing

To check for breathing, put your ear and cheek close to the victim’s mouth.

Listen and feel for exhaled air. Look to see whether the chest is rising and

falling.

If the victim is not breathing, call for help immediately. Then perform rescue breathing.

Rescue Breathing

Point the victim’s chin upward by gently lifting it up with your fingers and tilting the head back. The airway will now be open.

Pinch the victim’s nostrils shut. Cover the victim’s mouth with your own, forming a tight seal. Give two slow breaths each about two seconds long. Make sure the victim’s chest rises during each breath.

Watch for the victim’s chest to fall, and listen for air flowing from the lungs. If the victim begins breathing normally, stop. Otherwise, give one rescue breath every five seconds until help arrives.

Bleeding

To stop a nosebleed, sit upright and pinch your nostrils with your thumb and forefinger for 10 minutes.

Treating severe bleeding can be a challenge because it is dangerous to touch another person’s blood. Wear gloves if possible, and always wash your hands afterwards.

Bleeding (cont’d.)

Use the following first-aid techniques for bleeding:

1. Lay the victim down.2. Apply direct steady pressure to the wound.

At the same time, apply pressure to the main artery supplying blood to the wound.

3. After the bleeding has stopped cover the wound with a clean cloth and get the victim to the emergency room if necessary.

Bleeding (cont’d.)

The dots in this illustration are pressure points.

Applying pressure to the nearest pressure point can help stop the flow of blood to a wounded area.

Choking

A choking victim can die in minutes because air cannot get to the lungs.

Signs that will help you recognize a choking victim:

A person grabbing the throat between the thumb and forefinger.

A person gasping for breath or unable to speak.

A person’s face turning red, then bluish.

Choking (cont’d.)

To help an infant who is choking:

1. Position the infant on his or her abdomen along your forearm, bracing your arm against your thigh.

2. Support the infant’s head with your hand, and point the head down.

3. Give up to five blows with the heel of your hand between the infant's shoulder blades.

4. Sweep your finger through the infant's mouth and remove the dislodged object.

Choking (cont’d.)

If the object is still stuck:

1. Turn the infant on his or her back.2. Support the infant’s shoulders and neck with

one hand.3. With the other hand, place two fingers in the

middle of the infant’s breastbone, and press quickly up to five times.

4. Alternate five back blows and five chest thrusts until the object is dislodged.

Choking (cont’d.)

To help an adult or older child who is choking:

Ask the victim, “Are you choking?” If the victim nods or does not respond, use

abdominal thrusts. If the person can talk or cough or you can

hear breathing, don’t do anything.

Choking (cont’d.)

Stand behind the victim. Wrap your arms around his or her waist, and bend victim slightly forward. Place your fist slightly above the person’s navel.

Hold your fist with your other hand, and press it hard into the abdomen with an upward thrust. Repeat until the object is coughed up.

Choking (cont’d.)

If you are choking and there is no one to help you:

Make a fist and thrust it quickly into your upper abdomen. This will force out the object blocking your airway.

You can also try shoving your abdomen against the back or arm of a chair.

Poisoning

If someone has swallowed poison:

1.Call 911, a doctor, or a poison control center. Follow the directions you receive.

2.Keep the person warm and breathing. Remove extra traces of poison from around the victim’s mouth.

3.Save the container of poison.4.Tell the ambulance team all you know about

what happened.

Burns

Burns are identified by how much they damage the skin.

In case of a third-degree burn, perform rescue breathing, if necessary. Cool the burn with cold water or by applying a wet cloth. Do not apply ice or ointments.

For a second-degree burn, cool the burn in cold water (not ice) and elevate the burned area. Wrap loosely with a clean, dry dressing. Do not pop blisters, or peel loose skin.

In case of a first-degree burn, cool the burned area with cold water (not ice) for at least 15 minutes, and wrap it loosely in a clean, dry dressing.

Reviewing Terms and Facts

1. ________ is the care first given to an injured or ill person until regular medical care can be supplied.

First aid

Reviewing Terms and Facts

2. Name the three basic first-aid procedures to follow when responding to accidental or deliberate injuries.

Check-Call-Care are the three basic first-aid procedures to follow when responding to accidental or deliberate injuries.

Thinking Critically

There are many types of poisons. The container will help medical professionals quickly identify the poison swallowed by the victim, allowing them to administer the correct treatment.

3. Why do you think it is important to save the container if someone has swallowed poison?

First aid is the care first given to an injured or ill person until regular medical care can be supplied.

Vocabulary Review

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a rescue measure that attempts to restore heartbeat and breathing.

Vocabulary Review

Rescue breathing is a substitute for normal breathing in which someone forces air into the victim’s lungs.

Vocabulary Review

Choking is a condition that occurs when a person’s airway becomes blocked.

Vocabulary Review

Abdominal thrusts are quick upward pulls into the diaphragm to force out the object blocking the airway.

Vocabulary Review

Vocabulary Review

A poison control center is a place that helps people deal with poisons.