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Applying First Aid Techniques Before Paramedics Arrive Can Save Lives Most of us do not know what to do when we encounter a medical emergency situation. First aid is the provision of initial care to deal with emergencies before professional medical help arrives. It is useful to learn how to deal with normal emergencies such as minor injuries, a head injury or asthma attacks. We should always have first aid kits at the workplace or at home to deal with emergency situations. But what contents will you include in first aid kits? There are no hard and fast rules here but a simple kit may include:
Story from BBC NEWS: Published: 2010/04/12 00:59:24 GMT
First aid 'could save thousands' A wider knowledge of simple first aid techniques could save thousands of lives each year, the St John Ambulance charity has said. It is focusing a new campaign on five health emergencies which account for 150,000 deaths each year in England and Wales. These include heart attacks, choking and severe bleeding. The charity is offering a free pocket which it feels will boost the survival chances of many more patients. It believes that if confident first aiders were present on more occasions, many lives would be saved. “ Around 2,500 people die each year from a blocked airway, but if someone had known the recovery position, lives could have been saved” This view is backed by the World Health Organisation, which also says "bystander first aid" can make a difference and should be encouraged. The charity's own poll suggests that most people would still not feel confident attempting first aid techniques, while a quarter would do nothing and wait for other people or paramedics to arrive. Its chief executive Sue Killen said: "We believe that anyone who needs first aid should receive it. "Our latest research shows that's just not happening. We can't rely on other people to have the skills - everyone should take the responsibility to learn first aid themselves. "Around 2,500 people die each year from a blocked airway, but if someone had known the recovery position, lives could have been saved." Crash tragedy
Beth Chesney-Evans' son died in 2008 following a motorcycle accident near his Oxfordshire home. She said she didn't know if he could have survived, even with first aid, but that it might have given him a chance. "He had no injuries at all but died because his heart apparently stopped and he couldn't breathe - and those are conditions that first aid is designed to deal with until the ambulance arrives." Fotini Rozakeas, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "In life threatening situations it's vital that we all know what to do before professional help arrives as it's bystanders, often a relative, who are first on the scene. "Every year around 140,000 people have a heart attack and around one in three die before reaching hospital. "Calling 999 promptly and knowing what to do in those crucial minutes can make a big difference to a person's chance of survival." The booklet is available free of charge from the St John Ambulance website, or by texting LIFE to 85010, contains simple instructions on treating patients with heart symptoms, bleeding, choking, or who are unconscious, either breathing or not breathing.
Learn the "ABC"s of first aid Here is a useful mnemonic to help you remember what to do in an emergency while waiting for professional help to arrive.
It is useful to take up a training course in first aid so that you'll know what to do in an emergency. Such emergencies may include minor injuries, head injury and asthma attacks.
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