Emergencies can happen any place and any time. You can handle these situations effectively if you complete a first aid and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course. Having adequate knowledge on first aid procedures can help you handle emergencies with confidence.

First aid checklist

In times of emergencies, you may not know how to prioritize. This checklist will give you an insight on how best to assess and manage the situation –

– Assess the situation and ensure whether it is safe for you to continue. Take necessary precautions to protect yourself and others from injury or danger.

– Stay calm.

– Do not move the victim until it is absolutely necessary.

– Call emergency medical services.

– If choking occurs, you need to deliver back blows between the victim’s shoulder blades with your hand and perform abdominal thrusts.

Alternate blows and thrusts until the blockage clears.

– Check whether the victim is breathing normally.

– Check the pulse rate to determine whether the heart beat is normal.

– If the victim is bleeding, apply firm pressure to stop it.

– If he/she is in shock, treat for shock first.

– If the victim is unconscious, take steps to make him/her recover consciousness.

As a first aider, you must have knowledge and skills in providing basic lifesaving techniques like CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation.

What is Mouth to mouth Resuscitation?

– Place the victim on a flat and hard surface.

– Ensure whether the airway is clear by checking mouth and throat. If any foreign material is present, try to take it out with your fingers.

– Tilt his/her head back to open the airway.

– Place your mouth tightly over the mouth of the victim. Blow two small breaths. Check whether the chest rises.

– Listen for sound of breathing. If breathing does not start on its own, give small breaths again.

CPR

– Lay the victim on a hard flat surface.

– Check whether the airway is blocked. If so, try to remove it with your fingers.

– Tilt his/her head back to open the airway.

– Put pressure on the jaw. Look whether the chest of the victim rises. If not, repeat the same procedure.

First aid kit checklist

It is important to keep a well stocked first aid kit handy. The important things to be included in the kit are-

– Bandages

– Soap

– Adhesive strips

– Scissors

– Cold pack

– Mouthpiece for protection

– Elastic bandages

– Cotton tipped swabs

– Tweezers

– Saline eye drops

– Gauze pads

– Ipecac syrup to induce vomit

– Triangular pieces of cloth to cut up as bandages or use as slings in case of fracture

– Disposable gloves

– Hand towels

– Wound dressing

It is worth writing down emergency phone numbers such as medical service, police, ambulance services, poison control center and doctors and keep them in your wallet all the time. If you are well prepared, you can administer first aid easily and effectively until emergency medical help arrives. First aid knowledge not only helps you manage small injuries, but also helps save lives through timely action. Print out this list and make copies to keep handy in car trunks or glove boxes and at home.

For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.

For more information, please visit our first aid courses website http://www.firstaidexams.com

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: burns,emergency situation ,health care ,first aid ,first aid course ,First Aid Courses