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An introduction to first aid
Imagine: Whilst feeding your child, they start to gag and appear unable to
breathe. You have tried slapping them on the back, with no success. They seem close to losing consciousness, their lips are turning a definite shade of blue.
People rarely give first aid a thought, until the day they need it. The above scenario is the sort of every day occurrence that can so easily lead to tragedy.
However, with the correct first aid training anyone could, in the short term (until the arrival of the emergency services) save a life.
These notes have been designed to aid you with your first aid training. It is, however, not a substitute for hands on training from a professional first aid trainer, but a reference for you to look back on when you need to.
We hope the training you undertake with us will give you the knowledge and confidence to, if the worst happens, help keep someone alive.
The Aims of first aid
Preserve life This doesn’t just refer to the injured party, but yourself and anyone helping you. Far too often, a helper will inadvertently put themselves in danger and subsequently be another casualty for the emergency services to deal with.Please take a moment to assess the situation, and make sure there are no threats to you before you step in.
Prevent the situation from getting worse If you are in no danger yourself, try to stop the situation from becoming worse by removing any obvious dangers (such as stopping traffic, clearing people away from the casualty, opening a window to clear any fumes, etc.).Also, act as quickly as you can to stop the casualty’s condition from worsening.
Promote recovery Your role as a first aider is, after ensuring that the situation can not get worse, helping the casualty to recover from their injury or illness, or stop their condition from getting worse. If the injury is severe, then the best you can do is try to keep them alive until the emergency services arrive.
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The priorities of treatment
This is the course of action you should try to follow, providing the situation allows.
Primary survey (Airway → Breathing):
- Make sure the casualty’s airway is clear. Do this by gently tipping their
head back so that the front of the throat is extended.
- Check if they are breathing normally. You can do this by placing the back
of your hand near their nose and mouth. You are looking for about two breaths every ten seconds. If the casualty is breathing, then their heart is working, which means blood is being circulated around their body.
Secondary survey (Breathing → Bleeding → Bones):
Once you are satisfied that the casualty is breathing normally, the second thing to do is make sure to treat any bleeding. This is to stem any blood loss and to ensure there is a steady supply of oxygenated blood to the casualty’s vital organs. If there is no bleeding, or you have dealt with any cuts, the next priority is broken bones.
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An emergency action plan is important to have in place should you be faced with a situation requiring first aid.
1. REMOVE DANGER: Make the scene safe, do not take risks.
2. DANGER: Look for any further danger. If yes, go back a step, if no go to
step 3.
3. RESPONSE: Shout and gently shake or tap the casualty. If the casualty
responds, find out what happened. Check their signs and symptoms (how does the casualty feel or look? Try to work out what’s wrong), and determine a treatment (remember - if you are unsure, always seek medical advice). If there is no response, shout for help but don’t leave the casualty just yet, and go to step 4.
4. AIRWAY: Open the casualty’s airway by lifting their chin and tilting their
head back.
5. BREATHING NORMAL?: Look, listen and feel for two breaths in a
maximum of ten seconds. If you can clearly determine the casualty is breathing, perform a secondary survey (check for bleeding, injuries and clues). Put the casualty into the recovery position, dial 999 if not already done, monitor airway and breathing and keep the casualty warm. If you cannot determine if the casualty is breathing, go to step 6.
6. DIAL 999 FOR AN AMBULANCE NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO
ALREADY.
7. RESUSCITATION: Give 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue
breaths, continue giving cycles of 30 compressions to 2 breaths. If there is more than one first aider on hand, change over every 2 minutes to prevent fatigue. Continue until the ambulance arrives.
Resuscitation
To maintain life, we need our hearts to pump oxygenated blood to our vital organs. To achieve this we need to be breathing and our hearts need to be pumping. Should either of these functions stop, our brain and other vital organs will start to deteriorate (brain cells usually die within 3-4 minutes due to lack of oxygen) which will eventually lead to death.
‘Ventricular fibrillation’ is the most common result of cardiac arrest, caused by heart attack. When this happens, the best chance of survival for the patient is to 3 / 4
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have their heart ‘restarted’ with a defibrillator. These are carried on all ambulances, and can also be found in some public places (shopping centres, etc.). These days’ defibrillators are very sophisticated, and will talk you through the process, but you should be trained in the use of them before attempting to use one. However, even if you are trained to use one, you must call an ambulance first, as this will give the casualty the best chance of survival.
Even so, we need to keep the heart and brain oxygenated as best we can while help is on the way; this is when we start Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
(CPR).
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) – Primary Survey:
D Danger – ensure the area is safe and find out what has happened Make sure that it is safe for you to approach the casualty. Do not put yourself in any danger, because if you get injured you won’t be able to help the casualty. Remove any danger from the casualty, or if that is not possible, and it is safe to do so, try to move the casualty away from the danger area. Try to find out what happened, making sure that you are safe doing so. DO
NOT PUT YOURSELF IN ANY DANGER.
How many casualties are there? Can you cope with the situation?
R Response – is the casualty conscious? Try to get a response from the casualty. Gently shake their shoulders, shout and clap your hands in front of them, pinch their underarm or fingernail to get a pain response. If they do not respond, immediately shout for help, or call 999 if you have a mobile phone on you. Whatever you do, do not leave the casualty alone.
A Airway – clear the airway Clear the airway by placing your fingertips under the casualty’s chin and lifting, so the front of the neck is extended. Simultaneously placing your other hand on their forehead to gently tilt the head back.
B Breathing – is the casualty breathing normally? When their airway is cleared, check if they are breathing normally. You are looking for two breaths in ten seconds. Take no longer than this to assess their breathing, as every second counts. Check whether their chest and abdomen are rising and falling. Listen for breath (more than a sporadic gasp). Use the back of your hand (lick the back of your hand if that will help) or your cheek to feel for any breath from the casualty.
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