What is First Aid?

First aid is the provision of immediate care to a victim with an injury or illness, usually effected by a lay person, and performed within a limited skill range. First aid is normally performed until the injury or illness is satisfactorily dealt with (such as in the case of small cuts, minor bruises, and blisters) or until the next level of care, such as a paramedic or doctor, arrives. Guiding principles The key guiding principles and purpose of first aid, is often given in the mnemonic "3 Ps". These three points govern all the actions undertaken by a first aider.

Prevent further injury Preserve life Promote recovery

First aid sign in Israel. The nature of first aid means that most people will only have a limited knowledge, and in emergency situations, first aiders are advised to FIRST seek professional help. This is done by calling, or assigning an able bystander to call, an emergency number, which is 9-1-1 in many places. There is no worldwide common emergency number. The European Union has established 1-1-2 as the universal emergency number for all its member states. The GSM mobile phone standard designates 1-1-2 as an emergency number, so it will work on GSM systems to contact help, even in North America. In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the numbers 999, 112 and 911 all work in parallel. In emergency situations, it is important that the responder seek help immediately, seeking professional help by other means, if telephone contact is unavailable. The risks of inadvertently doing further injury to a victim, and/or the responder sustaining injury themselves while applying aid, can often outweigh the benefits of applying immediate treatment. first aid, immediate and temporary treatment of a victim of sudden illness or injury while awaiting the arrival of medical aid. Proper early measures may be instrumental in saving life and ensuring a better and more rapid recovery. The avoidance of unnecessary movement and over-excitation of the victim often prevents further injury. Conditions that require immediate attention to avert death include cessation of breathing (asphyxia), severe bleeding, poisoning, strokes, and heart attack. The essentials of first aid treatment also include the correct bandaging of a wound; the application of splints for fractures and dislocations; the effective methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and artificial respiration; and treatment of shock, frostbite, fainting, bites and stings, burns, and heat exhaustion. Aims

Preserve life: the overriding aim of all medical care, including first aid, is to save lives Prevent further harm: also sometimes called prevent the condition from worsening, or danger of further injury, this covers both external factors, such as moving a patient away from any cause of harm, and applying first aid techniques to prevent worsening of the condition, such as applying pressure to stop a bleed becoming dangerous. Promote recovery: first aid also involves trying to start the recovery process from the illness or injury, and in some cases might involve completing a treatment, such as in the case of applying a plaster to a small wound Objectve1

The primary goal of First Aid by definition is to assess and stabilize the patient, and then make and enact a decision about continued care. This means that, as a first aid responder, you aren't really looking to "cure" the patient -you're addressing an immediate issue that often will require continued professional care (e.g., doctors and such). Related Answers:
What are the main objectives of firstaid? The main objective of first aid is to stabilize the victim by providing basic/advanced life support Keep the patient alive, and get them to a higher level of care. and to prevent further harmful effects from occurring. Ideally, first aid is an important part of the overall To provide basic life support till professionals arrive. to help someone in need to alliviate suffrering

The main objective of first aid is to stabilize the victim by providing basic/advanced life support to the victim until the victim can receive full medical care at a hospital. The idea is to quickly treat a minor condition so that it does not, over time, become more serious. This applies to a cut finger that may later become infected as well as to a cardiovascular event that may eventually become terminal. With critical patients, American theory (and I believe UK as well), hold that the idea is to stabilze critical patients as quickly as possible, so you can safely move them to a wellequipped facility super-fast. Others, including France, subscribe to a different approach. They'll often send an ER Doctor along with the first response team, and perform more in-field procedures than an American team will, before transporting. It would be unfair to say one method is better than the other universally. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. First-aid kits: Stock supplies that can save lives From MayoClinic.com Special to CNN.com

A well-stocked first-aid kit can help you respond effectively to common injuries and emergencies. Keep at least one first-aid kit in your home and one in your car. Store your kits in easy-to-retrieve locations that are out of the reach of young children. Children old enough to understand the purpose of the kits should know where they are stored.
You can purchase first-aid kits at many drugstores or assemble your own. Contents of a first-aid kit should include: Basic supplies

Adhesive tape Aluminum finger splints Antibiotic ointment Antiseptic solution or towelettes Bandages, including a roll of elastic wrap (Ace, Coban, others) and bandage strips (Band-Aid, Curad, others) in assorted sizes Instant cold packs Cotton balls and cotton-tipped swabs Disposable latex or synthetic gloves, at least two pair Gauze pads and roller gauze in assorted sizes Eye goggles

First-aid manual Petroleum jelly or other lubricant Plastic bags for the disposal of contaminated materials Safety pins in assorted sizes Save-A-Tooth storage device containing salt solution and a travel case Scissors, tweezers and a needle Soap or instant hand sanitizer Sterile eyewash, such as a saline solution Thermometer Triangular bandage Turkey baster or other bulb suction device for flushing out wounds

Medications Activated charcoal (use only if instructed by Poison Control Center) Anti-diarrhea medication Over-the-counter oral antihistamine (Benadryl, others) Aspirin and nonaspirin pain relievers (never give aspirin to children) Calamine lotion Over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream Personal medications If prescribed by your doctor, drugs to treat an allergic attack, such as an auto-injector of epinephrine (EpiPen) Syringe, medicine cup or spoon Emergency items

Cell phone and recharger that utilizes the accessory plug in your car dash Emergency phone numbers, including contact information for your family doctor and pediatrician, local emergency services, emergency road service providers and the regional Poison Control Center Small, waterproof flashlight and extra batteries Candles and matches for cold climates Sunscreen Mylar emergency blanket

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A SNAKE BITE: Remove any jewelry or tight fitting clothing. Quickly tie a light restricting band both above and below the bite area a few inches away from the puncture/bite marks. Rapidly apply antiseptic cleanser to the entire area and place cold compress as closely as possible without interfering with suction process. Continue strong suction and alternate the location of compress to avoid injury from severe cold.

Check constriction bands periodically as swelling may occur and loosen as appropriate. Keep victim warm and immobilize as practical. Movement to proper treatment facility is more crucial than maintaining immobile status. Maintain above treatment functions throughout.\

What should you do if someone has a heart attack?

A heart attack will cause severe chest pains behind the breast bone, often radiating towards the left arm.
If someone has a cardiac arrest or heart attack, there may be only a few minutes to act before it is too late. It is vital to know what to do beforehand. To perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) effectively, training and frequent practice on resuscitation dummies are essential. First aid courses are offered all over the country at night schools or by voluntary organisations such as St John Ambulance or British Red Cross. We highly recommend that you do one of these courses. They are fun, and it's only by learning what to do in the calm environment of a course that you can reliably deliver care in the highly charged situation of a cardiac arrest.

Burn From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the injury. For other uses, see Burn (disambiguation).

A burn is a type of injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation or friction.[1][2][3] Most burns affect only the skin (epidermal tissue). Rarely, deeper tissues, such as muscle, bone, and blood vessels can also be injured. Burns may be treated with first aid, in an out-of-hospital setting, or may require more specialized treatment such as those available at specialized burn centers. Managing burn injuries properly is important because they are common, painful and can result in disfiguring and disabling scarring,amputation of affected parts or death in severe cases. Complications such as shock, infection, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome,electrolyte imbalance and respiratory distress may occur. The treatment of burns may include the removal of dead tissue (debridement), applying dressings to the wound, fluid resuscitation, administering antibiotics, and skin grafting. While large burns can be fatal, modern treatments developed in the last 60 years have significantly improved the prognosis of such burns, especially in children and young adults.[4][5] In the United States, approximately 1 out of every 25 people to suffer burns will die from their injuries. The majority of these fatalities occur either at the scene or on the way to hospital.[6]