First aid

• First Aid is the first response or treatment given to someone who has been injured
• The Bystander:

  • Vital link between the victim and medical care
  • First person to recognize the situation as an emergency
  • Acts to assist the victim
  • Notice something wrong by the person's behaviour, appearance, or surroundings
• Components of a First Aid Kit:

  • Plasters in a variety of different sizes and shapes
  • Small, medium, and large sterile gauze dressings
  • At least 2 sterile eye dressings
  • Triangular bandages
  • Rolled bandages
  • Safety pins
  • Disposable sterile gloves
  • Tweezers
  • Scissors
  • Alcohol-free cleansing wipes
  • Sticky tape
  • Thermometer (preferably digital)
  • Skin rash cream, such as hydrocortisone
  • Cream or spray to relieve insect bites and stings
  • Antiseptic cream
  • Painkillers such as paracetamol (or infant paracetamol for children), aspirin (not to be given to children under 16)
• • Antihistamine cream or tablets
  • Distilled water for cleaning wounds
  • Eye wash and eye bath
• In an event of an injury, consider 3 things (scene size up):

  • Can it be dangerous to you, the victim, or bystanders? (Dangerous?)
  • What happened? (type of injury)
  • Injury or illness/severe or minor
• Seek medical care:

  • Call 811
  • Information to provide: Name, Victim’s location, What happened, Number of persons that need assistance, The victim’s condition
  • Do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to do so
• Methods of self-protection when treating injuries:

  • Protect yourself while providing first aid
  • Diseases can be transmitted through contact with infected blood (Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, HIV)
  • Diseases can be transmitted by air (Tuberculosis)
• Protecting yourself:

  • Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Gloves and protective eyewear are common types of protection
• Emergency procedures:

  • D - Danger
  • R - Response
  • A - Airway
  • B - Breathing
  • C - Circulation
• Treatment of basic injuries - Closed wounds:

  • RICE formula (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)
  • Rest reduces internal bleeding, prevents further injuries
  • Ice reduces swelling, inflammation, and bleeding
  • Compression should not be too tight
  • Elevation reduces internal bleeding and swelling