First aid is the procedures that must be used to care for a sick or injured person until the arrival of health services and that can have a vital impact. If one in five people cared about learning first aid, the number of deaths or permanent sequelae produced by accidents would decrease, since we would know how to act in an emergency. In this article we tell you the 5 basic first aid techniques that you must know to be able to act correctly in compromised situations.
5 basic first aid techniques
1. Properly disinfect open wounds
Knowing how to clean, disinfect and heal open wounds without causing further damage is essential when learning first aid, especially when you do not have a first aid kit at hand: when in doubt, running water and neutral soap are the best options.
2. Cardiorespiratory resuscitation or CPR
It is impossible to learn first aid without knowing how CPR works. This maneuver saves millions of lives every year around the world, and consists of maintaining the blood supply and breathing of the victim until the emergency services arrive using chest compressions and air insufflations. Sometimes CPR is not enough and it is necessary to use a defibrillator. Fortunately, more and more public spaces have these devices, and you can learn to use them by taking a first aid course in specialized centers.
3. Heal burns
Depending on the origin of the burn and its degree, it will be necessary to use different techniques when it comes to healing them to relieve the victim until medical assistance can be obtained. In minor burns (the most common), the main thing is to cool it with cold water – and never with ice, so as not to damage the tissue further – and then protect it with a clean gauze and some burn ointment.
4. Heimlich maneuver: choking or suffocation
The most frequent deaths in the home are generally caused by choking that causes suffocation. Talking or laughing while we eat is one of the most deeply rooted Spanish customs, but also the most dangerous, because it can put us in danger. If someone in your environment chokes, you should be prepared to help them. The most appropriate and effective way is the Heimlich maneuver that we show in the video, although it may also be necessary to perform an emergency tracheostomy with a sharp object and a tube just below the walnut (thyroid cartilage), in the hole that forms between it and the next lump or bump (the cricoid cartilage
In the event of choking in small children and babies, do not make the mistake of hitting them on the back, giving them “a piece of bread” or something to drink so that the stuck food “comes down”, nor compressing the abdomen, because the body Stranger can move and partial obstruction can become total. Older children can have the Heimlich maneuver; babies, face down on the forearm, with the head lower than the body. Hold the infant’s chin with your hand and place a finger on the infant’s lower lip so that the mouth remains open and feels for the foreign body to come out.
5. Stop bleeding
Cuts can occur in any area of daily life: the kitchen, work or the road. Therefore, when learning first aid it is important to know how to stop the flow of blood until you can receive medical assistance. In small wounds, it is usually sufficient to cover the wound with a gauze or dressing and press hard on the wound to compress it; But, for larger wounds, you will need to learn to make a tourniquet (cut off circulation by pressure exerted by a knot, made with rope, belt or cloth).
Can children learn first aid?
Not only can they: they must. In an emergency, if a child encounters a disabled caregiver due to an accident, their own survival may depend on knowing what steps to take in the situation. For this reason, it is important that from an early age parents strive for their children to learn basic first aid. Furthermore, learning first aid not only prepares children for the worst, but also helps them develop their compassion and self-esteem.
The most important skill you can teach your children when it comes to learning first aid is to stay calm when they get hurt or someone around them does it . Teach them to control their breathing by breathing in and out slowly and deeply a few times to help ease their panic. Make sure the first aid kit or kit is well organized so a child can quickly find recognizable tools, and have illustrated instruction booklets handy. Additionally, if you live in a very cold or very hot area, you should teach them to prevent hypothermia or heat stroke, and also how to react in case of having a family member who may suffer an attack (heart disease, epilepsy, etc.).
Children should learn basic first aid such as:
- Press on a bleeding wound to stop the bleeding or apply a simple tourniquet
- Applying ice to an inflamed lesion
- Fix a minor fracture or sprain with bandages
- Apply cool running water or a damp towel to a burn.
- Pinching the nostrils for 10 minutes for a nosebleed
- Gently turning a person into a fetal position
- CPR for cardiorespiratory arrests (children +12 years)
- Heimlich maneuver for asphyxia (children +12 years)
