First Aid I

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a non-expert person to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment.

While first aid can also be performed on all animals, the term generally refers to care of human patients.

Aims:

The key aims of first aid can be summarized in three key points:

• 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

First aid training also involves the prevention of initial injury and responder safety, and the treatment phases.

Some Cases that mostly needs First aid!

1."Assessing a Victim"

☺First thing to do:

                           

Check the Response-by gently shaking the shoulders and asking loudly,"Are you all right?"and squeeze gently because there may be a neck injury.
a.Open the Airway-Place one hand on the forehead and gently tilt the head back.Open the victim's mouth and remove any obvious obstructions including dislodged dentures,but leave well-fitting dentures in place.

b.Place the fingertips of the other hand under the point of the victim's chin and lift the chin.If injury to the neck is suspected,handle the head very gently and try to avoid tilting the head.

if there is no response:-shout for help.If possible,leave the victim in the position in which you found him and open the airway.Apply the same techniques for a child as for adult.For baby,use only one finger under the chin and be very careful not to over-extend the neck when tilting the head back.

                                       

☺Second:

Check for Breathing-Keep the airway open and look,listen and feel for breathing for no more than 10 seconds.

•look for chest movement

•listen for sounds of breathing
•feel for breath on your cheek

                               

                     


☺Signs and Symptoms of a non-breathing casualty

•unconsciousness,stillness

•pale skin with possible blue lips

•no movement of the chest

•no feeling or sound of breathing



      

First aid on assessing a victim!