World First Aid Day is a global observance celebrated on the second Saturday in September. It was instituted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 2000 and has been celebrated each year ever since. World First Aid Day aims at raising awareness of how first aid can prevent injuries and save lives in everyday and crisis situations, as well as at promoting the accessibility of the first aid. The theme of 2023 is 'First Aid in the Digital World' which promotes utilisation of digital tools and its resources that aid in the provision of first aid education.
The term “first aid” refers to the assistance given to anyone suffering a sudden injury or illness. It is not always performed by medical personnel. In emergency situations, ordinary people often have to perform first aid to save someone's life.
Safety is no small matter, first aid is a big thing. Giving a helping hand to someone in need in an emergency is something that should be encouraged. However, emergency rescue requires not only the courage to do good deeds, but also professional knowledge and skills.
Let's be patient to learn first aid knowledge together,improve the ability of self-rescue and mutual rescue for ordinary people at the same time!
Heart stops
Symptoms: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure that can help save a person's life if their breathing or heart stops. When a person's heart stops beating, they are in cardiac arrest. During cardiac arrest, the heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body, including the brain and lungs.
First aids measures:
If someone is unconscious and not breathing normally, call for help, usually take blood rapid tests like MYO,hs-CtnI,CK-MB etc., and start CPR straight away.
While waiting for an ambulance, you should be given basic life-saving instructions over the phone, including advice about CPR.
Hands-only CPR Steps：
Kneel next to the person and place the heel of your hand on the breastbone 
at the centre of their chest.
Place the palm of your other hand on top of the hand that's on their chest and interlock your fingers.
Position yourself so your shoulders are directly above your hands.
Using your body weight (not just your arms), press straight down by 5 to 6cm (2 to 2.5 inches) on their chest.
Keeping your hands on their chest, release the compression and allow their chest to return to its original position.
Repeat these compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 times a minute until an ambulance arrives or for as long as you can.
CPR with rescue breaths Steps：
Place the heel of your hand on the centre of the person's chest, then place the palm of your other hand on top and press down by 5 to 6cm (2 to 2.5 inches) at a steady rate of 100 to 120 compressions a minute.
After every 30 chest compressions, give 2 rescue breaths.
Tilt the person's head gently and lift the chin up with 2 fingers.
Pinch the person's nose. Seal your mouth over their mouth and blow steadily and firmly into their mouth for about 1 second.
Check that their chest rises. Give 2 rescue breaths.
Continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths until they begin to recover or emergency help arrives.
Arterial Bleeding
The blood volume of the human body accounts for about 8% of the body weight. If the body
weight is 50kg, there will be about 4000mL of blood. In acute bleeding, blood loss exceeds 1/4 to 1/3 of the whole body's blood volume, which is life-threatening. Therefore, gaining time for hemostasis is of great significance to saving the lives of the wounded.
Bleeding can be divided into external bleeding and internal bleeding. After a blood vessel ruptures, blood flowing out of the body is called external bleeding; blood flowing into tissues, organs or body cavities is called internal bleeding. Acute traumatic massive hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of early death after injury. Therefore, effective hemostatic measures must be taken quickly.
First aid measures:
Pressure bandaging to stop bleeding is suitable for small arteries, venous fat and capillary bleeding.
Cover the bleeding wound with several layers of sterilized gauze or clean handkerchiefs, towels, or cloths, and then wrap it with a triangular bandage or bandage. The pressure should be appropriate to stop the bleeding without affecting the blood circulation of the injured limb. Most of the bleeding in the arteries and veins of the limbs can be stopped by this method. This is the most common method of stopping bleeding in first aid. If there is bone in the wound, an additional splint must be added; this method is not used when there are bone fragments in the wound.
Padded limb flexion method to stop bleeding. When the calf, foot, forearm or hand is bleeding, if the injured limb is not fractured, you can use a thick cotton pad or gauze roll to stuff the limb socket or elbow socket, then bend the knees or elbows, and then Use a triangle towel, bandage or cloth bandage to compress the flexed limbs.
Tourniquet Hemostasis Method If the above methods are ineffective to stop bleeding, or when bleeding from major arteries in the limbs occurs, tourniquets can be used to stop bleeding. When used properly, a tourniquet has better hemostatic effect and can often save the life of the casualty; However,if used improperly,it can cause tissue ischemia and necrosis, and even cause the casualty to lose limbs. In severe cases, it can cause acute renal failure and lead to death. The method is to tie the injured limb tightly above the part of the arterial bleeding to achieve the purpose of hemostasis professionally. Dr. Sztajnkrycer,an emergency medicine specialist,says improvised tourniquet use is worth learning, as it can save lives.
Bandage all open wounds and bandage them properly immediately during on-site first aid to protect the wound, stop bleeding, relieve pain, reduce contamination and prevent infection.
Heat stroke
There is a misunderstanding that all the discomfort caused by high body temperature is called heat stroke. In fact, this kind of discomfort caused by high body temperature is divided into two types: heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
Symptoms:
Heat sroke:
High body temperature (103°F or higher),hot, red, dry, or damp skin,fast and strong pulse,headache,dizziness,nausea confusion,losing consciousness (passing out).
Heat exhausion:
Heavy sweating,cold, pale, and clammy skin,fast and weak pulse. nausea or vomiting,muscle cramps,tiredness or weakness,dizziness headache,fainting (passing out)
Although the causes are slightly different, the following five points should be kept in mind when dealing with it.
First aid measures:
Move. Quickly move the patient to a cool, ventilated place, while raising the head and unbuttoning clothes to facilitate breathing and heat dissipation.
Apply. You can apply cold water towels to the head, or place ice packs or ice cubes on the patient's head, armpits, thighs, etc.
Promote. Place the patient in 4°C water and massage the skin of the limbs to dilate the blood vessels in the skin, accelerate blood circulation, and promote heat dissipation. When the anal temperature drops to 38°C, cooling can be stopped.
Dip. Soak the patient's body in cool water at about 18°C at a temperature of 45°C. The elderly, infirm and patients with cardiovascular disease cannot tolerate the low water temperature.
Wipe. Four people use towels to wipe around the body of the patient immersed in water at the same time, and rub the skin red. Generally, after about 15-30 minutes of rubbing, the body temperature can be lowered to 37-38°C.
Choking
Choking is a blockage of the upper airway by food or other objects, which prevents a person from breathing effectively. Choking can cause a simple coughing fit, but complete blockage of the airway may lead to death. It cuts off oxygen to the brain.
Symptoms:
One or both hands clutched to the throat A look of panic, shock or confusion, inability to talk Strained or noisy breathing Squeaky sounds when trying to breathe cough, which may either be weak or forceful Skin, lips and nails that change color turning blue or gray Loss of consciousness.
Give first aid as quickly as possible if you or someone else is choking.
First aid measures:
If a choking person can cough forcefully, let the person keep coughing. Coughing might naturally remove the stuck object.
If a person can't cough, talk, cry or laugh forcefully, give first aid to the person. The American Red Cross recommends the following steps:
Give five back blows.
Stand to the side and just behind a choking adult. For a child, kneel down behind.
Place your arm across the person's chest to support the person's body.
Bend the person over at the waist to face the ground.
Strike five separate times between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
Give five abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver. If they are still choking, give up to five abdominal thrusts. Stand behind them, join your hands together around their stomach and form a fist. Pull inwards and upwards. Alternate between five blows and five thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.
If they are still choking tell an adult and call for help. Repeat the steps until they can breathe again, or until help arrives.
Solar radiation sickness
When exercising in hot summer, due to prolonged exposure to the sun and lack of head protection.
Symptoms:
High fever, tinnitus, nausea, headache, vomiting, lethargy, and photosensitivity suddenly occur. This is solar radiation sickness. Severe sunstroke can also cause death. Do not be careless and take emergency aid.
First aid measures:
Quickly go to a cool and ventilated place to lie on their backs and rest, unbutton their clothes, belts, and open their coats. You can take Shidishui, Rendan and other medicines to prevent and treat heatstroke.
If the patient's body temperature continues to rise, if possible, soak the lower body in warm water in the bathtub and wipe the upper body with a wet towel.
If the patient becomes unconscious or has convulsions, he should assume a coma position. While notifying the emergency center, make sure your respiratory tract is open.
Taking the wrong medicine
Symptoms:
Taking different types of medicine by mistake will cause different symptoms. Common ones include difficulty breathing, blue lips or pale complexion. Serious or shock, death.
First aid measures:
Use fingers or wooden sticks to stimulate the throat to induce vomiting, or feed a large amount of water first and then induce vomiting to make the poison vomit out with water;
Take 500 ml of milk, or soy milk, egg white water (one cup of water plus one egg white) and Make a thin paste of lotus root powder to reduce the absorption of poisons;
Tips: If you take corrosive drugs by mistake, it is not advisable to induce vomiting. Feed milk, soy milk, egg white water, etc. as soon as possible to relieve the pain.
After taking the above measures, send the patient to the doctor quickly and bring the mistaken medicine to the doctor.
Bee Sting
Symptoms :
Redness, swelling and pain at the sting site, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, shock, coma or
even death may occur in severe cases.
First aid measures:
For bee sting,carefully pull out the remaining stinger, squeeze the wound gently to squeeze out the venom, and apply some ammonia or soda water;
For wasp stings, apply acetic acid water to neutralize the venom and apply a cold compress locally. Reduce swelling and pain;
If there are abnormal reactions such as nausea and dizziness,go to the hospital immediately.
Nose bleeding
First aid measures:
Do not raise your head.
When nosebleeds occur, raising your head will not stop the nosebleeds, but will cause the nosebleeds to be inhaled into the mouth and respiratory tract;
Pinch both sides of the nose with your fingers for 4 to 8 minutes, or fill the nasal cavity with cotton balls soaked in cold water.
Press to stop the bleeding; if the above methods still cannot stop the bleeding, you should go to the hospital immediately.
Burns
Symptoms:
Burns and scalds can cause local skin and muscle redness, swelling, blisters, and necrosis. In severe cases, they can cause combined infections, shock, etc.
First aid measures:
Immediately rinse the injured part continuously with cold water or wet compress;
Avoid re-injury of the injured part and contamination of the wound, stabilize the injured person's mood;
Pay attention to keep the respiratory tract unobstructed, and send to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.
Asthma attack
First aid measures:
Someone having an asthma attack will be finding it hard to breathe. They may make a wheezing sound.
Help them to sit in a comfortable position and take their inhaler.
Reassure them. If the attack gets worse or they don't have an inhaler, call for help.
Broke a bone
First aid measures:
The person has pain, bruising or swelling or they are lying in an unnatural position, following a fall or a blow from an object.
Support the injury with their hand, or use a cushion or items of clothing to prevent unnecessary movement.
As soon as possible, call for help or get someone else to do it. Continue supporting the injury until help arrives.
Head Injury
First aid measures:
They may have banged their head. Their head might hurt, they might have a headache and a lump may appear on it.
Ask the person to rest and apply something cold to the injury (e.g. frozen vegetables wrapped in a tea towel).
If they become sleepy, vomit or seem confused, call for help.
Heart attack
The major symptoms of a heart attack are: Chest pain or discomfort.
First aid measures:
The person may have persistent, vice-like chest pain. The pain may spread to their arms, neck, jaw, back or stomach.
Call for help immediately and ensure they are sitting comfortably (for example, sit them on the floor, leaning against a wall or chair).
Gas poisoning
Symptoms:
Headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea in mild cases, cherry red skin, difficulty breathing and coma in severe cases.
First aid measures:
Close the gas valve immediately and send the poisoned person to a place with fresh air;
Keep the poisoned person's respiratory tract open, stay in bed and keep warm;
Send the poisoned person to a hospital for treatment as soon as possible. Commonly used first aid knowledge and skills (11-20 cases).
Hypovolemic shock
Symptoms:
Pale skin, cold limbs. The pulse is fast and weak, and the breathing is fast and shallow. The injured person will feel thirsty and conscious, but if not treated in time, he may lose consciousness or die.
First aid measures:
Let the injured lie down, tilt the head to one side, and raise the lower limbs 20 to 30 centimeters.
If there is trauma, stop the bleeding first and do not raise the lower limbs. If there is a fracture, the injured part needs to be fixed. If you are thirsty, you can add salt water or sports drinks. If you are unconscious, you must fast if you have surgery.
Sand in the eyes
The eyes are the most delicate organs.If the sand in the eyes is not removed in time, there will be pain when blinking, and it will also cause inflammation, ulceration and even blindness.
First aid measures:
When a foreign object enters the eyes, it is most taboo to rub the eyes vigorously, wipe the eyes with a dry paper towel or a towel. The correct approach is to open your eyes, ask a companion to help open the eyelids, and check the whites of the eyes (bulbar conjunctiva), lower eyelids, and cornea.
If the foreign matter is on the eyelid or the white part of the eye, gently wipe off the foreign body with a paper towel dipped in a little pure water (at home, it is best to use a cotton swab dipped in a little antibiotic eye drops to wipe off the foreign body);
If the foreign body is in the upper eyelid, cornea, or embedded If it is deeper, you must go to the hospital for treatment in time.
Hypoglycemia
Symptoms:
Mainly manifest as hypoglycemia syndrome, palpitation, heart palpitations, hunger, weakness, trembling hands and feet, pale skin, sweating, increased heart rate, and mildly elevated blood pressure may occur during the onset.
First aid measures:
If it is only mild hypoglycemia and the patient is conscious, he can eat a few candies, a few biscuits, or drink half a cup of sugar water to achieve the effect of quickly correcting hypoglycemia. Generally, the symptoms of hypoglycemia will disappear after ten minutes.
If the above methods still have no effect or the patient is unconscious, he should be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment immediately.
Even though rare you would be presented with an opportunity like being a witness of a car accident where this first aid training could save a life. Also if you find yourself on the beach late evening and you find someone collapsed on the sand, you will know what to do how and how to do it. Long story short this basic ability of first aid could help save a life or multiple.
Do you want to be the One Who Makes a Difference When "Minutes Matter"?
Yes,I do.
