An Introduction To First Aid

On the whole, "first aid" is the help provided to a sick or injured person needing urgent medical support. It covers an extensive range of health situations and includes skills and specific knowledge, as well as the ability to evaluate situations and making correct decisions. Take for instance, what needs to be done for every type of illness or injury, or knowing when to call for "emergency medical assistance".

The key element
A very important element to first aid is "preparedness". While all homes, boats, and vehicles must be equipped with the basic "emergency kit", including first aid supplies and manual, there are special situations that might require specific or more advanced degrees of "preparation" for emergencies.

A case in point is an area where there are frequent natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, landside, floods, and others. Residents must be ready for emergencies by gathering disaster kits like flood kits, evacuation kits, and earthquake kits.

The skills
Being ready to give successful first aid may also entail learning special skills like abdominal thrusts for assisting victims of choking, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

First aid skills can also be needed for health emergencies like stroke, seizures, or heart attack, besides assisting minor medical situations such as slight allergic reactions and nosebleed. Other situations where first aid skills can be applied include environmental injuries such as poison ivy, sunburn, frostbite, heat exhaustion, insect or bee stings, and traumatic injuries like sprains, strains, cuts, burns, and puncture wounds.

First aid and traveling
Travelers must also be ready to give first aid in the place they plan on visiting. In numerous developed countries or places, this can amount to stuffing a standard kit and manual for first aid in one's belongings.

Medicines that stop motion sickness and "advance awareness" about how to manage traveler's diarrhea can also be very useful for travelers. When traveling to remote areas or still developing places, a "travel medicine kit" must include supplies and medicines that might not be obtainable, and other specific products like insect repellant and tick bites required for the destination. It is also essential for travelers going to foreign countries to know how to reach emergency services through telephones.

Vital decisions
Regardless of one's skill level or first aid training degree, a most important factor for saving lives is by knowing when to call for help. If you are in a real medical emergency, never hesitate to call 911 for immediate medical assistance. In the same way, if you're involved in a medical situation that's outside your abilities of providing first aid, you must never think twice of summoning emergency medical help right away.