Many accidental injuries are minor and easily treated with simple first-aid techniques.  However, we all need to be prepared for the possibility of a more serious accident or illness that may require immediate life-saving first-aid prior to the arrival of medical assistance.  Perhaps you may need to assist breathing for someone who has stopped.  We will not delve into this topic here but if you have not taken a general public CPR course, I urge you to do so. 

 

Accurate and rapid assessment of what needs to be done is crucial, requires good judgement, and common sense.  An example, attempting to help someone who is the victim of electric shock before eliminating the power source would be dangerous.  In any situation, the goals of first-aid are to preserve life (yours and theirs) and prevent an injury or condition from becoming worse.  The task you have is to find out what happened without endangering yourself, reassure and protect the victim from further danger, deal with the injury or condition, and call for help.  The more knowledge you have, the more useful you can be in an emergency.

 

The quickest way to get help is to DIAL 911 and request an ambulance, police, or fire.  You need to give a good address and/or directions to the location of the emergency.  You will be ask your name, phone number from where you are calling, and what is the emergency.  At times, you may have to perform life-saving care before calling for help or send someone else to make the call.

 

Bleeding can be superficial or severe.  Wounds of the face and head will, at times, bleed severely and look worse than it is.  Bleeding, whether from a cut or more serious wound, should be dealt with promptly and calmly.  Treat bleeding as severe if blood spurts forcefully from the wound, continues for more then 5 minutes, or you estimate more than ½ pint has been lost.  In a  severe wound, blood may be flowing so forceful that it cannot clot.  Your goal is to reduce blood flow so it may clot and seal the damaged vessels. 

 

The bleeding from minor cut and scrape helps clean the wound and usually stops on its own within a few minutes.  Press a clean pad over the wound for a few minutes to help stop the bleeding.  When it has stopped clean around the cut, wiping from the edges outward with clean gauze.  There is no need to clean the inside of the wound itself.  They will heal more rapidly if left uncovered.  Any cut more than about ½ inch long may need stitches to minimize scarring.  Consult your doctor or local emergency room if you think that the wound might need stitching, is very dirty, a deep puncture(such as a nail), or if you have not been vaccinated for tetanus within 5 years.

 

Unless severe bleeding is stopped the victim will bleed to death, rapidly at times.  Lay the person down and raise the injured part, if possible.  Firm pressure needs to be applied to the wound itself, holding gaping edges together.  The firm pressure can be your hand or cloth, if you use a pad and it becomes soaked with blood do not remove it, add more dressings and continue to maintain pressure.  Do not clean the wound that is bleeding profusely with water or antiseptic.  Do not remove impaled objects, pad around it.  As soon as you have performed first-aid, seek emergency medical help.  Most importantly, remain calm, you help no one by becoming hysterial.