Michelle was driving home with her 10-year old daughter Hanna when she almost collapsed, only to be resurrected by her small little girl Hanna who was trained first aid in her school along with other kids of her age. The incident took place when they were coming back from a friend’s house and Michelle stopped responding suddenly as soon as she entered the car. Thankfully, Hanna did not get panic, called 911 and practised what she learnt in the school. She tilted her mother to the side, placing the head a little upward to clear the airway, and continued checking her breath till the paramedics arrived. This little comforting done by the girl helped her mother survive waiting for the medical care and get treated properly. This story was published in the British Red Cross and shows how little knowledge and awareness we generate gives big results.
But does this happen always? No! Many people die or enter into irrecoverable health conditions due to lack of proper care right on time. This is where the knowledge of “First-Aid” becomes important for everyone to learn and help the family and the community during state of health emergencies.
What is First Aid?
First aid is the first line of assistance given to a person after an injury, sudden illness, or any other health hazard to prevent the condition from worsening, support life and help in easy recovery. It includes some basic but trained skills and techniques that can help significantly in the absence of expert medical care and fills the gap of seeking support with most required care.
Benefits of First-Aid Knowledge
- Time is of essence in health emergencies: A deep cut with profusely oozing blood, a severe seizure, choking, cardiac arrest, and so on. There are numerous health conditions where time is all you need to save life. First aid knowledge can help you provide the basic care before reaching out to the expert medical professionals and use this time gap to ensure life continuity.
- Reduces the risk of worsening situation: Waiting longer for the treatment can lead to worsening of the situation. So, providing first aid support can, at least, ensure that the situation remains under control till the help is offered.
- It offers you tools and techniques to handle emergency situations: With the use of first-aid tools and techniques, you would be able to stabilize the condition of a person till emergency service is provided. In the absence of proper first-aid kit, you would be able to use the things available at home to cope up with the situation. Not only this, you would also be able to observe the patient for symptoms, collect data, and give the right input to the team providing the treatment afterwards.
- It encourages healthy and safe living: First aid knowledge emphasizes on first your safety and then the safety of others. It’s being practical. When you are safe then only you will be able to offer help to others. It will also enable you to identify risks and symptoms that need immediate attention creating a sense of safety and healthy living all around you.
- It evolves your personality: First aid knowledge and its use makes you more than a life saver. You learn to be patient and in-control in difficult life situations, apart from conditions concerning health. Your overall personality evolves making you more compassionate and considerate for others life situations and miseries.
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