Experience in basic first aid skills popularization training

What is the core role of ordinary people at the emergency scene, what can we really do, and what boundaries must not be touched.

To be honest, when I first entered the classroom, I was quite disdainful. I thought first aid was just chest pressing and artificial respiration as shown on TV. How difficult could it be? I was dumbfounded until I started touching the simulator. I used to think that just pressing a few times would be enough, but after practicing, I realized that I need to press to a depth of 5-6 centimeters, and the frequency needs to be stuck at 100-120 times/min, which is almost in line with the drumbeat of "Little Apple". My arms started to tremble with soreness after the 30th time I pressed it. The teacher said that if you are really on-site rescue, you have to change people in two minutes, otherwise the force is not enough, the blood will not be pumped to the brain, and the pressing will be in vain.

Regarding whether non-professionals should perform artificial respiration, the two teachers at the scene had different opinions: the teacher who taught the AHA standard course said that it is difficult for ordinary people to do effective ventilation correctly without repeated training, which in turn delays the prime time of chest compressions. Just continue to press the chest is enough.； However, Dr. Li, who is on the front line of the emergency department, added that if you are rescuing a family member, or if you carry a respiratory mask with you for protection, correct artificial respiration can indeed improve the survival rate. There is no absolute right or wrong, it all depends on the situation on site and your own choices. I think this is quite true. There are no standardized answers to first aid, so you have to make flexible judgments.

What impressed me the most was the practical part of the Heimlich maneuver. Before I watched short videos, I always thought that I could just stand behind my back, hold my waist and hit my stomach. It wasn’t until the teacher brought the baby simulator that I realized that children under one year old couldn’t hit it like this if they choked on a foreign object. They had to turn it over and get it stuck in the arm, pat the middle of the shoulder blades five times with their head down and their feet high, then turn it over and press the chest five times, and repeat the cycle. It's a coincidence that last year, a grandma in our community choked while feeding her grandson some peanuts. A group of people gathered around and patted her on the back for ten minutes to no avail. Finally, 120 rushed over to pick it up. If someone had understood how to do this at that time, the child wouldn't have suffered such a serious crime.

I passed by the subway station before and saw the green box with "AED" printed on it. I always thought it was a professional equipment that only medical staff dared to touch. After this training, I learned that there is a voice prompt when you open the thing. Even if you have never touched it, you can just follow the prompts to attach the electrode pads and operate according to the prompts. It will not be damaged at all. Now I have a map of AED locations in this city on my phone. When I went to the mall last week, I paid special attention to the one next to the service desk. It only takes two minutes to run over and get it if something happens. You must know that the golden rescue time for cardiac arrest is only 4 minutes. Every extra minute of waiting will reduce the survival rate by 10%.

Of course, the training did not just let us "dare to go up". Instead, it spent a lot of time talking about what not to do: if you encounter a car accident, don't help someone lying on the ground. If you have a fractured cervical vertebra, you may become paraplegic if you move it. Call 120 first and ask the dispatcher what to do.； If someone gets an electric shock, first pull the switch or use a dry wooden stick to pick up the wire. Don't go up to pull the person directly, otherwise both people will have to get in. ； If you have a nosebleed, don't raise your head. Just lower your head and pinch your nose for ten minutes. Raising your head will cause blood to choke into the trachea. A lot of "common sense" that I have believed in for more than ten years has been revealed this time.

Last week, my dad got a thorn stuck in the fish he ate. He insisted on drinking vinegar and swallowing the steamed buns, but I stopped him on the spot and told him that if the thorn was big and stuck in the esophagus, he might need a thoracotomy. I rushed to the otolaryngology department of the hospital. Finally, they took out a thorn that was almost one centimeter long. The doctor said it was a good thing he didn't swallow it blindly, otherwise something serious might have happened. Speaking of which, this is the first time I have used a skill after training. Although it is not a life-or-death matter, it is indeed useful.

I used to think that "first aid" was something far away from me and was the responsibility of doctors and nurses. After this training, I realized that we ordinary people don't have to be life-saving heroes. Don't panic if you really encounter trouble. If you can get started, just follow the rules. If you can't get started, calling 120, evacuating the tightly packed crowd, and running to find an AED are better than standing by and holding up your mobile phone to take videos. As for whether we can save him or not, that's a matter for later. At least we didn't waste the most precious few minutes, that's enough.