What are the types of basic first aid skills?

The basic first aid skills we need to master every day are essentially designed around the three goals of "first saving life, then reducing injuries, and avoiding deterioration of injuries." They do not require you to reach the level of professional medical care. The core is to grab the most precious window of treatment for the sick and injured before the ambulance arrives.

Two months ago, when I was doing volunteer first aid lectures at a community convenience point, I happened to meet Uncle Li in the chess and card room downstairs who suddenly fell down while playing chess. The old guys around him were so panicked that they either pinched him or carried him on their backs. Fortunately, a high school student who had just completed the training went up first and felt the carotid artery. When he found that there was no pulse, he immediately knelt down and performed chest compressions. The property management staff also promptly brought the AED equipped in the square, and the uncle regained consciousness in less than three minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED operation have the highest priority among all first aid skills. After all, the golden rescue window for cardiac arrest is only 4 minutes. Even if the compression movements are not so standard, it is much better than standing and waiting for 120 seconds.

If you encounter trauma scenarios such as collisions, cuts, and traffic accidents, the core thing you need to know is hemostasis and fracture fixation. Last time, my nephew broke his arm while running in the community. It was so swollen that he couldn't bend it. My sister's first reaction was to rub him to loosen the bruises. I quickly stopped him and found two pieces of cardboard and a soft towel to fix his arm to his chest. He sent him to the hospital to check for a slight bone fracture. The doctor said it was a good thing he didn't rub it blindly, otherwise it would probably cause the bone to shift and require surgery. Oh, yes, there is still a lot of controversy about hemostasis in trauma. Some people say that it is effective to note the hemostasis points on the upper arms and thighs. In fact, for us ordinary people, unless it is a large spurt-like bleeding in the limbs, a tourniquet is required. For ordinary bleeding, no matter how deep it is, just take a clean gauze or towel and press it hard on the bleeding point. If there are foreign objects such as nails or glass inserted into the wound, do not pull it out randomly. Just press around the wound and send it to the hospital quickly. Pulling out randomly may cause massive bleeding.

Another emergency situation that is particularly easy to encounter is airway obstruction by foreign bodies, especially when feeding jelly or nuts to the elderly and children, and the trachea may get stuck if you are not careful. I once read about a mother who shared that her child's throat turned purple after eating peanuts. She patted her back blindly for a long time to no avail, but the delivery boy next to her used the Heimlich maneuver three times before spitting out the peanuts. However, we must also remind you that Heimlich's technique must be divided into different groups. Babies under one year old cannot use abdominal thrusts. Instead, they must lie on their arms, pat their backs, and then press their chests. The force must be moderate to avoid injuring the child's organs.

As for daily encounters such as burns, heat stroke, hypoglycemia, and epileptic seizures, there are corresponding treatment points. There are also many misunderstandings that are easy to avoid: for example, in the past, everyone thought that epileptic seizures had to put towels in the mouth to avoid biting the tongue. Now the latest first aid guide actually clearly does not recommend stuffing things. Forced stuffing can easily break teeth and even cause suffocation by foreign objects. Just move the patient to a flat and safe place, turn sideways to let the secretions in the mouth flow out, and move away sharp objects around him to relieve himself.； Also, do not use toothpaste, soy sauce, or badger oil on burns. It is most effective to rinse the burn with cold running water for at least 15 minutes.

In fact, these skills are not complicated at all to learn. The local Red Cross Society and community streets often offer free public welfare trainings. If you spend most of the day practicing them, you will not be in a hurry when you encounter trouble, and you may be able to save the lives of people around you.