According to the WHO, 70% of accident victims die because first aid is not provided in time. The first three to five minutes after an incident are the most decisive – correct action during those minutes increases the chances of survival in 50% of cases.

September 10 is World First Aid Day. In anticipation of this day, we want to tell you how to properly treat fractures, poisonings and other situations. Save the article and forward it to your friends!

Where can first aid be needed?

Only those who have been trained or have special skills are officially authorized to provide first aid. The Russian Ministry of Health has identified eight cases in which first aid is worth providing. These are:

• Loss Of Consciousness;
• Lack Of Breathing;
• External Bleeding;
• Frostbite;
• Poisoning;
• Fractures Or Injuries;
• Blockage Of The Airway;
• Burns.

But if there were no such people around, here’s what an eyewitness should do. All the more, almost every person in the Russian Federation has taken a course in OBL in educational institutions.

Algorithm Of First Aid

The Ministry of Emergency Situations has formulated a general algorithm of first aid:

• Inspection Of The Scene;
• Examination Of The Victim;
• Call An Ambulance;
• Secondary Examination Of The Victim.
• It Is Necessary To Examine The Place Of The Accident To Make Sure Of Your Safety. If There Is A Life-Threatening Situation, You Should Entrust The Rescue Of Victims To Professionals.

In Case Of Loss Of Consciousness

Fainting is determined by the presence of breathing and pulse. To do this, on the neck or wrist of the victim find an artery with your fingers. If there is a pulse beat – there is a pulse. Then the person is unconscious.

How to give first aid in case of unconsciousness:

1. Make Sure The Current Environment Is Safe;
2. Raise The Legs Of The Victim Above Head Level By Placing Them, For Example, On A Chair Or Backpack;
3. Monitor The Person’s Condition And Wait For The Ambulance To Arrive.

If Not Breathing

If the victim is not breathing, do chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing. Before doing this, make sure that the victim does not have any vomit or food in his/her mouth that could have blocked breathing. This is done by pressing on the area between the jaws on both sides and removing food debris with two fingers wrapped in a napkin or bandage.

When the mouth is clean, chest compressions should be started:

• Lay The Victim On His Or Her Back;
• Place Their Hands At Right Angles In The Middle Of The Victim’s Chest;
• Apply 30 Hand Presses To The Victim’s Chest;
• Then Perform Artificial Respiration Twice;
• Repeat Until Ambulance Arrives Or Breathing Is Restored.

For External Bleeding

A great danger to the person is arterial and venous bleeding. If not helped in time, the person will die from blood loss.

Arterial bleeding is scarlet and pulsating. It is the most dangerous type of bleeding – a person can lose a lot of blood and die in a short period of time.

In case of arterial bleeding, you should:

1. Press The Artery Above The Wound With The Thumb Of The Hand;
2. Apply A Tourniquet To The Artery Above The Wound;
3. Write Down The Time Of The Tourniquet On Paper And Insert It Into The Tourniquet;
4. Bandage The Wound.
5. Venous Bleeding Is Dark In Color And Does Not Pulsate. This Type Of Bleeding Is Also Dangerous If Large Veins Are Affected.

You need to:

• Lift Up The Injured Limb;
• Apply A Pressure Dressing To The Wound, And If There Is Heavy Bleeding Above The Wound, Apply A Tourniquet.
• In Both Cases You Must Wait For An Ambulance To Arrive.

With frostbite

Frostbite causes tissue necrosis. In advanced cases this can lead to amputation.

First aid for frostbite is as follows:

• Place The Victim In A Warm Room;
• Remove Clothing Or Shoes From The Affected Area;
• Lay The Victim Down And Cover Him/Her With A Warm Blanket;
• Give Warm Drink, Except Alcohol;
• Apply A Sterile Cotton-Gauze Bandage In Seven Layers To The Affected Areas;
• Wait For An Ambulance.

For Poisoning

Poisoning may be:

• Food poisoning;
• from carbon monoxide;
• Chemical;
• Alcohol poisoning.
• In case of chemical or carbon monoxide poisoning, the victim should be provided with fresh air and placed on his side. If unconscious, moisten absorbent cotton with ammonia and move it in front of the nose.

In case of food poisoning:

• Flush The Stomach With A Soda Solution In The Ratio Of One Tablespoon Per Two Liters Of Boiled Water;
• Give Sorbents;
• Drink Plenty Of Water;
• Follow A Diet.

In Case Of Alcohol Poisoning:

• Rinse The Stomach With A Soda Solution;
• Give Sorbents;
• Keep The Victim Conscious;
• Monitor The Condition.
• Any Poisoning Is A Strong Stress For The Body. In All Cases, A Doctor Should Be Called.

For Fractures And Injuries

Fractures can be closed or open. With a closed fracture, the skin remains intact, but with an open fracture, the bone tears the skin and there is an open wound.

Before you give first aid for a closed fracture, you should lay the victim on a flat surface. With a fracture of the arms and legs, fix them with a splint or any solid improvised means to immobilize them. With a fracture of the spine the victim is not touched, because there is a risk of further traumatizing him.

For open fractures, a tourniquet is applied above the wound to stop the bleeding.

In all cases you must wait for an ambulance to arrive.

In Case Of An Airway Blockage

Airway blockage or asphyxiation can occur due to illness or ingestion of food. Therefore, when providing first aid, you need to find out the cause of the asphyxiation.

If the asphyxiation is due to food entering the airway, you need to remove the food from the mouth. To do this, you need to stand behind the victim and, interlocking your hands in a lock, squeeze the diaphragm with jerks.

If the person has lost consciousness – you should open your mouth and remove foreign objects from the oral cavity. If there is no pulse you should do chest compressions.

Before indirect heart massage, you need to make sure that the object that blocked the oxygen is removed. Otherwise it can be “driven” even deeper and make the situation worse.

For burns

• Flush the burn area with cold water;
• Cover with a dry, clean dressing;
• Provide rest.

Why You Need A First Aid Manual In Every Organization

A first aid manual is a concise guide to help victims of an accident or sudden illness.

Almost every one of us has encountered a situation where people around us have needed urgent medical attention. It could be an accident, an injury at work, or a domestic situation. But medical professionals may not arrive on the scene immediately. How can you keep someone alive until an ambulance arrives?

If you have first aid skills, you can not only save the life of the victim, but also reduce the likelihood of complications.

First aid is a set of simple, expedient measures to save the health and life of an injured person from injury or sudden illness.

By learning how to give first aid before the doctors arrive, you will feel confident in various life situations.

The importance of timely and quality first aid cannot be underestimated. According to experts, the timely and proper first aid can save the lives of three hundred thousand people a year, which is comparable with the population of several regional centers!

Up to 80% of seriously injured people could have survived if first aid had been given to them during the first 5 minutes. If first aid is provided within 10 minutes, every second person has a chance of survival, but if aid is provided within an hour, only 15-20% of seriously injured people can be saved.

Proper first aid often determines the success of further medical care (e.g. applying a bandage or improvised splint quickly and correctly for an open fracture prevents further infection and traumatic shock).

Everyone should know how to administer first aid, because accidents can also happen to your colleagues, friends and relatives. First aid does not require specific medical knowledge. It can be learned by anyone.

A first-aid provider must know how to

1. Evaluate the condition of the injured person;
2. Determine what kind of help the victim needs
3. use a first aid kit;
4. Perform resuscitation procedures and evaluate their effectiveness;
5. use improvised means for providing first aid;
6. stop bleeding, apply dressings, splints, remove foreign bodies from the upper airways, etc;
7. protect oneself during assistance by using personal protective equipment against blood-borne infections.

At present, according to the legislation, as part of occupational safety and health, every company must train its employees in first aid techniques.

We have developed instructions for first aid depending on the company profile, which after a simple training will enable each employee to navigate in a critical situation and give first aid competently before the arrival of doctors.