If you find yourself in a position in which someone could be coking or even dying, it is absolutely essential to have made yourself aware of the necessary medical maneuver.
In this article, we’ll take a look at a few first aid tips in terms of learning these maneuvers and putting them into use to help someone.
If a person is choking
If you notice that a person is unable to speak and looks like they are choking, the first thing you should do is try to make them cough buy tapping your first firmly in-between their shoulder blades. If this does not help the person, you should perform the Heimlich maneuver as quickly as possible: get yourself behind the suffering person and place your hands above their belly button. With one of your hands make a fist, placing the side of your first with your thumb on above the navel. Grab your fist firstly with the other hand a thrust quickly upwards on the person to free the object that is stuck in their throat. You should remember to be more careful when performing this maneuver on a child or elderly person.
If a person is displaying signs of a heart attack
The best way to tell if someone is having a heart attack is to look closely and see if they are losing color from their skin, are nauseous, or are being sick. Ask the person how they feel – if they tell you they have chest pain that is moving to their jaw and arms, these are the tell-tale symptoms of a heart attack. At this point, you should call 911 and give the person two uncoated aspirin tablets (low dosage). If the person is not breathing at any point, perform CPR as quickly as you can. (Ensure that the person is able to breathe properly by tilting their chin upward and lifting their head, proceed to put compressions on their chest until professional help arrives.)
If a person is having a seizure
Seizures usually do not last a huge amount of time – typically one or two minutes. To help a person that is suffering, the best thing you can do for them is to make sure that they stay safe by moving away objects that they could hurt themselves on. You should call 911 and wait for professional help.
When a person is experiencing severe bleeding
the absolutely essential thing to remember is – if a person is bleeding, apply pressure with something clean to the area to stop them from losing more blood. You should use anything you can, a piece of clothing, a bandage, absolutely anything. If the blood loss looks to be particularly severe and you do not have a first aid kit to hand, you should use a belt or something similar to stop the blood flow to the affected area, making sure the belt (or whatever is being used) is placed between the injury and the heart, and is not restricting blood flow to anywhere else in the body.
If you wish to learn more about these procedures or take a more advanced course, certified courses are available through hospitals and organizations such as the American Red Cross. You can also go to businesses such as https://www.lifesavered.com/.