Jul 11 2008
Why Should You Get CPR And First Aid Training?
Though this may seem like it has an obvious answer – to help someone if they need it while waiting for more qualified help to arrive – maybe more information would be useful.
The skills of CPR and first aid training are basic and ones that everyone ought to learn, in case they happen to have a chance to use it to help someone – maybe even themselves or a loved one.
What if you are in a restaurant and someone at a nearby table starts choking? Could you help them? What if you are in your own home, and your child has a bicycle accident – and it is all up to you to help your child or save his life? Don’t you want to be able to do all you can to help those you love and others around you?
While calling 911 or another emergency number is a great plan, the fact is, the emergency personnel – whether paramedics or EMTs with an ambulance – aren’t going to be on the scene nearly as fast as those already there. The small amount that we can do – even if just a bystander – is worth the effort to take CPR and first aid training.
What You’ll Learn In A CPR And First Aid Training
The critical, life-saving skills are taught by a mnemonic device as simple as ABC. Yes, many organizations who teach CPR and first aid training classes utilize this mnemonic device to help us remember the important steps to follow to help save someone’s life. It is a method used by emergency personnel all over – doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc. The A, B, and C stand for specific things that should be checked – and in that certain order – to be as effective in helping the victim as possible.
A = Airway. Check to be sure the person is breathing. They must have a clear passage for the air to get in through their nose or mouth and down into their lungs. When we are awake and conscious, we automatically maintain our airway. If a person is unconscious, they cannot do this for themselves. There are various ways to clear the airway. First, be sure the tongue is not too far back into the throat area. This can be fixed by tilting the head backwards. This manually changes the angle of the airway so that the tongue is no longer a problem. Also, be sure there is nothing blocking the airway – were they choking? This can be remedied by using appropriate back slaps or abdominal thrusts, after learning how, where, and when these are to be done.
B = Breathing. The person doing the first aid will need to see if the victim is breathing. If they are, terrific! If not, the rescuer needs to begin artificial respiration, or “rescue breathing.”
C = Circulation. To check circulation, the rescuer would need to check for the victim’s pulse. If there is none, this is the time to begin CPR, or Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR is a method of breathing for the patient as well as massaging the heart to help the blood move through the body until it can do so again on its own.
Taking CPR and First Aid Training is well worth it for anyone. Whether it is small – like bandaging an abrasion, or large, like keeping a victim alive with CPR until relief arrives, it is of benefit to all of us for each of us to be CPR and First Aid Training in these skills.
As busy as the school year is, it’s still no time to let kids forget the importance of making a difference. There are plenty of simple ways to involve kids in the community when they’re not in class.
“School months are all about learning, socializing, sports and after-school activities,” says Liz Scott of Wynnewood, Pa. “But [...]
Enhancing the image of the United States abroad goes a long way toward improving and strengthening our relationships with other countries. People like Laurie and Martin Scott of Nevada are doing their part to create and promote a positive impression of America around the world.
The couple has joined forces with the nonprofit EF Foundation for [...]
As teens head back to the classroom this fall, they’ll be assigned a lot of homework in the three “Rs”: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Important to students’ success will be the homework parents do in teaching two other “Rs”: role modeling and responsibility.
“A parent’s words and actions provide powerful role modeling,” explains Lonnie Carton, PhD, [...]
Hannah Keeley
(ARA) - That last school bell has rung and the kids are back home, enjoying all the pleasures that summer vacation offers. But there’s got to be more to life than sleeping until noon and sipping lemonade by the pool. Here are some more ideas to make sure your kids stay happy and healthy [...]
(NC)—Spring and summer mean more than flowers, rain showers, vacation and relaxation. The warm weather also brings a little known fact and an unwelcome reality: more child-pedestrian injuries and deaths than any other time of year. Walking is a child’s first means of independent transportation and often the most accessible, yet child-pedestrian incidents are a [...]