First Aid

• WHAT IS FIRST AID?
  It's immediate care for injury or sudden illness
  
  DURING AN EMERGENCY,
  minutes - even seconds - can mean the difference between life and death. First aid fills the "time gap" until medical help arrives.
  KNOWING FIRST AID CAN:
  Save a life
• Prevent further injury
• Relieve pain.

WHY SHOULD I LEARN ABOUT FIRST AID?
Because someday, someone may need your help!

EMERGENCIES ARE UNPREDICTABLE
They can happen anywhere, at any time, to anyone. People who know first aid are better able to react calmly and skillfully in emergency.

EVERY EMERGENCY IS UNIQUE
What you do will depend on the type of injury or illness, where it occurs, etc. But in any emergency:

GIVE URGENT CARE FIRST
This means taking care of any life-threatening situations, usually in the following order:

1. Get the person away from the source of danger, such as fire, a downed power line, etc
2. Give artificial respiration or CPR, if necessary and if you've been trained.
3. Control heavy bleeding.
4. Treat for poisoning
5. Treat for shock.
6. Examine the person carefully for other signs of injury.

THEN, GET MEDICAL HELP
If you're the only person on the scene, get help only after giving urgent care. If someone else is on the scene, have that person call "911" (If available) or another emergency number immediately.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS
Do only what you're qualified to do. For instance, don't try to give CPR unless you've been trained!