KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA NO.

1 CALICUT

First Aid
By Vismay Chand
XA
10147
 First Aid

First aid is basic knowledge about

how to help people who are suddenly
sick (illnesses) or hurt (injuries or body
damage). For example, first aid is used
at accidents to help an injured person
until he receives medical treatment
(help by doctors, nurses or ambulance
paramedics). First aid is also used to
help people who suddenly become sick,
until help arrives or they can be taken to
medical care.
A person does not need a lot of
equipment to give first aid. A package
of stuff useful to give first aid is called a
first aid kit. Lives can be saved even
without a first aid kit. First aid can be
done just about anywhere. In places far
from hospitals, first aid may be the only

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help possible until the person can be
taken to a hospital or clinic.
Emergency medical dispatchers are
trained in first aid so that if there is an
emergency, they can give the caller
some information on what to do until the
ambulance arrives. This can include the
"C-A-B" listed below.

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 Goal of First Aid
First aid skills are kept simple on
purpose so that people can remember
and use them in an emergency to save
at least one life.
One set of goals of first aid – what you
want to do – are called the "Three P's":
 Preserve life – stop the person from
dying
 Prevent further injury – stop the
person from being injured even more.
If possible, an injured person should
not be moved. First aid can include
how to safely move injured people --
or move them anyway with less harm
if there is no choice.
 Promote recovery – try to help the
person heal his injuries

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Another set of goals for keeping a badly
hurt person alive is sometimes called
"A-B-C" or "C-A-B" :
 Circulation (or Compressions) - keep
blood inside the body and the heart
beating. Compressions refers to a
part of [[CPR]] called Hands Only
CPR, where someone pushes with
their hands on the center of a person's
chest over and over again to keep
blood flowing to the brain. This
requires no kit and only a little training.
[[Emergency medical dispatchers]]
can tell a person how by telephone or
radio.
 Keeping blood inside the body can
be done using a piece of cloth
(which soaks up blood) to apply firm
pressure to the bleeding area(s).
This "direct pressure" is the simplest
and most effective way to stop
bleeding. Others such as a
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 [[tourniquet]] are taught in first aid
classes. If a first aid kit is not there,
a cloth "dressing" for direct pressure
can be made from ripped or cut
clothing.
 Airway - keep a path open for air to go
from the mouth to the lungs. Turning
an ill person on their side if they have
vomited ("thrown up") may help keep
the airway open so they can breathe.
Moving a hurt person can make their
injuries worse. Without an airway, a
person cannot breathe and will soon
die unless an airway can be re-
opened. A choking person with no
airway can be helped with abdominal
thrusts, sometimes called the
[[Heimlich]] maneuver.
 Breathing - move air from the outside
into the lungs. "Giving breaths" is
blowing air into someone else's mouth
while holding their nose shut and
watching their chest rise from the air
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 you blow in. This is taught as part of
CPR. A helper could get sick from
"giving breaths" to someone who has
a disease. A CPR class can teach
how to use a CPR mask to make this
much safer. A first aid kit may include
a CPR mask or barrier device.

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 Training
People can learn about first aid from
books ("manuals") and videos. A good
first aid kit will often include a simple
First Aid Guide.
It is best to have good training to give
first aid. In addition to books and
videos, good training includes a good
teacher and the chance to practice.
For example, [CPR] is practiced on a
dummy called a manikin, so a student
can learn to push down on someone's
chest in an emergency without actually
doing it to a person. The teacher
makes sure the first aid student is
doing the skill correctly.
Training can be given by an
organization or by a professional
medical person, for example a doctor
or a nurse or a paramedic.
Organizations that teach first aid
include the International [[Red Cross]],
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schools, hospitals, the military, and
rescue groups such as fire
departments.
The level of training needed to be a
first aid helper changes from country to
country – for example, in the UK and
the US you can go on a 1-day course
to become a first aid giver. In
the UK you can go on a 4-day course
for emergencies in a place of work. All
fire fighters and police and soldiers are
trained in first aid during their basic
training.

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 First Aid Kits
First aid kits may be kept in cloth bags
or plastic or metal boxes. They are often
labeled with a symbol such as those on
the upper right. A first aid kit may
contain many items, but basic items
that can help with first aid include:
 Gloves for the helper's hands made of
vinyl, latex or nitrile to protect the
helper's hands from blood
 Dressings of cloth that can be put on
wounds to stop bleeding, much like
gauze pads or sanitary napkins
 Bandages of gauze or cloth which
hold dressings tightly over wounds;
sometimes these are in rolls
 Rolls of tape to hold on dressings and
bandages
 Scissors that can be used to cut tape,
to open clothing and to make more
bandages and dressings

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 CPR masks or barriers to make it
sanitary for a helper to breathe into
someone's mouth, which is one part of
CPR
 Blanket made of cloth or Mylar
("space blanket") to cover a sick or
hurt person to keep them warm
 A small first aid book which shows
how to do first aid and reminds people
who have been trained
 Adhesive strips (a small piece of tape
with a bit of cloth in the center),
special dressings such as moleskin
for blisters and antiseptic creams for
small wounds
 Tweezers to remove stingers,
splinters and thorns

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