Key First Aid Skills
There are certain skills which can be regarded
as core, regardless of where or how first aid is taught. These should
always be treated in the order of priority, usually given by the “3 Bs”:
Breathing
Bleeding
Bones
This means that any first aider should first seek to treat any problems
with Breathing, before attempting to deal with a bleed or broken bone
(which is not to say that they should not be considered at the time - such
as in the case of a spinal injury, where a variation on the technique can
be used to open the airway).
[edit] Preserving Life
As the key skill to first aid is preserving life, the single most
important training a first aider can receive is in the primary diagnosis
and care of an unconscious or unresponsive patient. The most common
mnemonic used to remember the procedure for this is ABC, which stands for
Airway, Breathing and Circulation.
In order to preserve life, all persons require to have an open airway - a
clear passage where air can move in through the mouth or nose through the
pharynx and down in to the lungs, without obstruction. Conscious people
will maintain their own airway automatically, but those who are
unconscious (with a GCS of less than 8) may be unable to maintain a patent
airway, as the part of the brain which autonomously controls in normal
situations may not be functioning.
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Always Prepared CPR & First
708 Georgia Way, Fairfield, CA 707 426-9926
American Red Cross
5297 Aero Dr, Santa Rosa, CA 707 577-7600
Barnett Professional Svc
4966 Ridgefield Cir, Fairfield, CA 707 864-1985
CPR Safety & Osha Crtfctn
1 Shon Ct, Novato, CA 415 883-8277
Healthquest
1425 N Mcdowell Blvd # 103, Petaluma, CA 707 766-9226
Heart Beats
1260 Military W, Benicia, CA 707 748-0637
Kidsake Health & Safety Educ
3535 Industrial Dr # A2, Santa Rosa, CA 707 585-3100
Medical Emergency Dynamics
2442 Trower Ave, Napa, CA 707 255-7052
Medical Training Svc
707 Arabian Cir, Vacaville, CA 707 446-6220
Mill Creek Safety Instruction
725 Fitch St, Healdsburg, CA 707 433-7752
Northbay Health & Safety
8360 Lewanna Ln, Sebastopol, CA 707 829-1922
Safety First
2 Via Treviso, American Canyon, CA 707 557-4188
SOSCPR Training
101 Golf Course Dr, Rohnert Park, CA 707 795-4444 |
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If an unconscious patient is lying on his or her back, the tongue may
fall backward, obstructing the oropharynx (sometimes incorrectly
called “swallowing” the tongue). This can be easily rectified by a
first aider tipping the head backwards, which mechanically lifts the
tongue clear.
If the patient was breathing, a first aider would normally then place
them in the recovery position, with the patient leant over on their
side, which also has the effect of clearing the tongue from the
pharynx. It also avoids a common cause of death in unconscious
patients, which is choking on regurgitated stomach contents.
The airway can also become blocked through a foreign object becoming
lodged in the pharynx or larynx, commonly called choking. The first
aider will be taught to deal with this through a combination of ‘back
slaps’ and ‘abdominal thrusts’.
Once the airway has been opened, the first aider would assess to see
if the patient is breathing. If there is no breathing, or the patient
is not breathing normally, such as agonal breathing, the first aider
would undertake what is probably the most recognized first aid
procedure - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR, which involves
breathing for the patient, and manually massaging the heart to promote
blood flow around the body. |
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