Tag: first aid

If you do an online search for first aid courses being offered online, you’ll probably run into a few hundred websites that offer you a certification without having to attend a physical course. The fair majority of the websites will claim that people will be able to receive a complete certification after watching a couple of first aid course videos online after which they will have to take a short exam. If they pass the exam with 80% marks the certificate is sent to their doorstep. However, the billion dollar question is if these courses are really worth it? Are they even worth the paper they are printed on?

You need to be there physically

First aid is a physical and practical practice of saving someone’s life using an array of methods. These methods include CPR, artificial resuscitation etc. Also, the courses need to be conducted by a certified instructor who himself will be there to instruct people on particular procedures, and correct them during the class. All of this is not possible if you take a course online. This is why the first aid course online that you’re considering may not be worth it. Even though you may have a certificate that states you attended a class you’ll not know anything when you find yourself in a life and death certification. So, in most cases it’s safe to say that these courses are more scam than anything else.

It should include CPR

Now that we have established that you cannot take a basic or even a refresher course online, the next thing to consider what your offline course should include. It is important to mention at this point that many basic offline first aid training courses do not include important aspects of training like CPR and artificial resuscitation. Those that do often breeze through both of them which leaves students mystified.

The first step to learning CPR or the Basic 1 as some courses refer to it is chest compressions. Learning how to do chest compressions can be slightly tricky for people who have never done it before but takes under an hour to learn and then practice to perfection. Make sure that if you’re a fresher that the course include chest compressions. The Basic 2 of CPR is artificial resuscitation or mouth to mouth resuscitation. Courses that often include both of them in the same class will mostly breeze through which is not suited for newbies.

Check the instructor’s references

If a first aid instructor has been around for a considerable period of time then he or she would have trained a large number of people. You should be aware of instructors who say they have lots of experience but have just two or three references. Make sure that you follow up on the reverences. In addition, go online and search using the instructor’s name to find out what people are saying about him or her online. This should give you a fairly good idea of what you can expect from him.

If you are searching for a first-aid course training instructor online make sure to ask for both online and offline references in your city. This will save you from getting conned by people who are not even first aid experts to begin with but use the internet to take advantage of unsuspecting people.

Attend a sample class

One last step before you decide to enroll a first-aid training course you may have seen online is to attend a sample class. You can also get permission to watch a class which is in session to get a feel for how attentive, helping and knowledgeable the instructor is. If the instructor answers all the questions that students have, and help correct mistakes on the fly then it’s safe to say that the instructor is good enough. However, in some cases if the first aid course is not being offered by a large government hospital you may have to negotiate the rate. This is especially the case if you’re hiring the instructor to pay your company a visit and teach all the employees there the basics of first aid, they will usually charge you by the hour.

Mark is a certified first aid training instructor with over two decades of experience. He has taught hundreds of regular people and even military personnel first aid. This is why he is often referred to as the ‘go to’ guy for everything first aid related.

First aid can be described as the initial care given to a casualty before accessing professional medical help. The casualty may be a person who is acutely injured or critically ill. Since these conditions can befall anyone of us or our colleagues not to mention our family members, it is vital that everybody knows the basic principles and rules that govern first aid. The following points will outline the common conditions and the general practices to be observed in case of an emergency.

Make the area safe

In any emergency situation it is critical to ensure that the area is safe as the first aider. This is the first step as it ensures that the risk of increasing the number of casualties is minimized. In most cases you will be required to remove the danger from the casualty or even removing the casualty from the danger. In case it is a collapsing building it is vital to ensure that the building is very safe before attempting to enter. Always remember to remain calm no matter the situation as this will enable you to handle all the situations effectively. Remember that every time the first aider panics, the casualty panics twice or thrice.

Action on emergency

After making a thorough assessment of the area and making it safe it is now time to apply emergency techniques. Remember the principle, first, do no harm as it will guide your actions. In emergency situations one is always tempted to try out everything they have ever heard of, however, this is very wrong as it may expose the casualty to even more danger for example trying to remove an embedded fishing hook may cause more harm than you can ever think of. Only apply life saving skills that you are confident of, if you are doubtful of the treatment do not apply it. Always assure the casualty and call for help. If you are alone, you can leave the casualty to call for help otherwise always remain with the casualty and record all the vital.

Perform CPR

In case the casualty is unresponsive it is vital to start CPR as it can be life sustaining. The correct way of applying CPR is by having 100 compressions per minute separated by two rescue breaths. This ensures that the casualties’ vital organs are well oxygenated.

Always be timely

As the first aider, always act immediately you notice the symptoms of a condition as this dictates the level of success you will achieve. For conditions like heart attack and stroke, it is vital to act the very moment you realize the symptoms without writing anything off.

Control shock

Every time the casualty losses body fluids and blood in large amounts, there is a possibility of a condition known as shock. You can easily treat shock by controlling bleeding and elevating the injured part.

Treat unresponsive casualties first

In case the emergency involves a number of casualties, always assess all of them for the life threatening conditions. It is a rule that you should always start your treatment with the unresponsive casualties first and record their conditions. Always ensure the casualty is breathing by opening the airway, check the pulse rate and record it as well as the pain and voice response.

Do not attempt acting in life threatening situations

For conditions where there is real danger facing the casualty and you are not a professional, it is always advisable to call for help. For example, never try to rescue a drowning person by swing towards them if you do not have adequate swimming skills. For more complicated health conditions always wait for qualified medics.

It is vital to attend a first aid training course so as to get the relevant skills on the emergency conditions and treatments.

Michelle is a passionate blogger and works alongside a provider of first aid traning courses.

You may not think about it when you reach for your handy dandy first aid kit, but bandages have come a long way throughout the years. As medicine evolves, so does our understanding of how to bind and cover wounds. From paper cuts, nicks and scratches, to deep cuts and lacerations, there are many different ways in which wounds have been covered, closed, stitched and patched. So much so that many common household items first saw use in the medical field.

Healing Through History

While band-aids are one of the most common ways to cover a wound today, they aren’t the only means. Some methods of injury binding have been around since the early days of human history and are still used today, albeit quite a bit more sterile.

Bananas Really are the Perfect Food?

It’s hard to argue with a food that is not only good for you but also comes with it’s own natural wrapper, couple that with the fact that banana leaves can be used for bandages and it really is a perfect food. Leaves and animal hides have been used for bandages since humans have discovered that bleeding isn’t a good thing. Banana leaves, once sterilized have been shown to be just as effective as other bandages, with the added advantage of being accessible and considerably less expensive than synthetic bindings. Other leafy vegetable can also be used for this process such as cabbage leaves, wild yarrow and rose petals are all effective for fending off an infection.

Gauze, It’s not just for Mummies 4,000 BC

Gauze is one of the most common forms of bandage and dressing and still sees heavy use. Many testify that gauze was Arabic in origin, originating from the particular region of Gaza, where silk gauze was woven into fabric for clothing, due it being lightweight and breathable in nature. As well as these qualities another advantage to gauze is the loose weave that not only provides support but also keeps from adhering to the wound. Because of the gaps within the weave, gauze can be packed with ointments which further promote healing while keeping the dressing from sticking to the wound.

A Stitch in Time 3,000 BC

Sutures or stitches are another fantastic means of binding wounds. Much like mending your favorite shirt, sutures are used to sew skin back together, and holding it tightly so that healing can occur. Sutures have been made from a wide array of materials including fiber versions such as hemp, flax, cotton. Other sutures have been made from animal hair, intestines, arteries, nerves, muscle strips and every other bit imaginable. Some African tribes use ant mandibles, by coaxing the ants to bite the wound and then twisting their bodies off so the mandibles stay locked onto the skin. Just be glad that synthetic fibers were made in the 1930’s.

It was between the 1930’s and 50’s that synthetic materials start to become involved with wound care. Many ancient methods such as gauze wraps and sutures are still used but some other up and coming stars in the bandage world begin to take the stage.

Anatomy of a Band-aid 1920

When most people think of a bandage the first thing to come to mind is a band-aid. This is typically a cloth or plastic strip that has a small gauze pad attached. A bandage, as we know it today, is what is directly applied to a wound. However, a bandage is actually what holds the dressing, which is the part applied to the wounded area. In the case of a band-aid, the pad is the dressing and the adhesive strip is the bandage itself. The first band-aids made in 1920 were made by hand, and were 3 inches wide and 18 inches long. These band-aids weren’t a huge hit but began to pick up in popularity during WWII.

Duck, Duct, DUCT…. Tape 1942

Duct tape has had a long and illustrious history and has been a widely relied on go to for fixing just about everything. One of the greatest myths about duct tape was that it was created as a bandage during WWII. While it was actually used to seal ammo cases, duct tape does serve as fantastic makeshift bandage due to the fact that it’s super adhesive, water resistant and can be torn by hand. While it might not be a perfect solution, duct tape works great in a pinch until a proper bandage or medical treatment can be administered.

Stuck Like Krazy 1966

Another product in the same vein as duct tape is Super Glue. It was thought that super glue was originally created for the purpose of binding skin together. While cyanoacrylates were first created as a super clear plastic, they later became repurposed as an ultra adhesive. While the FDA balked at the idea of using it for medical purposes due to skin irritation, super glue saw some use during the Vietnam war as a means to stop bleeding until the patient could be escorted back to the medic tent. Since then, the cyanoacrylate formula has been altered for medical purposes giving rise to products like liquid bandage and New Skin.

As medical science advances, so does our means of treating wounds and injuries. With technology where it is now, not only can skin be grafted onto a wounded area, but it can also be cloned and grown. This means that severe burn victims can receive treatments to regrow the damaged skin, helping them get back to normal. As time progresses further, so to will our means of healing wounds and taking care of the skin we’re in.

William Toth is a freelance writer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who has been published across the web for a multitude of topics, some of which include: historical trends, cultural trends, and medical trends.  Pioneering companies like Kensey Nash specialize in regenerative medicine and biomaterials.