Red Cross Nursing

It is next to impossible to predict what will happen the next moment in the ordinary course of a person’s life. The situation becomes grim, for example, if either we contract a sudden problem such as a cardiac attack, unfortunately away from the vicinity of any hospital, or we see other person suffering from such an unforeseen event.

It is precisely in these circumstances that the importance of first aid and more specifically emergency first aid can come to a person’s rescue. Things can get out of control in a matter of seconds or minutes and any delay in such a situation might cost a life, which, once lost, cannot be retrieved back.

First aid in general, and emergency first aid, in particular, refers to those trivial but essential activities that need to be done for a person suffering from a health problem, such as sudden stroke attack, before he or she can be taken to the nearest hospital for regular treatment.

A number of voluntary health organizations, apart from hospitals and over health institutions, teach emergency first aid courses on a regular basis to teach and educate the people about the importance of this service, that, if properly utilized, can result in saving millions of lives. You might have heard many instances where the patient breathed his or her last before being taken to the hospital. If that patient were treated with emergency first aid, the probability of saving his or her life would have been more.

Burns, heart attack, stroke, accident, outbreak of violence or some bomb blast may be some of the incidents that require emergency first aid.

The principles of first aid or emergency first aid is following the three P’s in that order – preserving the life of the person; preventing further deterioration in the health of the patient; and paving way for further recovery of the patient.

An ideal example of emergency first aid is CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which can be administered to a person whose breathing or heartbeat has stopped following a heart attack.