Knowing First Aid

The Importance of Knowing and Using First Aid There is an importance of knowing how to administer first aid or CPR. Taking a class on first aid can be done at a local community center or hospital. When taking such a class, these are the things an individual will most likely learn. As an individual learns what to do in their first aid class, they will be taught the A-B-C’s of first aid. Now, this does not mean A-B-C as in bullet points, no, this is a mnemonic saying. So, when administering first aid to anybody, they should be receiving help from a trained person for clearing their Airway, Breathing properly or Circulation in their heart.

An airway which is blocked has to be attended to immediately. Being able to clear anyone’s airway is important for sustaining their life. If the airway is not open, it will most likely affect a person’s mind and body functions. In turn, this will cause a sudden deterioration of that person’s life. As you can see, having an open airway allows for a person to respond to you and sustain their life. The open airway also keeps oxygen going to the brain. Without oxygen to our brain, there might be permanent damage as well. Just as important as opening a person’s airway is, so too is getting them to breathe again.

These two, airway and breathing, might seem the same to you, but they have two different functions for a first aid responder to accomplish. When it comes to breathing, that person will need some help. Once the airway is open, they might not be breathing properly. Having a person breathe, on their own, is just as vital as having an open airway.

Both of these functions require the use of oxygen to the brain and this is why the goal of a first aid responder is to get that person breathing again without assistance.

Just as important as opening the airway and breathing is, so to is applying circulation to the heart. The human heart is an amazing muscle and when a person’s heart is in trouble, they will need urgent care in order to assure they stay alive. If the human heart is not receiving oxygen and beating as intended, there might be a loss of life. Every step given to an injured person, from a first aid responder, is important. Each step received, in the order given, is also important.

All three A-B-C steps above, having been learned in a CPR class, and then used as trained by a first aid responder is vital to the survival of the injured person. In fact, seeing if a person has a pulse and is breathing is the first thing to be done when helping a person in trouble.

As recently as 2010, the American Heart Association asked that the A-B-C’s be turned around to C-A-B. Now, when performing first aid on an adult, it is recommended to do chest compressions first, and then check if the airway is open and if a person can breathe on their own. The original A-B-C’s can still be used on infants or children.

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