First aid — is a set of simple, expedient measures to protect the health and life of an injured or suddenly ill person. Correctly given first aid shortens the time of special treatment, promotes the quickest healing of wounds and is often a decisive moment in saving the life of the injured person. First aid should be given immediately at the scene of the accident quickly and skillfully before a doctor arrives or before the victim is transported to a hospital.
Each person must be able to provide first aid to the best of his or her abilities. In accordance with this, first aid is divided into amateur (unskilled), sanitary and special. Life and health of an injured person usually depend on rendering the first aid by persons without special medical education – dilettantes; in this connection it is necessary that every citizen should be aware of the essence, principles, rules and sequence of rendering the first aid. This is also necessary because there are cases when the victim has to provide first aid to himself, this is the so-called “self-help”.
The essence of first aid is to stop further exposure to traumatic factors, to carry out the simplest measures and to ensure the prompt transportation of the victim to a medical institution. Its task is to prevent dangerous consequences of injuries, bleeding, infections and shock.
In administering first aid, it is necessary to:
1. Carry the injured person from the scene of the accident.
2. treat injured body parts and stop bleeding, immobilize fractures and prevent traumatic shock;
3. Bring or provide transportation of the victim to a medical facility.
First aid should be guided by the following principles: appropriateness and expediency, rapidity, deliberation, determination, and calmness.
First aid must follow a certain sequence that requires a quick and correct assessment of the victim’s condition.
First it is necessary to imagine the circumstances in which the injury occurred and which influenced its occurrence and nature. This is especially important in cases where the victim is unconscious and appears to be dead. The data ascertained by the first-aid provider can later help the physician in providing skilled care. First of all, it is necessary to establish: the circumstances under which the injury occurred, the time of occurrence of the injury, the place of occurrence of the injury.
In examining the victim, the following will be established: the type and severity of the injury, how the injury will be treated, and what first aid measures will be necessary, depending on the capabilities and circumstances of the individual.
Finally: provision of material means, first aid proper, transportation of the injured person to a medical institution, where he/she will be provided with qualified medical aid.
In severe cases (arterial bleeding, unconsciousness, suffocation) first aid must be provided immediately. If the first aider does not have the necessary means at his/her disposal, he/she should be helped by someone else who has been summoned to help.
First aid must be given quickly, but in a way that does not compromise its quality.
It must be remembered that the wrong help can seriously aggravate the injury!
