Knowing the top procedures to learn as a first aider can be the only difference between life and death. Living is decided in that split second of knowledgeable action, but what if you don’t have the knowledge? That could be a life lost. 

Top Procedures To Learn As A First aider

As a first-aid worker, especially, it is compulsory that you know the techniques we’ll discuss below. It is your line of duty, isn’t it? This does not mean only first-aiders should know these procedures, far from it. You could find yourself in a life threatening situation at any time. Would you rather panic instead of saving life? I suppose we have our answer. Here we go.

Perform A Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

Performing a CPR is universally accepted as the first technique to master as a first-aider or, say, prepper. A CPR is directly crucial to living; a delay in it could lead to death. Does that emphasize how vital a CPR is? Everyone should know how to do this— first-aid worker or not. 

CPR is a procedure aimed at manipulating the heart and lungs, thereby preserving brain functions until the heart can resume beating. 

Many consider CPR a very easy procedure, and we can’t fault that. The process looks so easy, doesn’t it? Why, my dear, should you wait until you’re in a life-threatening situation, when the tension and pressure and life of that stranger or friend lie on your “kiss of life.” Believe it when you read that CPR takes more than skills or expertise. You need nerves of steel.

Asides, the steps of CPR aren’t as easy as you think. 

Where should you push? 

How hard should you push? 

How fast should you push? 

When should you give the “kiss of life”? 

How gently should you blow? 

These questions, and even more, are crucial to performing a successful CPR. Keeping in mind that someone else’s life depends on your actions, I suppose only a perfect CPR procedure would do in every situation.

Stop Bleeding

There are several instances that could leave you stranded, isolated, or unable to get medical help on time. So, what would you have yourself do in such scenarios? I doubt that anyone would prefer to bleed to death. People have died from bleeding for long hours, simply due to the unavailability of someone to stop bleeding when it mattered.

There are three common types of bleeding, namely capillary, venous & arterial. Capillary bleeding occurs when there’s a small injury that causes slight bleeding. Although this type of bleeding isn’t critical and unlikely to lead to death or coma, it is essential to stop it on time to avoid infections. 

Venous bleeding occurs when there’s a severed or punctured vein that causes blood to flow steadily from the injured area. Sometimes, this can involve two or more veins. Lastly, arterial bleeding is the worst and causes blood to pour out of the body without ceasing. This is often caused by a fatal wound and is the most likely to cause death. 

Stopping arterial bleeding requires you to apply a lot of pressure on the wound with a clean, sterilized pad. A tourniquet is also useful to stop bleeding, so you have to know how to dress a wound with it.

Treat A Fracture

A fracture can occur when you’re hopping on terrains in the wilderness or perhaps when you’re home alone seeing a movie. It could be anywhere, which makes the prospect of finding no help scarier.

Treating a fracture requires a splint, and you, therefore, must know how to make one. A splint helps to limit movement, prevent extra pain, stabilize the bone in its natural anatomical position, and restrict additional damage to the area of injury. 

Thankfully, making a splint can be done in a couple of ways. It may interest you to know that it doesn’t have to look attractive or fancy. All that a splint needs to do is limit movement and adequately pad the fractured area. 

When making a splint, it is typically wrapped towards the torso— that is, up the next joint. For example, if the wrist is fractured, the splint is wrapped up to the elbow.

You can make paddings with sleeping pads or clothes. For more rigidity and a well-defined structure, you can tie or tape straight sticks around the padding. However, remember not to tie too tightly to ensure blood circulation isn’t hindered. If you aren’t keen on DIY remedies, you can buy splints from medical and supply stores. The procedure remains the same.

Treat Fever & Respiratory Infections

As common as fever is, it may surprise you to know that very few people can treat it the right way. Sure, we agree that you seek professional medical help in critical situations, but you should be able to manage it in dire circumstances.

And, no — perhaps you were wondering — you wouldn’t get an ER when treating fever in an emergency.

Fever causes a shortage of fluid in the body, and the first step when treating it is to take surplus water. Keep your body hydrated. A sponge bath using lukewarm water would be an excellent next step.

After this, you may start getting the chills. Cover yourself with blankets, but avoid using too many— keep it just moderate. Keep yourself comfortable by wearing light clothing and applying cold compresses when the fever is high. Quick medical remedies, such as Aspirin and Ibuprofen, would be beneficial as well.

Fevers leave after a day or two, but some may linger. Whenever you are down with fever for more than three days, seek immediate medical help.

Finishing The Top Procedures To Learn As A First aider

There are various other top procedures to learn as a first aider, but the four highlighted above are the most important. Luckily, performing any of them doesn’t involve extreme difficulties or whatever. They are procedures you can easily learn and perform. Just keep a calm head