What are the contents and requirements of basic first aid skills?

The core of basic first aid that the general public needs to master revolves around the principle of "preserving life first, reducing damage, and preventing deterioration." The core content covers cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Heimlich first aid for foreign body obstruction, trauma and hemostasis, and preliminary treatment of common accidents such as burns/poisoning/electric shock. The core requirements can be summarized as "first assess the environment, dial the emergency number first, do not operate blindly, and do not perform rescue operations beyond the scope of capabilities."

I have been doing community first aid science popularization for almost three years, and the most common question I have encountered is "If I am clumsy and can't learn complex operations, will it be useless?" In fact, there are always two voices in the industry regarding first aid requirements for the general public. One group believes that standardized operations should be mastered as much as possible, and it is best to reach a semi-professional level. , and the other group believes that as long as ordinary people can call for help accurately without causing trouble, they have already met the basic requirements. After all, in the event of an emergency, the golden rescue time is only a few minutes. It is much more effective for you to clearly explain the 120 address and eliminate the surrounding dangers than to panic and make the wrong operation.

Last summer, a young man in the business district got stuck in his throat after drinking pearl milk tea, and his face turned purple. The clerk at the milk tea shop next to him had only seen the Heimlich maneuver in a short video before. She hugged him three times and spat out the pearls. Afterward, she said that she didn’t remember all the movements, but only remembered "the position of two fingers above the belly button" and still saved people. This is the meaning of basic first aid. It is not a standard for professionals, but an "emergency patch" for ordinary people.

Many people balk when they hear that cardiopulmonary resuscitation requires chest compressions and artificial respiration. In fact, the latest public first aid guidelines have long made it clear that non-professionals do not need to force artificial respiration. If someone suddenly falls to the ground and shouts that he has no response and his chest does not rise, call 120 first, then kneel on his side, fold his hands in the middle of his chest, and press hard. Just press it quickly. Don't be afraid of breaking the ribs. When the heart stops beating, even breaking two ribs is better than watching the person die. Not long ago, a junior high school student saved an old man who died suddenly at a bus stop. He only performed chest compressions. By the time 120 was reached, the old man had resumed breathing on his own. No one would criticize him for whether his movements were standard or not.

I once met a young man who bled a lot from his fingers while chopping vegetables. He was so panicked that he tied the roots of his fingers with rubber bands for the whole afternoon. When he finally came to class, he said that he almost needed a skin graft, but he didn't know that for ordinary bleeding, just press a clean gauze or towel on the wound. Unless it is a situation like aortic bleeding that cannot be stopped, there is no need to tie the proximal end of the finger. If tied for a long time, ischemia of the limbs will cause irreversible damage.

Of course, many people are now struggling with "Will I be held responsible if I fail to save the life?" This has also been discussed in the popular science circle for a long time. On the one hand, the "Good Person Law" of the Civil Code has made it clear that those who voluntarily perform first aid and cause damage to the recipient do not need to bear civil liability. On the other hand, there are Professionals remind you that it is best not to do anything you are not sure about. For example, if you encounter someone who has fallen from a height, don’t drag them casually. If there is a spinal fracture and the movement is damaged, it may lead to paralysis. If you encounter an electric shock, pull the switch first and don’t directly drag the person. If you keep these bottom lines in mind, you will not have big problems.

If you have time, you can really go to the local Red Cross Society's free popular science class to experience it. Press the simulator for two minutes, and you will know how deep to press and how fast to press. It is more effective than watching the instructional video ten times. When something really happens, muscle memory is much faster than the brain. In fact, to put it bluntly, there are no rigid requirements for basic first aid. It is that you don’t panic when something happens, and you can protect yourself and wait for a few more minutes for professionals to come. This is enough. After all, we ordinary people who learn first aid are not meant to be emergency doctors, but just to provide more protection for ourselves and those around us.