What are the contents of basic first aid skills?

The basic first aid we often refer to is essentially a "golden window" intervention skill before professional medical care arrives. It focuses on the three goals of maintaining life, preventing aggravation of injuries, and alleviating pain. It is not a scattered operation list, but is completely designed to follow the most common emergency scenarios encountered in daily life.

A while ago, when I was doing science popularization in the community, I happened to encounter someone in the restaurant downstairs who had a chicken bone stuck in his airway. His face turned purple from holding it in, and he patted his back for a long time to no avail. A young man next to him who had learned first aid went up and gave him two blows with the Heimlich maneuver, and the bone was spit out directly. It took less than half a minute. This is the most common treatment for airway obstruction in basic first aid. It is a core skill in ventilation, and it is also the fastest skill that ordinary people can use after learning it.

Many people think that first aid only includes "major operations" such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and Heimlich. In fact, this is not the case. Many small accidents we encounter in daily life also fall into the category of basic first aid. For example, if you encounter someone who has fainted due to heat stroke while walking in the supermarket in the summer, move to a cool and ventilated place as soon as possible, untie the collar and wipe the armpits and neck with a wet towel to cool down. It is much more effective than panicking and pinching the person. ； If you accidentally cut your hand while cutting vegetables, take a clean gauze or towel and press it on the wound above your heart. Pressing it for three to five minutes will basically stop it. Do not sprinkle cigarette ash or styptic powder on the wound blindly, which may increase the risk of infection.

I just want to mention here that there are actually different opinions in the industry on many operations. For example, should ordinary people add artificial respiration when performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a sudden death? In the early years, European and American guidelines encouraged the combination of compression and ventilation. However, in recent years, in order to popularize the content among non-professionals, they have also begun to advocate giving priority to high-quality chest compressions. After all, many people have concerns about mouth-to-mouth blowing. If they hesitate about whether to do it, they may miss the best rescue time. The effect of compression alone is far better than standing and waiting120. There is also the previously hotly debated question of "whether pinching someone's middle is useful or not". In fact, the essence is painful stimulation. If it is just a syncope caused by hypoglycemia or vagus nerve excitement, it may be possible to wake the person up. However, if it is a coma caused by cerebral hemorrhage or myocardial infarction, blindly pinching the patient will make the patient agitated and move around, aggravating the condition. Most popular science now recommends judging the vital signs first, rather than pinching the person first.

In addition to hands-on operations, judging risks and calling for help correctly are also particularly important parts of basic first aid, which many people ignore. For example, if an elderly person at home suddenly complains of a squeezing pain in his chest, numbness in his left arm, and a loud tongue, don't let him insist on taking a rest, and don't feed him nitroglycerin casually - unless you are sure that he always has it on hand and his current blood pressure is not low, call 120 as soon as possible, clearly explain the number of units in the community, the general symptoms of the patient, and leave a good door for medical care. This is more important than any other operation. For those injured in traffic accidents, if the injured person is not bleeding heavily and is conscious, do not move him casually, especially if the neck or waist may be injured. Moving around can easily injure the spinal cord and lead to paralysis. Just stay by and help call 120 and remind passing vehicles to give way.

I have been doing community first aid science popularization for almost three years, and the most common problem I encountered is "I don't have a good memory and can't learn what to do." In fact, you don't need to think about it too complicated, and you don't need to memorize so many operating standards. Just remember a few core principles: be able to breathe, don't bleed, don't move, and call someone quickly. If you really encounter something, don't panic, which is more effective than any fancy skills.