First aid & Basic life support

Dr/ Marwa Youssef Sallam

 Introduction
What is first aid?
• First aid is the assistance given to any person suffering a sudden illness or
injury using readily available materials.
• A person who takes charge of an emergency scene and gives first aid is
called a first aider.
• The injured or ill person is called a casualty.
• A first aid kit should be kept in your home and in your car

What can a first aider do?

• First aiders do not diagnose or treat injuries or illnesses (except, perhaps,
when they are very minor)—this is what medical doctors do. A first aider
suspects injuries and illnesses, and gives first aid at the scene.
• with the correct first aid training anyone could, in the short term (until the
arrival of the emergency services) save a life.
Aim of first aid:
a) To preserve life
This is the main aim of first aid
b) To prevent the condition from worsening
It is very important to keep the person who has undergone the injury or an
accident stable. His/Her condition must not deteriorate before medical help
arrives. This includes moving the individual away from harm , applying first
aid techniques to prevent worsening of the condition such as applying
pressure to stop bleeding.
c) To Promote recovery
Steps must be taken to enhance the chances of recovery including
application of a bandage to a wound
Safety and personal protection
• In any emergency, first aid providers must always be aware of hazards and
give first aid safely. A hazard is anything that poses a risk of injury or death
to a first aid provider.
• Example:
 If the injury has been caused by machinery, is the machinery still
running?
 Passing vehicles may pose a risk at the scene of a motor vehicle
incident
 Moving a heavy casualty could place the first aider at risk of injury
 Exposure to blood or body fluids (i.e. vomit, feces) poses a health risk
to first aiders.
Personal Protective Equipment
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is clothing and equipment used to protect
the first aider and to minimize the risks of health and safety hazards when in
contact with a casualty. PPE can be gloves, a pocket mask used for ventilations,
eye protection, safety boots, etc.
• Use a face mask or shield when providing artificial respiration or CPR. Always
follow the manufacturer’s directions for disinfecting and cleaning reusable items.
Single-use masks, one-way valves, and gloves are disposed of by double bagging
with other contaminated articles. If used in the workplace, follow
provincial/territorial and/or company protocols for disposal of hazardous items.
• Disposable gloves prevent direct hand contact between the first aider and the
casualty. Wear gloves when you might touch blood, bodily fluids, tissue or
anything that has come in contact with one of these.
Personal Protective Equipment

Bag valve mask

How to remove gloves?
Basic life support
An emergency action plan is
important to have in place
should you be faced with a
situation requiring first aid.

DRS ABCD
Check Airway
• Health care providers will primarily open a
casualty’s airway using the head-tilt chin-lift,
except in cases where a spinal injury is
suspected. In those cases, a jaw thrust is
used.
Check for Breathing
• If the casualty is conscious, check by
asking how their breathing is.
• If the casualty is unconscious, check for
breathing for at least five seconds, and
no more than 10 seconds.
• If breathing is effective, move on to
check circulation.
• If breathing is absent or ineffective
(gasping and irregular, agonal), begin
CPR.
• Normal - 2 breaths or more / 10 sec.
 Recovery position
When there is decreased level of consciousness, airway and breathing are the
priority—the recovery position ensures an open airway.
Recovery position
 Recovery position
• Even if the individual is breathing but is unconscious, there is still a significant risk
of airway obstruction. The recovery position reduces that risk in the patient.
• A first aider should do the following :
a) Kneel down next to the person on the floor. Place their arm nearest to you at
right angles to their body with their palm facing upwards.
b) Take their other arm and place it across their chest so the back of their hand is
against their cheek nearest to you and hold it there.
c) With your other hand, lift their far knee and pull it up until their foot is flat on
the floor.
d) Carefully pull on their bent knee and roll them towards you. Once you have
done this, the top arm should be supporting the head and the bent leg should
be on the floor.
REMEMBER that until help arrives, you must keep checking that they are breathing.
If they stop breathing, get ready to give them CPR.
The ABCs of First Aid
• There are three critical steps in emergency first aid. A person needs all three
common denominators to live, and basic life support or CPR, together with early
defibrillation, is proven to improve long-term survival after a cardiac arrest.

• The ABCs of first aid stands for airway, breathing, and circulation:

 Airway: Is the airway unobstructed? Use measures to clear the airway.

 Breathing: Is the person breathing? Start rescue breathing.

 Circulation: Is the person’s heart beating? Start chest compressions.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• CPR is artificial respiration and artificial circulation. It is indicated in those who
are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing.
• Artificial respiration provides oxygen to the lungs.
• Artificial circulation causes blood to flow through the body.
• The purpose of CPR is to circulate enough oxygenated blood to the brain and
other organs to delay damage until either the heart starts beating again, or
medical help takes over from you.
• CPR is most effective when interruptions to chest compressions are minimized.
• Common causes of cardiac arrest include:
 Heart attack
 Severe injuries
 Electrical shock
 Drug overdose
 Drowning
 Suffocation
A casualty’s age in first aid and CPR
• The procedures related to the provision of first aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) differ in some ways, depending
on the age and size of the casualty.
• In first aid and CPR:
 An infant casualty is under one year old
 A child casualty is from age one to age eight
 An adult casualty is over eight years of age
• It is important to recognize that these ages are guidelines. The size of
the casualty must be considered.
 Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• CPR involves chest compressions at least 5
cm deep and at a rate of 100-120 per minute
in an effort to create artificial circulation by
manually pumping blood through the heart
and thus the body.
• The rescuer may also provide breaths by
either exhaling into the subject's mouth or
nose or using a device that pushes air into
the subject's lungs.
• CPR alone is unlikely to restart the heart. Its
main purpose is to restore partial flow of
oxygenated blood to the brain and heart.
Administration of an electric shock to the
subject's heart, termed defibrillation, is
usually needed in order to restore a viable or
"perfusing" heart rhythm.
 Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• One cycle is 30:2 (30 compressions to 2 ventilations).
• For adult casualty, the depth of each compression should be at 5-6 cm (2-2.4
inches).
• Give compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute.
• Count compressions out loud to keep track of how many you have given.
• This is one cycle of 30:2 (30 compressions to 2 ventilations).
• Continue CPR until either an AED is applied, the casualty begins to respond,
another first aider or medical help takes over or you are too exhausted to
continue.
• The AED should be applied as soon as it arrives at the scene.
Two-rescuer CPR
• If two trained rescuers are available, they can cooperate to perform CPR on a casualty.
• There are three advantages to two rescuers performing CPR as a team:
• CPR is a strenuous physical activity and as a first aider gets tired the quality of the chest
compressions will deteriorate. By sharing the task of compressing the chest two rescuer CPR
allows for a team to perform effective chest compressions for a longer period of time.
• Two-rescuer CPR minimizes the time the compressions are interrupted for ventilations to be
given.
• Two-rescuer CPR allows the rescuers to give feedback and support each other during a
stressful event.
• To perform two-rescuer CPR the first aider who performs the primary survey stays at the
casualty’s head, keeping the airway open and ventilating after 30 compressions. The second
rescuer will compress the chest, but in order to maintain the most effective compressions, it is
recommended that rescuers switch after every 5 cycles of compressions and ventilations
(approximately 2 minutes).
 Defibrillation
AED (Automated external defibrillator):
Device recognizes ventricular fibrillation and other
dysrhythmia and delivers an electric shock at the right
time to prevent cardiac arrest.