Running Head: Skills
Basic Life Saving Skills
Chase Blair Shaw
Axia College/ University of Phoenix
How would you react if you were out to eat or at a ballgame and someone started to choke on their food? Would you freeze up and watch them choke or would you be able to help them? And how about while visiting an older family member that hd a stroke or a heart attack? Would you know how to help? These basic life saving skills are simple to perform. Most people in the world today do not have the basic skills that it takes to save someone’s life, even though everyone could benefit from learning these simple skills.
An injury that often occurs in the home, especially one with children, and requires basic first aid is head traumas. If you have little children, or even a clumsy husband, it is important to know what to look for when someone hits their head. There are several signs to look for when someone sustains this type of injury. In older children and adults you would want to make sure that a knot or “goose egg” was forming where the injury occurred. This ensures that the swelling is on the outside as opposed to the inside of the head. You should also know to contact the doctor if the patient has vomiting or can not seem to stay awake. This being said, if the injury occurs in a small child you should always contact their pediatrician. If the injured person does have a concussion they would need to be kept awake for several hours after the injury. Knowing these simple steps could help to save someone’s life.
Another basic first aid issue I would like to talk about is treating burns. Burns can occur on the skin from any number of things, such as steam, hot liquid, or fire itself. One should be careful around candles, campfires, or even the fireplace. Burns to the skin can cause permanent damage if treated incorrectly. If the skin is burnt through clothing it is important to never peel the burnt clothing away from the skin. Old wives tales...