If you are interested in learning how to do cardiac resuscitation why not opt for a combined CPR and first aid certification as you will then have the skills to deal with many different emergencies.
If you want to help others, have children or work with other people, you should consider getting your CPR and First Aid certification. The idea behind these types of courses is to give you the skills you need to help someone who has been injured. You will also be trained in how to assess multiple casualties and when to decide if the emergency services need to be called.
If you have kids you will already know how often they can fall over and sustain cuts and grazes. Usually a cuddle and cold compress works wonders. Some minor injuries can be treated by a qualified first aider and the casualty won’t require any further help. But being properly trained in first aid skills means a whole lot more than knowing how to put on the right bandage or treat a minor burn.
The first skills you will learn are how to assess a situation quickly and to summon the appropriate help. You need to protect the casualty and any witnesses from further danger. This includes deciding when you have to move someone for example if they are involved in a car wreck and there is a danger they could be run over on the road. You will learn how to move people in the right way to protect yourself from injury and to avoid worsening the casualty’s injuries.
For example, you will be trained in how to deal with head, neck and back injuries. When someone hurts their spine, the first aider and emergency services have to take great care not to make the situation worse than it already is. You will have seen EMS teams putting neck collars onto accident victims. This is to help avoid any further injury.
Spinal injuries must always be suspected if someone has fallen from a height, been involved in a motor accident, been thrown from a horse or motorcycle, hit their head diving into the shallow end of a pool or involved in a sports accident. If it is safe to do so, you should leave the casualty in their current position and call 911.
If you have to move them and no spinal board is available, you would use a log roll technique to move them assuming you have three or ideally five people to help you. This ensures that the head and spine are supported in the neutral position.
If you have to give rescue breathes to someone with a suspected neck or spinal injury, you will be taught the proper technique to use at your CPR and first aid certification classes. The jaw thrust method is less likely to cause further injury. It is imperative that you get the heart beating properly to avoid brain damage and death.
Head injuries, even apparently minor ones, can cause internal swelling and/or bleeding and the casualty should be assessed by a doctor or other member of the medical team. The loss of clear fluid or watery blood from the ear or nose or blood in the white of the eye are potential signs of a skull fracture. Drowsiness, noisy breathing or unequal pupil size are some signs of a cerebral compression. Dizziness, nausea or loss of memory can be symptoms of concussion. Not all head injuries will mean a trip to hospital but being properly qualified you will be a in better position to make that judgement call.
If you work with a lot of people someone could suffer a seizure or sustain a burn or perhaps suffer a heart attack. OSHA recommends that there is someone qualified in first aid employed by all organizations and it is a legal requirement in certain circumstances.
Your CPR and first aid certification course will also teach you how to administer CPR to adults and children, how to deal with breathing problems and how to use an automated external defibrillator. Qualified first aiders can help save lives so why not find out more about the certification courses on offer at your local Red Cross or American Heart Association centers.
Knowing how to perform cardiac resuscitation properly is very important but completing your CPR and first aid certification prepares you to deal with many different types of emergency situation.
John Furst
JOHN FURST is an experienced emergency medical technician and qualified first aid & CPR instructor. John is passionate about first aid and believes everyone should have the skills and confidence to take action in an emergency situation.
