When Stephen turned eight, he learned first aid at school and was able to help a woman who had collapsed on his street.

He quickly rushed over, tried talking to her and checked her breathing.

Once he knew she was breathing, he rolled her on to her side with her head tilted back to keep her airway open.

Stephen asked his mum to call an ambulance and stayed with the woman until he got there.

Stephen said ‘I was a little nervous at first but I remembered what to do because I had learned it at the first aids club’.

Oh! How many lives could have been spared from the grave if only we had more informed people like Stephen!

A knowledge of essential first aids procedure can help you get someone through a medical emergency crisis at least until the paramedics arrive or you can get them to a hospital.

What is first aid?

It is the immediate assistance given to any person suffering from either a minor or serious injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery.

It includes initial intervention in a serious  condition prior to professional medical help being available, such as performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while waiting for an ambulance, as well as the complete treatment of minor conditions, such as applying a plaster to a cut.  

When a person is unconscious or unresponsive, a basic tenet of first aid is ABC:

• Airway: If someone’s not breathing, clear their airway.
• Breathing: If the airway is clear and they’re still not breathing, provide rescue breathing.
• Circulation: Chest compressions to keep blood circulating should be performed along with rescue breathing. If the person is breathing but unresponsive, check their pulse to see if their heart has stopped and, if so, provide chest compressions.

A simpler version of the ABS i is:

• Awake? If not, try to wake them. If they don’t wake up, make sure someone is calling an emergency number and move on to B.
• Breathing? If not, start rescue breathing and chest compressions. If so, move on to C.
• Continue care: continue treatment until an ambulance arrives.

Some courses also include D and possibly E, as well:

• D can stand for disability assessment, which is fairly complicated for someone without medical training. It also sometimes stands for deadly bleeding, which needs to be stopped, or defibrillator if someone’s heart has stopped and an automated external defibrillator (AED) device is available.
• E stands for examination—evaluating the person for signs of injury, bleeding, allergies, or other problems once you know they’re breathing and their heart is beating.