First Aid
What are the goals of first aid?
Preserve life, prevent further injury, promote recovery
What is the first thing you should do when approaching an incident scene?
Assess hazards
What is asthma?
A breathing disorder in which airway sensitivity is increased. This sensitivity results in spasms of the airway muscles and increased production of mucus.
How do you treat hyperventilation?
- Call EMS
- Encourage pursed lip breathing
- Reassure victim
When performing CPR what are three main things you should do?
- Push hard and fast performing 30:2 compressions to breaths
- Allow the chest to recoil fully between compressions
- Minimize interruptions in compressions
When can you start first aid? When can you stop?
Start: you get consent from the victim or their guardian, or the victim is unconscious
Stop: someone qualified takes over, you are at personal risk, you are physically exhausted, EMS takes over
When should you call EMS?
- The victim is unresponsive
- The victim has breathing or circulation problems
- The victim has a major injury
What is shock?
Inadequate circulation to the body's vital tissues (in the brain, heart, and lungs)
What does the acronym FAST stand for? What is it used for?
FAST is used to identify a stroke
F - Face
A - Arms
S - Speech
T - Time
When should a victim with a sunburn (a type of first degree burn) seek medical assistance?
If the victim has widespread blistering, begins to vomit or develops a fever
What is the purpose of barrier devices (eg. gloves, pocket masks, face shield)?
Protect you and the victim from each other
True or false: poisonous gas, smoke, suffocation and drowning may result in breathing difficulty caused by reduced oxygen supply
What is a secondary assessment?
A systematic search to determine what is wrong and how it happened, if there are other injuries, gather information to convey to medical or emergency personnel
How do you treat a nosebleed?
- Pinch the nose
- Tilt the head slightly forward
- Phone EMS if the nosebleed lasts longer than 20 minutes
What medication can a first aider provide for a victim experiencing chest pains?
Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) such as Aspirin
Ontario's Good Samaritan Act
AVPU is used to assess level of consciousness.
A - Alert
V - Voice/Verbal
P - Pain
U - Unresponsive
What is a full thickness burn?
A burn that affects all layers of the skin. A third degree burn is a full thickness burn.
How to you treat an unconscious, breathing victim
- Phone EMS
- Place victim in recovery position
- Continuously monitor vitals
When should an AED not be used?
If the victim is located in an oxygen rich environment
What is Standard of Care?
Acting as a reasonable person with your training would
Why might a drowning victim experience symptoms up to 72 hours after the event?
Aspiration of water or liquid
What is a tourniquet?
- Something that is used when direct pressure fails to control life-threatening external limb bleeding
- Placed 2 inches (or 5cm) above the wound edge
- Purchased or improvised (eg. fabric and a pen)
- Ensure the electricity source is not live before helping the victim
- Phone EMS
- Cover the entry and exit wounds with a dry dressing
Which heart rhythms will an AED shock?
Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) and Ventricular Tachycardia (VTach)