First aid is the immediate care given to a person who has been injured or has been suddenly taken ill. It includes self-help and home care if medical assistance is not available or is delayed. It includes well-selected words of encouragement, evidence of willingness to help, and promotion of confidence by demonstration of competence.

A. First aid knowledge and skill often mean –

1. The difference between life and death

2. The difference between temporary and permanent disability

3. The difference between rapid recovery and long hospitalization.

B. First aid training is of value in –

1. Preventing and caring for accidental injury or sudden illness.

2. Caring for persons caught in a natural disaster or other catastrophe

3. Equipping individuals to deal with the whole situation, the person and the injury

4. Distinguishing between what to do and what not to do

C. First aid training is needed because –

1. Statistics show that among persons from age to age 38, accidents are the leading cause of death, and thereafter they remain one of the leading causes.

2. The concept of massive number of casualties has become a reality with the advent of the nuclear age.

3. The pattern of medical care has changed.

4. The growing population and expanding health needs have not been balanced by a proportional increase in numbers of doctors, nurses, and allied health workers.

 

A. Help for others

Through the study of first aid, a person is prepared to assist others wisely of they are stricken, to give them instruction in first aid, and to promote among them a reasonable safety attitude. On humanitarian basis, there is always an obligation to assist the stricken and the helpless.

B. Self-help

In being prepared to help others, the first aider is better able to care for himself in case of injury or sudden illness. Even when his condition is so bad that he is unable to care for himself, he can direct others in the correct procedures to be taken in his behalf.

C. Preparation for disaster

First aid training is of particular importance in time of catastrophe, when medical and hospital services are limited or delayed. Catastrophe may take the form of well-publicized disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and fires. It may also take the form of a single accidental death, or life-threatening illness.