Red Cross Public First Aid Regulations

Whether you are affected by a large, injurious disaster or a co-worker collapses at the office, having first aid training can save lives. The Red Cross offers classes for those who want to become certified in CPR, use of defibrillator or other first aid practices. Even if you have not been officially trained, you can help people by following some basic rules for first aid.

Getting Help

• The first step in an effective first aid plan is to seek professional help. When injury, accident or disaster occurs, contact the proper authorities first. Police, ambulance, fire department and poison control center numbers should be readily accessible in your home and office, in case of emergency.

  If an emergency occurs, designate someone to call the authorities. Simply yelling "someone call an ambulance" will not be effective, as everyone will assume that someone else is calling, or everyone will try to call at once and the phone lines will jam. If you have a pre-set emergency plan, be sure someone is designated to call for help; if not, make that decision as soon as the emergency happens.

Administering Medicine

• Most people with a preexisting medical condition, such as asthma or allergies, will carry their own medicine with them. One key component of first aid is assisting a person with prescribed medicine, especially if he is unable to administer it alone. For instance, those who suffer from intense allergies will carry epinephrine injectors with them in the case of swelling. Those with asthma will generally carry inhalers. Assist as you can with these medications.

  Never provide medication to someone to whom it was not prescribed. Even if you think someone may be having an asthma attack, you are not a doctor and cannot determine whether the medicine in an inhaler will be safe for consumption.

Moving the Victim

• As a general rule, you should not move the victim of an accident or someone suffering from a medical emergency. Both external and internal injuries--especially spinal or neck injuries--can be worsened if a patient is moved before she is stabilized and assessed.

  However, there are a number of situations in which the patient must be moved. If the area around the victim is unsafe (due to fire, falling objects, etc.), move the victim to a safer area where he cannot be further injured. If you are worried that the victim needs CPR but he is face-down, turn the victim on his back so that you or someone else can administer CPR. If the victim is unresponsive and is breathing spontaneously, you should prop the victim on his side in the recovery position, with the hand extended in front of the body to improve air intake.

Seizures

• Those who suffer from seizures generally cannot predict or prevent the onset of the condition, and so seizures can be a common medical emergency. The most important components of seizure first aid are to prevent injury and to make sure that the victim's airway stays open the whole time.

  Support the victim's head with a pillow or other soft object to prevent injury during the movement often associated with a seizure. Check to make sure the airway stays open; if necessary, turn the victim on her side in the recovery position so that she does not choke on vomit or other secretions. When the seizure is over, keep the victim in the recovery position until she regains responsiveness or help arrives.

  Never attempt to restrain the victim of a seizure. The violent movements often associated with seizures will cause much less harm if they are allowed to happen than if you attempt to restrain the unconscious movements of the body. Similarly, never insert something in a seizure victim's mouth. The victims will often bite their tongues, but inserting something into the mouth is more likely to cause choking or dental damage than it is to protect the tongue.