Do you know these essential first aid techniques? If you’re ever in a medical emergency, they could come in handy. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use them, but it can be useful to know them just in case…

The recovery position

The recovery position can be a way of keeping a person safe who is unconscious but breathing. It can also be useful for people having seizures. It involves rolling a person onto their side with one hand and leg stretched out and slightly bent to prevent them rolling over. This helps to keep their airways open. It also allows them to be sick without any risk of choking. You can find guides online on the recovery position. It’s worth noting that the recovery position is different for babies. 

CPR

If someone is unconscious and not breathing, they may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This involves using chest compressions and artificial ventilation to try to restore blood circulation and breathing. Even if you’re unable to get a person’s heart starting again, CPR could keep a person alive until paramedics arrive. The best way to learn CPR properly is to take an accredited course with a program such as MyCPR NOW. This could be more effective than simply learning through a video. 

The Heimlich manoeuvre

What do you do if someone is choking? In most cases, a person will be able to dislodge a foreign object from their windpipe themselves, but if a person is clearly struggling you will need to step in. Leaning them over and hitting them on the back five times may be enough to get them to cough up the object. If not, you may have to use the Heimlich manoeuvre. This involves doing abdominal thrusts on the person, which helps to manually lift the diaphragm and expel air out of the lungs. This guide at Healthline explains exactly how to do it.

Bleeding control

If someone is bleeding heavily, knowing how to reduce blood loss could be essential. There are several different techniques that can be used to restrict bleeding depending on where the bleeding is, how severe it is and what resources you have. Ideally, you want to have access to bandages (most workplaces should have a first aid kit containing bandages), but if this isn’t the case there are techniques for preventing blood loss such as using your hands or even creating a tourniquet out of clothes. Check out bleeding control techniques online. 

Burn treatment

It could be important to know how to treat someone with a burn injury. Acting fast can minimize the impact of the burning. A simple way to do this is to run the injury under cold or lukewarm water as soon as possible. Ideally, keep it under the tap for 20 minutes (especially if it’s a serious burn). Never use ice or ice water and avoid any creams or greasy substances. You should also avoid covering up the burn injury with clothing (if you need to cover it up with anything, use cling film, but make sure that you ring for 20 minutes first).