In an emergency, the right kind of first aid kit can literally save lives. But just because something is in an emergency kit or handy doesn’t mean you should use it. For example:- Call emergency services before you start giving first aid – Call 911 or make sure someone else does – it’s the first thing to do when first aid is needed.
- It’s better to stabilize an accident victim in place – unless there’s danger of fire or explosion, don’t try to move an injured person.
- Alcohol won’t bring down a fever – at least not by much, plus it can be absorbed by the skin which you really want to avoid, particularly with children. Instead use fever-reducing medicines and/or cool water.
- Butter is bad for burns – the grease and often salt are not what a burn needs; instead, let cool water run over the burn to ease the pain. Then watch it. If it starts to blister get medical help.
- Leaving a bandage on a cut won’t help it heal–it’s tempting to keep a cut covered with a bandage and antibacterial ointment, but don’t; the cut needs fresh air for rapid healing. If the cut needs a bandage longer, change it and clean the cut at least twice a day.
- Don’t use a tourniquet to stop bleeding or for snake bite – Apply pressure directly to the bleeding wound to slow and stop the bleeding – tourniquets only tend to do more damage than good.
With snake bites you need to get antivenin and medical help ASAP. Remove any jewelry or clothing that could cause problems if the bite area swells and get help as quickly as you can. - Hot water will make frozen skin worse, not better – The goal is to gently warm the frozen skin – a warm water bath is your best bet. If you don’t have access to a bath, sponging the frozen areas with warm water will help.
- Inducing vomiting can make things worse – when someone is poisoned inducing vomiting can actually make things worse as the poison travels back up. Call 911 for poison control and check the container for any first aid instructions.
- Sprains and fractures don’t benefit from heat – while heat can feel soothing, it can also increase the swelling of a sprain or fracture. Applying an ice pack or ice cubes wrapped in a towel or frozen vegetables for about 20 minutes will both ease the pain and reduce the swelling.
Obviously getting and staying trained in first aid is the ideal way to learn the dos and don’ts. Your local police, fire department and/or community college can help you find low and even no-cost first aid classes.
