What not to do, and putting it all together
Drop the popular remedies that make things worse, walk through a whole emergency from danger check to handover, and plan your next step: a hands-on course.
Popular "remedies" to drop, and what to do instead
- Butter, toothpaste or ice on a burn → 20 minutes of cool running water (lesson 8).
- Tilting the head back for a nosebleed → lean forward, pinch the soft part (lesson 7).
- Pulling out an embedded object → leave it in, press around it (lesson 7).
- Water or food for someone injured, drowsy or in shock → nothing by mouth (lesson 7).
- Blind finger sweeps for choking → back blows and abdominal thrusts; only remove what you can clearly see (lesson 6).
- Moving someone with a possible neck injury when they're safe → keep head and neck still (lesson 9).
- Rubbing frostbite, or a hot bath for hypothermia → warm gently (lesson 11).
- Waiting to see before using an auto-injector → adrenaline first (lesson 10).
- Being afraid to use an AED → switch it on; it only shocks if a shock is needed (lesson 5).
Check yourself
At a family gathering, relatives shout advice. Sort each one: myth, or the right move?
- "Put butter on that burn"
- "Hold it under the cold tap, and keep it there"
- "Tip his head back, the nose will stop"
- "Lean him forward and pinch the soft part"
- "Put a spoon in her mouth so she doesn't swallow her tongue"
- "Move the chairs away and put a cushion under her head"
Show the answer
Myth: don't: "Put butter on that burn", "Tip his head back, the nose will stop", "Put a spoon in her mouth so she doesn't swallow her tongue"
Right move: "Hold it under the cold tap, and keep it there", "Lean him forward and pinch the soft part", "Move the chairs away and put a cushion under her head"
When someone has a seizure
- Time it
Look at a clock or start a timer on your phone when it begins.
- Make the space safe
Move hard or sharp objects away, and cushion their head with something soft.
- Don't hold them down, and put nothing in the mouth
Restraining them can cause injury. They can't swallow their tongue, and objects in the mouth can break teeth or block the airway.
- When the jerking stops, check breathing
If they're breathing normally, put them in the recovery position and stay with them.
- Call the emergency number if
It lasts more than 5 minutes, it's their first seizure, they're injured, or they don't wake up normally afterwards.
Check yourself
During a seizure, you should put something in the person's mouth so they don't swallow their tongue.
Show the answer
False
False. Nobody can swallow their tongue, and an object in the mouth can break teeth or block the airway. Time it, move hard things away, cushion the head, and don't hold them down. Recovery position once the jerking stops, if they're breathing normally.
THE WHOLE COURSE IN ONE LINE
What kills fastest comes first
With a collapsed or badly hurt person, the order is always the same: Danger → Response → Call (and send for an AED) → Airway → Breathing → CPR if they aren't breathing normally. Then severe bleeding. Then everything else: burns, broken bones, keeping them warm. If there are two of you, one can press on a wound while the other does CPR.
A broken leg looks dramatic, but it won't kill in the next three minutes. A blocked airway or a stopped heart will.
Check yourself
Put the priorities for a collapsed person in order: match each place to its step
Show the answer
- 1st → Check for danger
- 2nd → Check for a response
- 3rd → Call, and send for an AED
- 4th → Open the airway, check breathing
- 5th → CPR if not breathing normally
- 6th → Deal with severe bleeding
Check yourself
A man hit by a motorbike is bleeding heavily from his leg. He doesn't respond and isn't breathing normally. You have one helper. What comes first?
- Stop the bleeding first; CPR can wait until it's under control
- Call the emergency number and start CPR, with your helper pressing on the leg wound if possible
- Put him in the recovery position and press on the leg
- Wait for the paramedics, since he's too badly hurt to help
Show the answer
Call the emergency number and start CPR, with your helper pressing on the leg wound if possible
Right. Not breathing normally means his heart may have stopped, which kills fastest: call and start CPR. With two of you, the helper presses on the wound at the same time.
One emergency, start to finish
- 13:02 · Danger
At a family lunch, Daniyal's grandfather slumps from his chair onto the floor. Daniyal glances round: no hazards, just the dishes. He kneels beside him.
- Response
He taps his grandfather's shoulders and asks loudly, "Are you all right? Open your eyes." Nothing.
- Call, and one job each
He points at his cousin: "Sara, call 115, speaker on." And at another: "Go to the pharmacy downstairs and ask for their AED."
- Airway and breathing
Head tilt, chin lift. For up to ten seconds he looks, listens and feels: only an occasional gasp. That's not normal breathing.
- 13:03 · CPR
Hands in the centre of the chest, pushing hard and fast, 100 to 120 a minute. The dispatcher on speaker counts with him.
- 13:09 · AED
The AED arrives. Sara switches it on and fixes the pads while he keeps pushing. "Shock advised." Everyone clear, shock, then straight back to CPR.
- 13:14 · Handover
The paramedics arrive. Daniyal tells them what happened, what he saw, what they did, and the times.
Sara's phone notes, typed while Daniyal did CPR:
13:02 Grandad collapsed at the table
13:03 No response, only gasps. 115 called
13:03 CPR started
13:09 AED on. 1 shock
13:09 CPR restarted
13:14 Paramedics arrivedHandover, in under a minute:
"He collapsed at 13:02. No response, only gasps.
CPR from 13:03. The AED gave one shock at 13:09.
We've kept CPR going since. He takes heart pills;
here's the box."What happened, what you saw, what you did, and when. Writing times on your phone or your hand as you go makes this easy. The paramedics decide what's next with it.
Check yourself
The paramedics arrive and ask what happened. What's most useful to tell them?
- That you did your best and aren't sure you did it right
- What happened, what you saw, what you did, and the times
- Your guess at what illness caused it
- Nothing: they'll work it out themselves
Show the answer
What happened, what you saw, what you did, and the times
Yes. The facts and the times: when they collapsed, when CPR started, when a shock or an auto-injector was given. That shapes what the paramedics do next.
A basic first aid kit
- Gloves, sterile dressings and bandages, adhesive plasters.
- Cling film for burns, a triangular bandage for a sling, scissors, tweezers.
- A CPR face shield, a foil blanket and an instant cold pack.
- Your local emergency number written inside the lid.
- Check it twice a year: replace what you used and anything out of date.
Course recap
- Drop the myths: no butter on burns, no head back for nosebleeds, nothing pulled out of a wound, nothing in a seizing person's mouth, no waiting with an auto-injector, no fear of the AED.
- Seizure: time it, clear the space, cushion the head, don't restrain. Poisoning: don't make them vomit, call, keep the container.
- Priorities: Danger, Response, Call and AED, Airway, Breathing, CPR if needed, then severe bleeding, then everything else.
- Handover: what happened, what you saw, what you did, and the times.
- Keep a basic kit with your emergency number inside, and check it twice a year.
- This course is the start: take a certified hands-on first aid course, and refresh it every few years.