AID 100

GROUP 1
MEMBERS: Awareness
Sr. Rosebelen Adlaon
Johnica Muraki
Liezel Escala
Reslie Nonay
AWARENESS &
PREVENTION

Prepared by: Sr. Rosebelen Adlaon

 AWARENESS
Knowledge or perception of a situation

PREVENTION
the action of stopping something from happening or arising
 What is First Aid?
• First aid is defined as immediate medical assistance given to an ill
or injured person, including interventions such as CPR
(cardiopulmonary resuscitation), or complete treatment of minor
conditions, while waiting for an ambulance.
• First aid doesn’t necessarily require particular equipment or prior
knowledge. An untrained person could improvise with available
materials.
• More often, basic first aid training is involved, sometimes
including training in the use of an AED (automated external
defibrillator).
An automated external
defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic
device that automatically diagnoses the
life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of 
ventricular fibrillation (VF) and 
pulseless ventricular tachycardia,[1] and is
able to treat them through defibrillation, the
application of electricity which stops the
arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re-
establish an effective rhythm.
 Importance of first Aid
The importance of first aid is recognized all over the world and its capacity to make a
difference cannot be overstated.

To have a competent first aid practitioner present is reassuring to the casualty, as well as
to concerned people at the scene.

This first aider is the person most likely to take action and manage an emergency.

First aid makes a significant contribution to an ill or injured person’s recovery and, in an
overwhelming number of cases, has been the difference between life and death.
The 3 Ps of First Aid

The 3 Ps of first aid represent the priorities in first aid treatment:

1) Preserve Life
The first aider’s number one responsibility is to preserve life. This means assessing the emergency
scene for dangers to self, as well as to bystanders and, of course, to the casualty.

The caution for potential danger is the first step in the DRSABCD strategy.
After determining whether the victim is responsive and calling 000 for emergency medical intervention,
first aiders would check the person’s airway and breathing.

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) would follow in quick succession.

What does DRSABCD stand for?

D is for Danger

This is first and foremost. Danger needs to be dealt with before anything else.
There is often a physical threat present at first aid situations that involve injuries or illnesses. The
potential danger can be a threat to you, to bystanders, as well as to the person already in need of
attention.
This danger can be present in many forms, including live wires, overflowing liquids, gases, moving
vehicles, dangerous animals and people, sharp objects, falling objects, and more.
The first step in DRSABCD is to make sure you are not at risk from such a hazard. Then try to ensure
that no one else is.
If more victims were to be added, first aid quickly becomes unmanageable.
R is for Response
Seek a response to find out if the person needing attention is conscious or not.
The C.O.W.S. method is an effective way to assess whether the casualty is responsive. It’s easy to remember
and involves, talking to, touching the casualty, and using both questions and commands.
    
Can you hear me?

Ask, can you hear me? Are you hurt or sick? Also, ask if you can help the casualty. This has the added
advantage of gaining consent, or not, as well as eliciting a response.

Open your eyes. 

Instructing the casualty to open their eyes is the most instinctive action the casualty will take, if they are able
to. If their eyes are open, are they able to 'look left', 'look right' etc.

What is your name? 

Asking their name is also instinctive. It does not matter if they give the correct name, so long as they respond
to your question. 

Squeeze my hands. 

Squeeze the casualty's hand to see if they squeeze you back. A casualty that cannot hear you, may feel your
squeeze and respond accordingly.
There’s no need to aggressively shake a casualty to gain a response. Definitely don’t shake a child or infant.
Simply touching the casualty’s hand or shoulder and talking assertively is effective and will awaken a sleeping
person.
It’s possible for a casualty to be conscious but not respond. For example, a person having an Absence Seizure will
be conscious but will be unable to respond to questions and commands.
A casualty who is unresponsive should be treated as unconscious.
If the casualty responds by speaking or moving and appears conscious, leave them in the position in which you
found them (provided there’s no further risk of danger).
This response will help determine your next first aid steps.
Conduct a ‘secondary survey’ — a verbal and visual assessment of their condition.
The verbal assessment would include questions such as:
•What happened?
•Are you injured?
•Do you have any pain?
•Do you feel ill?
•Do you have a medical condition?
The visual assessment comprises a head-to-toe examination, looking for bleeding, burns, bites, abnormal swelling,
etc. Also, checking for medical alert bracelets and the existence of medication in the casualty’s hand or laying
nearby. Get help if you need it. Monitor and reassess the casualty regularly.
S is for Send for help
First aid treatment is not a substitute for professional medical care. In a medical emergency, you should waste
no time calling for an ambulance or emergency services.
In order to stay focused on the casualty, have someone else in your vicinity make the call for help on your
behalf.
It’s important to send for help as early as possible.
•Shout for help to alert people nearby
•If you can, have a bystander call for an ambulance
•Ask someone to locate and fetch an AED if possible
•If no one else is around, call the ambulance on your mobile phone

*You, or your bystander, should provide basic information, answering the operator’s questions as best as
possible.
The operator will ask:
Which emergency service do you want, Ambulance, Fire or Police?
What is the exact location of the casualty? (Tip: use your phone apps to find your location e.g. Google Maps)
Your name and phone number (to call you back if required)
The nature of the emergency (tell them what you think has happened)
A is for Airway
The casualty’s airway should be checked. This takes priority over any injuries.
Obstructions to the pathway to the lungs will restrict breathing. If possible, check the airway without moving the
casualty.
If it appears there are obstructions in the casualty’s mouth, you may need to roll the person onto their side —
carefully, with their spine, neck and head aligned. This is known as the Recovery Position.
See our guide to placing a person in the Recovery Position.
Open the casualty’s airway by lifting the chin and tilting their head back. Look into the back of the throat to check
obstructions, especially:
•The casualty’s own tongue, as it can fall back into the airway
•Regurgitation – stomach content rising into the oesophagus but not being vomited
•Foodstuffs
•Loose dentures, mouth-guards
•Fluids, such as saliva, blood, mucus
•Foreign items
Clear any debris using your fingers, donning gloves if available.
Children should be managed as for adults. A gradual full head tilt is recommended:
•Place your hand on the forehead
•Place your fingertips under the point of the casualty’s chin
•Gently tilt the head back and lift the chin to open the airway
For Adults:
For infants (under 1 year), maintain neutral head position/jaw
support. Do not tilt the head back. Their softer trachea can
distort and compromise the airway.
B is for Breathing

Check that the person is breathing.

•Look to see if the chest rises and falls
•Listen at the mouth for sounds of normal breathing
•Feel for air against your cheek
Look, listen and feel for no more than 10 seconds to assess whether breathing is ‘normal’.
In the first few minutes following a cardiac arrest, the casualty may be taking infrequent, slow and noisy gasps,
gurgles or sighs. This type of breathing is ineffective and should be treated as ‘not breathing’.
When the casualty is deemed as not breathing, you should immediately move to the next step C and send
someone to find and fetch an AED.
If the casualty is breathing, place them in the Recovery Position and continue to monitor respirations until
paramedics arrive.
Having made sure an ambulance has been called, continue to check the casualty’s condition. Observe and re-
assess the casualty for continued breathing every 60 seconds.
While waiting for medical help to arrive, assess for injuries and treat accordingly.
C is for CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

CPR should be performed straight away when a person is unconscious and not breathing.
With the person face-up, laying on their back, place the heel of your hand on the centre of
their chest, your other hand across the top of it.
Press down firmly to about a third the depth of their chest — about 5cm, or 4cm in the case of
an infant.
The rate for compressions is 2 in just over a minute (100/120 compressions per minute).
Following 30 chest compressions, give 2 rescue breaths if you’re comfortable with mouth-to-
mouth. To administer, tilt the person’s head back and lift their chin, pinch their nose and place
your mouth over theirs.
Adults receive full breaths, shallow breaths for children, and just 2 puffs for infants.
Breaths are optional. If you’re not comfortable with mouth-to-mouth, stick to compressions.
Continue CPR until the casualty responds or until paramedics arrive to take over.
D is for Defibrillation

A defibrillator or AED (automated external defibrillator) is the next step if the person is still unconscious and
not breathing.
This portable, compact, lightweight machine can ‘jump start’ the heart. When appropriate, it will automatically
deliver an electrical shock aimed at restoring muscle contractions and returning the heart its normal rhythms.
AED units come with pad electrodes, a battery and adapter, if applicable. Verbal instructions are inbuilt with
most modern AEDs, making it straightforward to use the device correctly.
Often an AED will be located close by. They are to be found not just in hospitals, clinics, and ambulances, but
also in many public places, including schools, shopping malls, libraries, airports and offices.
At the scene of the emergency, you would probably need to ask a bystander to try to locate and fetch the AED.
Assuming an AED is available, use it straight away, following its accompanying instructions. The diagram
below shows where to place the AED electrode pads.
Continue CPR and defibrillation until signs of life resume or until medical professionals arrive to take
over.
If an AED is not locally available, the paramedics will arrive with one. Emergency first-responders are
typically equipped with and trained to use, AEDs.
Short video clip for DR’SABCD
2) Prevent Deterioration
This is all about keeping the patient’s condition stable so it does not worsen in the time spent waiting
for medical professionals to arrive.

To do this, the first responder would provide first aid treatment and reassurance. Further injury would
be guarded against and the casualty would be positioned safely and comfortably.

3) Promote Recovery
The first responder, in providing first aid treatment, would aim to relieve pain and encourage
confidence in the patient. These are important steps in helping the recovery process.

*These 3 Ps help prioritise a first responder’s actions and play an important role in emergency
treatment for victims.
 Legal Aspects of Providing First Aid
Legal aspect of first aid – Every human being has a 'duty of care', whether they like it or not. Society, but
also the legal fraternity, expects people to provide any reasonable care should they come across the scene
of an incident. Employers shouldn't leave it up to the individual employee to decide what is 'reasonable',
but rather provide adequate training for all to take away any doubt.
Any human being, whether they like it or not, are expected to assist when and where they can. Especially
in case of emergency. That is not just a moral obligation but also a legal requirement. But the Duty of
Care rule is the most under-rated legal requirement as leaving an accident scene is seldom subject of a
court case against an individual. Nevertheless it is in human nature to put one's own safety first,
especially as the duty of care does not mean that people are expected to provide first-aid. And more often
than not victims are neglected or provided with inadequate first aid because those arriving on the scene
first fail to do what should have been done immediately.
Generally speaking people are always expected to provide basic
assistance, which includes:

•If the person is conscious, you must always get permission before helping.
•Move the person only if the person’s life is endangered.
•Call EMS for professional help.
•Only do what you have been trained to do in a real first aid course offered by a authorized agency.
•Check the person’s airway, breathing, and circulation before providing further care.
•Continue to care for any life-threatening conditions until EMS personnel arrive.
•If the person requiring first aid is a child, seek permission from a parent if they are in the immediate area.
If the parent is not available, you do not need the child’s permission to help.
When a first-aider fails to arrive timeously the person or employer can be prosecuted for neglect. And when
bystanders decide to go out of their way and decide voluntarily to intervene to render assistance, they will assume
a duty of care towards the individual concerned. By starting treatment they accept the responsibility of care. This
will make these persons automatically liable for damages if the negligent intervention directly causes injury
which would not have occurred otherwise or if it exacerbates an injury.
But even if assistance was rendered by a trained first-aider, this person would still be liable of any damages
caused, if it comes out that the condition got worse due to the treatment provide.
Companies should, therefore, consider sending as many employees for first-aid training as possible. Attending an
accredited First Aid training course not only provides them with life saving skills but skills, knowledge and
understanding of current best practices. A First Aid certificate is not a ‘licence to treat’ but it demonstrates that the
candidate, at the time of the course, was able to perform tasks to a nationally recognised standard. By treating a
casualty to these standards you are protecting yourself against a claim of negligence.
Incidents, especially with injured people, always cause a lot of stress and havoc. If First Aid is required, it should
be provided immediately. Employers should not leave it up to the individual employee to decide first what the
possible legal implications could be. Employers should make sure that everybody knows exactly what is required.
Companies always rave about team-spirit, team-work and team-cohesion on the work floor.
Emotional aspects of providing first Aid

Emotional First Aid is the idea that we

take care of emotional injuries when
they occur, so they do not become more
damaging in the long run. When you get
a cut on your finger you put ointment
and a bandage on it to prevent infection.
 Emotional aspects of providing first Aid
We need to learn how to practice emotional first aid. Here are 7 ways to do so:

1) Pay attention to emotional pain — recognize it when it happens and work to treat it before it feels
all-encompassing.
The body evolved the sensation of physical pain to alert us that something is wrong and we need to address
it. The same is true for emotional pain. If a rejection, failure or bad mood is not getting better, it means
you’ve sustained a psychological wound and you need to treat it. For example, loneliness can be
devastatingly damaging to your psychological and physical health, so when you or your friend or loved one
is feeling socially or emotionally isolated, you need to take action.

2) Redirect your gut reaction when you fail.

The nature of psychological wounds makes it easy for one to lead to another. Failure can often drive you to
focus on what you can’t do instead of focusing on what you can. That can then make you less likely to
perform at your best, which will make you even more focused on your shortcomings, and on the cycle goes.
To stop this sort of emotional spiral, learn to ignore the post-failure “gut” reaction of feeling helpless and
demoralized, and make a list of factors that you can control were you to try again. For instance, think about
preparation and planning, and how you might improve each of them. This kind of exercise will reduce
feelings of helplessness and improve your chances of future success.
3) Monitor and protect your self-esteem. When you feel like putting yourself down, take a moment to be
compassionate to yourself.

Self-esteem is like an emotional immune system that buffers you from emotional pain and strengthens your
emotional resilience. As such, it is very important to monitor it and avoid putting yourself down, particularly when
you are already hurting. One way to “heal” damaged self-esteem is to practice self-compassion. When you’re
feeling critical of yourself, do the following exercise: imagine a dear friend is feeling bad about him or herself for
similar reasons and write an email expressing compassion and support. Then read the email. Those are the
messages you should be giving yourself.

4) When negative thoughts are taking over, disrupt them with positive distraction.

When you replay distressing events in your mind without seeking new insight or trying to solve a problem, you’re
just brooding, and that, especially when it becomes habitual, can lead to deeper psychological pain. The best way
to disrupt unhealthy rumination is to distract yourself by engaging in a task that requires concentration (for
example, do a Sudoku, complete a crossword, try to recall the names of the kids in your fifth grade class). Studies
show that even two minutes of distraction will reduce the urge to focus on the negative unhealthily.
5) Find meaning in loss.
Loss is a part of life, but it can scar us and keep us from moving forward if we don’t treat the emotional wounds it
creates. If sufficient time has passed and you’re still struggling to move forward after a loss, you need to introduce
a new way of thinking about it. Specifically, the most important thing you can do to ease your pain and recover is
to find meaning in the loss and derive purpose from it. It might be hard, but think of what you might have gained
from the loss (for instance, “I lost my spouse but I’ve become much closer to my kids”). Consider how you might
gain or help others gain a new appreciation for life, or imagine the changes you could make that will help you live
a life more aligned with your values and purpose.
6) Don’t let excessive guilt linger.
Guilt can be useful. In small doses, it alerts you to take action to mend a problem in your relationship with another
person. But excessive guilt is toxic, in that it wastes your emotional and intellectual energies, distracts you from
other tasks, and prevents you from enjoying life. One of the best ways to resolve lingering guilt is to offer an
effective apology. Yes, you might have tried apologizing previously, but apologies are more complex than we tend
to realize. The crucial ingredient that every effective apology requires — and most standard apologies lack — is an
“empathy statement.” In other words, your apology should focus less on explaining why you did what you did and
more on how your actions (or inactions) impacted the other person. It is much easier to forgive someone when you
feel they truly understand. By apologizing (even if for a second time), the other person is much more likely to
convey authentic forgiveness and help your guilt dissolve.
7) Learn what treatments for emotional wounds work for you.

Pay attention to yourself and learn how you, personally, deal with common emotional wounds. For
instance, do you shrug them off, get really upset but recover quickly, get upset and recover slowly,
squelch your feelings, or …? Use this analysis to help yourself understand which emotional first aid
treatments work best for you in various situations (just as you would identify which of the many
pain relievers on the shelves works best for you). The same goes for building emotional resilience.
Try out various techniques and figure out which are easiest for you to implement and which tend to
be most effective for you. But mostly, get into the habit of taking note of your psychological health
on a regular basis — and especially after a stressful, difficult, or emotionally painful situation.

@Emotional health is one aspect of mental health. It is your ability to cope with both
positive and negative emotions, which includes your awareness of them. Emotionally healthy
people have good coping mechanisms for negative emotions, and they also know when to
reach out to a professional for help.
 Sources:

https://
www.australiawidefirstaid.com.au/resources/what-is-first-aid-why-is-first-aid-i
mportant
https://www.australiawidefirstaid.com.au/resources/what-is-drsabcd

https://www.makrosafe.co.za/blog/legal-aspect-of-first-aid

https://ideas.ted.com/7-ways-to-practice-emotional-first-aid/

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/behavioral-health-partners/bhp-blog/september-
2018/emotional-first-aid.aspx#:~:text=Emotional%20First%20Aid%20is
%20the,on%20it%20to%20prevent%20infection.
Thank you po
and God bless!

To be continued by the next reporter…