What are the contents and requirements of basic first aid skills?

Ensure your own safety first, and then prioritize dealing with fatal problems.

When I was working as a first aid science popularization volunteer in the community, I met too many people who thought that first aid was a matter for doctors and it would be useless for ordinary people to learn it. This is really not the case. Last year, an uncle at the convenience store downstairs in the community suddenly had a heart attack and fainted. There happened to be a college student next to him who had just passed the first aid certificate. He went up and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for four minutes. By the time 120 arrived, the uncle had already recovered his heartbeat. If he had waited for 120 to arrive, the golden 4 minutes would have passed long ago, and the National People's Congress would not be able to save him. Many people now know that CPR requires pressing the midpoint between the two nipples, with a depth of 5 to 6 centimeters, and a frequency of 100 to 120 times a minute, but they are still afraid of breaking their ribs. In fact, many places in the country now have "good guy laws" to support them.

When it comes to the treatment of daily minor injuries, there is still a lot of controversy. For example, the older generation always says that you should apply toothpaste and soy sauce when you are burned. They think that the coolness can relieve the pain. However, in clinical practice, we have encountered many patients who come to the doctor with toothpaste. Firstly, the mint and additives in the toothpaste may stimulate the wound and aggravate infection. Secondly, during subsequent debridement, the adhesive on the wound must be removed. Cleaning off the toothpaste will only make you suffer more. Some people think that for small burns, just rinse with cold water for one or two minutes. It is not necessary to rinse for 15 minutes. In fact, the continuous rinse with running cold water is to take away the residual warmth from the deep layers of the skin and prevent the residual temperature from continuing to damage the tissue. Unless it is a large-scale deep burn, you cannot rinse casually. For small-scale shallow burns, it is best to rinse for enough time according to the regulations.

There is also the Heimlich maneuver for foreign objects stuck in the throat. My best friend took her 3-year-old son to an amusement park before. The child swallowed half a QQ candy while the adults were not paying attention and rolled her eyes. She had practiced it twice before in the community science class. She vomited out the candy after holding the baby and pressing the shock method three times. If she had to wait to be driven to the hospital, it would take at least 20 minutes. I really can’t imagine the consequences. As for wound hemostasis, the requirements are actually not complicated. Don’t just cover the wound with a dirty cloth. Just press the proximal end of the heart for bleeding arteries. If you use a rubber band or a tourniquet to tighten it, be sure to remember the time and loosen it for 1 minute every 40 minutes or so. During my previous emergency rotation, I met an older brother who cut off his finger while doing farm work. He used a rubber band to tighten it for more than two hours before he came to the hospital. The finger was almost necrotic from ischemia. It was a small wound and almost required amputation in the end. It was a pity.

At this point, someone may ask, I am not a professional, what should I do if I can’t remember so many details? In fact, you really don’t need to be a medical professional. It’s enough to remember “call 120 first and then deal with it.” Now 120 dispatchers have received first-aid guidance training. If you clearly explain the scene situation and follow the dispatcher’s instructions step by step, you will basically not make a big mistake. The most taboo thing is to perform blind operations, such as pinching the person's middle when you encounter a fainted person, or giving Suxiao Jiuxin Pills. If the person has a cerebral hemorrhage, giving the medicine will cause choking and suffocation. Don't help an elderly person who has fallen casually. If you injure the cervical spine, moving around may directly cause paraplegia. These are the core "pitfall avoidance" requirements in basic first aid.

Many friends around me got their first aid certificate after just two hours of studying in our popular science class. There is really no threshold. To put it bluntly, learning these basic skills is equivalent to installing an extra layer of safety insurance for family and friends around you, which can really save lives at critical times.