First Aid and Safety at Home

Although we often think of our homes as safe sanctuaries, in reality, we can still succumb to a vast number of dangerous and scary injuries there. Adults, children, and even pets are all susceptible to burns, cuts, wounds, choking, broken bones, and poisoning. While we can certainly take steps to prevent these hazards from occurring in the first place, it is equally important to be well versed in recognizing the symptoms and knowing how to treat them. There are three main goals of first aid: to prevent death, avoid additional injury or worsening conditions, and begin healing and recovery. For minor events, proper sterilization, treatment, and dressing can help to ward off infections and promote effective healing. In more serious cases, it is best to call emergency medical services right away and administer first aid while waiting for them. This can range from determining the victim’s state of consciousness to stabilizing them, cleaning wounds, stopping bleeding, inducing vomiting, and more. Every home should have a fully stocked first aid kit, with instructions on how to use the various items. Members of the household should learn the different first aid techniques and practice them at least a few times a year. There are thousands of cases recorded every year where worsened conditions or death were successfully avoided through effective first aid administered at home. A great way to initially learn first aid procedures is to join a local course. The Red Cross offers such courses in every state. After this, it is fairly easy to review the basics through online courses or instructional guides. Have a look at some of these resources to get started.

Burns

• Causes of Burns – Burns can be caused by chemical substances, electric shocks, radiation, or thermal sources.
• Burn Symptoms – Burn symptoms often include blisters, varying degrees of pain, redness, and swelling, among others.
• Treating Burns – Learn how to treat first, second, and third degree burns.
• Burn Assessment – Use a chart to assess the degree of the burn and treat it accordingly.
• Burn Facts and Symptoms – It is important to know all the facts of burns in order to treat them properly.

Choking

• Choking First Aid – Review important refresher points on how to resuscitate a choking victim.
• Heimlich Maneuver – Learn how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on an adult, child, or infant.
• Choking Victims – Find out how to respond correctly to a conscious or unconscious choking victim.
• Café Coronary – Choking incidents can sometimes be confused with heart attacks to casual onlookers.
• A Guide to Choking – This guide reviews common choking hazards, symptoms, prevention tips, and treatment.

Minor Cuts and Wounds

• Minor Wounds in Children – Read about how to attend to children’s minor cuts and wounds and when to see a doctor for more serious injuries.
• Super Glue and Minor Cuts – Despite the common lore, it is inadvisable to use super glue as a sealant for cuts and wounds.
• Treating Cuts and Wounds – Use these easy steps to treat cuts, scrapes, wounds, and burns.
• Cleaning and Wrapping Wounds – This instructional guide outlines steps on disinfecting and dressing minor wounds.
• Cuts, Scrapes, and Scratches (PDF) – Use a handy reference sheet to treat minor injuries at home.

Poisoning

• Pesticide Poisoning – Learn to recognize the symptoms and severity of pesticide poisoning.
• Food Poisoning – Consuming plenty of neutral fluids is the key to treating non-severe food poisoning.
• Alcohol Poisoning – Knowing how to test a person for alcohol poisoning can help get them to a hospital in time if necessary.
• Poisoning Treatments (PDF) – Find out how to treat cases of inhaled or swallowed poison, as well as poison on the skin or eyes.
• How to Treat Poisoning – Most poisoning cases require emergency medical services as soon as possible.

Broken Bones

• Types of Fractures – Bones can break in a number of different ways.
• Bone Fractures and Dislocation – First aid for broken or dislocated bones is administered in the same way.
• Stress Fractures – Stress fractures commonly occur during sports or intensive physical activity.
• Treating Fractures (PPT) – In emergency situations, it may be necessary to dress a fracture wound and create a makeshift splint to prevent further fracturing.
• Fracture First Aid – Learn how to immobilize broken bones and reduce bleeding and swelling until professional medical help is available.

CPR Training

• Hands-Only CPR (PDF) – CPR for adults experiencing a sudden collapse is best administered without mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
• CPR Manual (PDF) – This in-depth manual from the Red Cross covers all aspects of CPR.
• Guide to CPR (PPT) – This slideshow is a good refresher on the main points of CPR.
• Learning CPR – Find out why, how, and where to learn CPR.
• CPR Practice Sheet (PDF) – This list is an excellent guide for who are not well versed in CPR.

by Sarah Kelly.