Category: First aid blog

Abdominal pain can be a result of many conditions. In first aid, it is important is to decide when the condition is serious and time-critical. This is a difficult judgment because there are many...

Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) which causes sudden cardiac arrest. In this first aid blog post we will discuss what ventricular fibrillation is and the first aid treatment. In order...

A pneumothorax occurs when air is in the chest cavity (thorax) but outside the lung. The resulting changes in pressure can cause the lung to collapse. When people talk about a “collapsed lung”, they...

The recovery position is used to protect the airway of an unconscious patient. If a patient is unconscious and lying on their back, there is a risk of the airway becoming blocked due to...

Aortic Dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency that all first aiders and first responders should consider. In this first aid blog post we will cover how to spot the warning signs of aortic dissection...

The skeletal system of the human body is a vastly underrated structure. Without it, we would be unable to stand, move or live. But what exactly are the functions of the skeleton? In this first...

Leukemias are cancers that affect the bone marrow, where blood cells are made. They occur when abnormal white blood cells multiply rapidly and spill into the blood stream. Left untreated, these leukemia cells crowd...

In this first aid blog post we will take a closer look at dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. What is Dementia? Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of...

The ‘FAST’ test is a well-known tool used to identify the key warning signs of a stroke. A stroke is a life-threatening emergency that occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted....

Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death worldwide. Everyone should know how to help a drowning victim. So what should you do if you encounter someone that’s drowning? Firstly, look after...

Approximately 7,000 people drown annually, making drowning the third-leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Drowning is an important topic for first aiders and first responders to know about. Freshwater drownings are...

Carbon Monoxide is a deadly, odorless, gas. In this first aid blog post, we will look closer at carbon monoxide and why it is regarded as the ‘silent killer’. Carbon monoxide is a by-product...

In cases of electrical burns, damage is caused by electricity entering the body and traveling through the tissues. Injury results from the effects of the electricity on the function of the body organs and...

Burns are characterized, based on the depth of tissue damage and skin response, as superficial (first degree), partial thickness (second degree), or full-thickness (third-degree). Superficial burns result in only minor tissue damage to the...