First aid

About a thought triggered when i came to know about a program on NatGeo called 'Be Emergency Ready'. Irrfan Khan hosts it (Paan Singh Tomar fame)

Why First-aid: because emergency in any form, can strike anyone, anytime? Correct.

From the above question and its commonly known answer, it seems we all, at some level, understand why we need the knowledge of first-aid. The reason we don’t make efforts to gain it is because no one made us understand the correct and complete answers to the rest of the questions. Let me tell you what I am talking about.

So, what is first-aid? Well, it is the knowledge and its implementation about what to do when a dear one or any stranger is injured or an illness befalls suddenly and there is still time for the professional help to arrive. Right, but is it just about what to do?

What does first-aid do? It promotes recovery and preserves life. Just that?

Who is it for? For the person who is stricken with an emergency. For that person only?

It is the answers to these questions that I thought I knew before my emergency made me realize how little I really knew about First-aid. I am going to try answering them now.

What is First aid- Of course it is the knowledge and implementation of primary care which is essential for an injured or an ill person. But what we ignore here, is in fact the most important aspect of first-aid, which is the understanding about what NOT to do. This is because more harm is caused by Doing something wrong than by Not Doing anything.

What does first-aid do- Apart from promoting recovery and preserving life, what it does is reassure, in the form of the person who is providing the first-aid, that the patient is going to be fine. This reassurance will automatically be reflected in the firstaider’s knowledge about all elements of first-aid. (about what to do as well as what Not to do).

Who is it for- Trust me, it is for Everyone. I agree, in all humility, that it is after all a skill and requires specialized training (for example, there is a specialized First-aid training for nurses, hospital staff and ambulance staff). But all of us can surely and easily understand the simpler things required to be ready for an emergency befalling a known or an unknown person.

I would love to be wrong but I worry that a lot of us, especially in India, don't even realize the importance of knowing first aid... No?

Author's Note

While you are still pondering over the question (I hope you are), you might wanna visit this link and read the post about a Book on 'GENERAL KNOWLEDGE of FIRST-AID' : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyondpen/506476466065274

Reviews

[Rogue]

Alright, this made me stop and think. I will be honest, we had a six weeks first aid and CPR course my third year in high school. Except for the CPR, I don't remember much of it anymore. I am thinking in my case a refresher course is in order.

This is a very thoughtful and well written piece.

[beyondpen]

Thanks Rogue! Here in India we don't have such trainings in every school. Good for you that you had one in yours. Well, all the best with your refresher course :) And for your revisions, you could visit my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyondpen/506476466065274
Each day I post some or the other first-aid technique on it, trying to make it fun at the same time :)