First Aid Response

We hope you have put on rubber gloves, and now you need to check in places where serious bleeding might be hidden, such as inside a heavy coat or underneath the person. If you find serious bleeding you need to grab something bulky, like a shirt or jacket, and press it directly on the wound until the bleeding stops. Sometimes it takes ten minutes or more for bleeding to stop, but if you press hard enough, for long enough, this direct pressure will work.

One more important thing: People who have fallen from a ladder or tree, crashed in an airplane, or have been in an accident in which they hit their head very hard, may have broken their necks.

A person with a broken neck may have been left unconscious by the accident, but not always. Almost all of the time, if you think someone may have broken his or her neck, you should keep that person from moving. But sometimes people have to be moved for their own safety. Later in this book we'll talk about safe ways to move people.

1. Stop and think. Is everything and everyone as safe as possible?

2. Carry disposable rubber gloves and a pocket rescue mask.

3. Do a Primary Survey: Airway? Breathing? Circulation?

4. Put direct pressure on serious bleeding.

5. Keep the victim still if you suspect a broken neck.