First aid is the immediate care given to someone who’s ill or injured before emergency medical services (EMS) arrive on the scene. World First Aid Day was established by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 2000. 

Significance 

World First Aid Day is celebrated every year on the second Saturday of September. The main objective was to promote training and awareness of first aid so that every individual can act as a Red Cross activist saving lives around the globe. The profound organisation was first instituted to provide first aid services to people. 

As history dates back to 1859 when a young businessman, Henry Dunant, saw the carnage at the battle of Solferino which was horrifying and thus, later on, his book titled 'Memoirs of Solferino' spoke about Dunant’s idea of running an independent establishment to provide care to the wounded soldiers. It later encouraged the formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Dunant became the co-founder of the Red Cross. His discoveries state that human suffering is universal and that first aid is very important, be it during war or during road and household accidents. In addition to scenarios that involve no breathing or heartbeat, there are other life-threatening conditions that require immediate medical attention. These include but aren’t limited to situations where a person is unconscious, has trouble breathing, is bleeding heavily, or has severe burns.

In an emergency, prompt first aid can be vital in helping to save a life. When you’re faced with an emergency, there are some important things to remember as you give first aid. These are often referred to as the “ABCs of first aid.” 

It consist of three different components. Let’s explore each one in more detail.

A = Airway A blocked airway can hamper a person’s ability to breathe. You can help open someone’s airway by doing the following: Place one hand on the person’s forehead. Gently tilt their head back. While tilting their head, use two fingers from your other hand to carefully raise their chin.

B = Breathing Breathing supplies the body with life-giving oxygen and it’s crucial to determine whether someone is living or not by doing the following : 

To determine if a person is breathing normally, take these steps: Place your ear directly above the person’s mouth while looking down at their body.

Check for the following signs of breathing: the sound of their breaths the feeling of their breath on your cheek their chest moving up and down Continue to do this for no more than 10 seconds. You can perform rescue breaths on someone who isn’t breathing. This helps you temporarily breathe for the other person. Rescue breaths, along with chest compressions, are given.

C = Circulation/Compression While breathing enriches the blood with oxygen, it’s the beating of the heart that delivers this oxygen throughout the body. When organs and tissues don’t receive enough oxygen, they can begin to die. 

If you find that a person isn’t breathing, chest compressions are vital for restoring blood circulation in the body.

However, as per the updated guidelines, it’s important to perform them in this order: 

  • Circulation/ compressions 
  • Airway 
  • Breathing 

The ‘D’ of first aid Sometimes you may see an additional letter associated with the ABCs of first aid. This letter is D. It can mean a few different things: 

Deadly bleeding - Check to see whether the person has severe bleeding. If you notice that they’re bleeding badly, call for help or your local emergency services, and apply pressure to the wound until help arrives.

Defibrillation - This step involves using an electrical current to restore a normal heartbeat in someone who’s in cardiac arrest. It’s often done using a device called an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Disability -  Check for any noticeable injuries or disabilities associated with the person’s current condition. Additionally, check their level of responsiveness to things like voices or pain.

CPR is a first aid technique that’s closely associated with the ABCs. It consists of giving cycles of chest compressions and rescue breaths. 

Earlier celebrations on World First Aid Day included to discuss the importance of first aid, emergency numbers and the essential things one must keep in a first aid kit with your children. One should be willing to learn first aid and spread information about its importance whenever one can. You can save a life.

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