I've always been fascinated by first aid but working in medical was never my dream. I'm looking for reading materials/resources to teach myself the cornerstones of first aid.

I only wish I had the time/money to take the EMT courses at the local community college, but if I'm only trying to keep myself alive in a pinch while camping or hiking, a certificate won't do much good

I'm curious about the barriers people face when it comes to learning first-aid. Is it a lack of time, resources, interest, or something else entirely? What do you think are the main factors preventing more people from acquiring these essential skills?

EMR here and volunteer firefighter - looking for options for further training.

I recently bought a 5 star reviewed tourniquet from Amazon. I was aware these are fake, and just wanted them for practice. When I used it for practice, I found out the many flaws it had. It would be unusable in an actual situation, however, they marketed it as a real tourniquet for use in actual situations. This inspired me to make this post.

https://www.narescue.com/combat-application-tourniquet-c-a-t

This is the US military issued tourniquet, and almost every EMS/Fire/Police/S&R etc agency uses these.

If you're not buying directly from NAR, be careful for fraudsters selling cheap chinese ones, while advertising them as the real deal.

NAR Tourniquets are trusted to work. Cheap Chinese ones aren't. Don't cheap out, don't put your life in the hands of chinese companies that make tourniquets for $5 on eBay.

Hi Redditors,

I am conducting user research for an upcoming app design focused on first aid, and I would greatly appreciate your insights and experiences. My goal is to understand the general public's familiarity with basic first aid procedures and the challenges they face when applying this knowledge in real-life situations.

Here are a few questions I'd love to get your input on:

1. Do you know basic first aid procedures (e.g., CPR, treating wounds, handling burns)?

2. How confident are you in performing first aid in an emergency situation?

3. Have you ever had to administer first aid? If so, what challenges did you face?

4. What resources or features do you think would be most helpful in a first aid app?

5. Are there any specific scenarios or types of injuries you feel least prepared to handle?

Context: I am in the process of designing an app that aims to provide comprehensive and easy-to-follow first aid instructions. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping me create a tool that effectively supports people in emergency situations.

Thank you all in advance for your time and insights!

You're making fries when suddenly oil jumps from the fan, and lands on your leg, your burn is painful and is blistering. What do you do?

(To identify burns, you can use a burn chart. https://imgur.com/9O8nNMD) First degree burns

First degree burns are the most minor of burns. Pretty much just some redness where you got burned.

To treat:

• Apply petroleum jelly or aloe vera to the area.

• Protect the area of the burn, don't pick at it.

Second-degree burns

Second-degree burns are major, They can be identified by the blistering they cause.

To treat:

• Pour cold, running water over the wound for 10-15 minutes.

• (Pro tip: You can use milk, cola and orange juice if you have no water.)

• Take pain medications.

• Apply antibiotic cream to the blisters.

• Cover the wound with loose gauze

• Go to the ER if needed.

Go to the ER if the burn covers the:

• face

• hands

• buttocks

• groin

• feet

This rule is for all burns, including 1st degree.

Third-degree burns:

Never attempt to treat a 3rd-degree burn.

• Call 911.

• Raise the injury above the heart.

• Remove any stuck clothing.

• Protect the victim from wind, rain, debris, etc..

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, I'm always here

Hey I want to have a big first aid kit in my home in case anything happen but don’t know where to start can you help me ?

Ps: sorry for the grammar English isn’t my native language

Should we have Pseudoephedrine at home? Should we have a Asthmanefri? What would you have if you couldnt take your family member to the hospital immediately?

Are you really going to use 100 anti-diarrheal pills withen 1 year?

Get travel sized drugs, you'll only get what you'll need, most travel-sized pills come in bottles of ~10.

• They run around 1-2$ in the USA.

• When they expire, you won't be throwing away 97 pills away.

• It reduces the weight of your med kit.

• You'll save money.

Sad Fact:

Over 610,000 people die of heart disease in the united states every year. That means 1 out of 4 deaths (25% of all deaths) are caused by heart disease.

Heart attacks are caused by clots in the heart.

The symptoms of a heart attack.

• Pain above the waist/hip

• Discomfort above the waist/hip

• Sweating

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Heartburn

• Nausea

• Anxiety

• Shortness of breath

• Weakness

The First Aid

• Sit down the victim on a chair, Call 911. (You want to reduce strain on the heart.)

• Give 4 low dose, chewable aspirin. (~325mg) (Aspirin thins the blood so the blood can go around the clot.)

• Prepare to give CPR if pulse (heartbeat) or breathing stops.

It's still a work-in-progress as I haven't gotten everything I need so far but I have most of it!

Here's the list:

• First-aid manual

• Sterile gauze pads (various sizes)

• Adhesive bandages (Band-Aids) ((various sizes))

• Adhesive tape (waterproof)

• Elastic bandages

• Aluminum finger splint(s)

• Antiseptic wipes/towelettes

• Antiseptic solution/disinfectant (hydrogen peroxide)

• Disposable non-latex gloves

• N95/surgical masks

• Instant cold packs

• Cotton balls & cotton tipped swabs (Q-tips)

• Eye pad(s)

• Sterile eyewash saline

• Syringe/medicine spoon

• Bulb suction device/turkey baster

• Thermometer

• Safety pins (assorted sizes)

• Scissors

• Tweezers

• Needles

• Duct tape

• Soap

• Hand sanitizer

• Antibiotic ointment (Neosporin)

• Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)

• Calamine lotion

• Hydrocortisone cream

• Anti-diarrhea medication (Imodium)

• Anti-nausea medication

• Laxatives/stool softener

• Antacids

• Antihistamine (Benadryl)

• OTC pain relievers - acetaminophen (Tylenol) & Ibuprofen (Advil)

• Aspirin

• Nasal decongestant

• Orajel

• Cough drops

• Aloe vera gel

• Sun block

• Extra prescription medication

Any feedback is welcome and would be helpful!

Is this overkill?

One of the items I don't have yet is the first-aid manual - where's the best place to get a practical and thorough manual?

Also I'd love some discussion on efficient storage (this takes up way more space than I'd like!) if anyone has any advice on that front.

They can have very valuable information on it. EG: Blood type, Medical history, Any illnesses, etc.

One example is seizures.

A man is having a seizure. From my previous post, you remember sometimes you don't need to call 911. You check for a medical bracelet, and they have one. You find out they have a history of seizures, knowing this, you don't call 911. 3 minutes later, the man's seizure stops.

There can be more information, such as a history of heart attacks, you can use this information to pin point the issue.

These are just some examples of how great medical bracelets are.

Thank you for reading! Please comment if you'd like to see more pro tips.