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First-Aid Guide

First aid is not treatment. It is what keeps somebody alive and stops things getting worse in the minutes before trained help arrives. Every procedure here starts the same way: make sure you are safe, then send for help.

Reviewed by Dr. Mohan Gayenlast reviewed

Call for emergency help FIRST — the number for your country is in the red panel just below — or send somebody else to call while you begin. Reading a page is not a substitute for a hands-on first-aid course, and you should take one.

In an emergency, call now. India: 112 · ambulance 108

Numbers are listed for 55 countries and can change — if your country is not here, or you are not sure, 112 reaches emergency services across the European Union and works from a mobile in much of the world. Do not drive yourself.

Before anything else

  1. 1Check that you are safeTraffic, fire, electricity, gas, water, an aggressive person. You cannot help anybody if you become the second casualty.
  2. 2Check for a responseSpeak loudly and shake the shoulders gently. In a baby, tap the sole of the foot — never shake a baby.
  3. 3Send for helpPoint at a specific person and tell them to call. "Someone call an ambulance" often results in nobody calling. Ask for a defibrillator (AED) if there might be one nearby.
  4. 4Open the airwayTilt the head back gently with one hand on the forehead and lift the chin with two fingers. Look, listen and feel for normal breathing for no more than ten seconds. Occasional gasping is NOT normal breathing.

Someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally — CPR

  1. 1Start chest compressionsHeel of one hand in the centre of the chest, the other hand on top, fingers interlocked. Arms straight, shoulders directly above your hands.
  2. 2Push hard and fastPress down 5–6 cm in an adult, at 100–120 compressions a minute — about two per second. Let the chest come all the way back up between compressions.
  3. 3If you are trained and willing, add rescue breaths30 compressions to 2 breaths. If you are not trained, or unwilling, DO COMPRESSIONS ONLY AND DO NOT STOP. Compression-only CPR saves lives and is far better than doing nothing.
  4. 4Use a defibrillator as soon as one arrivesSwitch it on and follow the spoken instructions exactly. It will not shock a heart that does not need it.
  5. 5Do not stopContinue until emergency services take over, the person starts breathing normally, or you are too exhausted to continue. Swap with somebody else every two minutes if you can.

Choking — the person cannot speak, cough or breathe

  1. 1If they can cough, let them coughA forceful cough is more effective than anything you can do. Encourage it and stay with them.
  2. 2If the cough is silent or ineffective — five back blowsLean them well forward. Give five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, checking after each one.
  3. 3Then five abdominal thrustsStand behind, arms around the upper abdomen, fist just above the navel, other hand over it, and pull sharply inwards and upwards. Check after each thrust.
  4. 4Alternate until it clears or they collapseFive back blows, five thrusts, repeat. If they become unresponsive, start CPR.
  5. 5In a baby under one yearNever use abdominal thrusts. Five back blows face-down along your forearm, then five CHEST thrusts with two fingers on the breastbone, face-up. Call for help immediately.

Severe bleeding

  1. 1Press directly on the woundUse a clean cloth or dressing, or your gloved hand. Firm, continuous pressure — do not keep lifting it to look.
  2. 2Keep pressingIf blood soaks through, add another dressing ON TOP. Do not remove the first one; you will pull the clot away with it.
  3. 3Raise the injured part if you canAbove the level of the heart, if doing so does not cause more harm.
  4. 4Do not remove an embedded objectPad around it and press either side. Pulling it out can start bleeding that was being plugged.
  5. 5Lie them down and keep them warmWatch for pale, cold, clammy skin and rapid breathing — signs of shock. Keep talking to them.

Burns and scalds

  1. 1Cool with running water for 20 minutesCool running tap water, as soon as possible, for a full twenty minutes. This is the single most effective thing you can do and it still helps up to three hours later.
  2. 2Remove clothing and jewellery near the burnUnless it is stuck to the skin — then leave it.
  3. 3Cover loosely with cling film or a clean non-fluffy clothLengthways, not wrapped tightly around a limb.
  4. 4Never apply ice, toothpaste, butter, oil, ash or haldiThey trap heat, cause further injury and make the burn harder to assess and to clean.
  5. 5Seek medical careFor any burn bigger than the person’s palm, any burn on the face, hands, feet, genitals or a joint, any deep or white or charred burn, any electrical or chemical burn, and any burn in a child or older person.

Fits (seizures)

  1. 1Do not restrain them and do not put anything in the mouthYou cannot swallow your tongue. Putting objects or fingers in the mouth breaks teeth and fingers.
  2. 2Protect the headCushion it, move furniture away, and loosen anything tight around the neck. Note the time the fit started.
  3. 3When the shaking stops, put them on their sideThe recovery position keeps the airway clear. Stay with them until they are fully alert and reorientated.
  4. 4Call an ambulance ifThe fit lasts more than five minutes, another follows without recovery, it is their first ever fit, they are injured, they are pregnant or diabetic, or they do not regain consciousness.

Suspected heart attack

  1. 1Call an ambulance immediatelyDo not drive them and do not let them drive. An ambulance can begin treatment on the way and takes them straight to the right place.
  2. 2Sit them down and keep them stillHalf-sitting, leaning back, knees bent is usually the most comfortable. Loosen tight clothing. Keep them calm.
  3. 3Aspirin, if it is safeIf they are conscious, able to swallow, and NOT allergic to aspirin and not told to avoid it, a single 300 mg aspirin chewed slowly is standard advice. If in any doubt, wait for the ambulance and tell them.
  4. 4Be ready to start CPRIf they become unresponsive and stop breathing normally, begin chest compressions.

Heat stroke

  1. 1Recognise itHot skin, a temperature above about 40 °C, and CONFUSION, drowsiness or a fit. Confusion is what separates heat stroke from ordinary heat exhaustion, and it is an emergency.
  2. 2Move them somewhere cool and call for helpOut of the sun, indoors or into shade. Remove outer clothing.
  3. 3Cool them aggressivelyCool water over the skin, wet cloths, fanning, ice packs to the neck, armpits and groin. Cooling fast is the treatment.
  4. 4Give fluids only if fully alertNever give drinks to someone who is drowsy or confused — they may choke.

Snake bite

  1. 1Get to a hospital with antivenom, fastThis is the only treatment. Nothing done at the scene substitutes for it.
  2. 2Keep the person and the limb stillImmobilise the bitten limb roughly as you would a fracture, and keep it at or below heart level. Movement speeds venom spread.
  3. 3Remove rings, bangles and watchesSwelling can be severe and fast.
  4. 4Do NOT cut, suck, apply a tight tourniquet, use ice, or give electric shocksEvery one of these is traditional, none of them works, and all of them cause harm. Do not try to catch the snake — a photograph from a safe distance is enough.

This is general health information for education, not medical advice, and not a diagnosis. It cannot see you, your history, your allergies or your medicines. Never use it to start, stop or change a treatment, and never let it delay you seeking care. If you are worried about symptoms, speak to a qualified doctor; if they are severe or sudden, seek emergency help.

Where this comes from: Consolidated from widely published basic life support and first-aid guidance. It is not a substitute for a hands-on certified first-aid course, which is the only way to actually learn these.

Where this is written from: This site is written from Indian clinical practice. Drug availability and brand names, vaccination schedules, national health programmes and some reference cut-offs differ between countries — a schedule or a threshold that is standard here may not be standard where you are. If you are reading outside India, check anything on this page against your own country’s guidance before you act on it.

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What to do in the first few minutes, before help arrives.

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