First Aid

For heavy bleeding from an arm or leg, call for help and press hard on the wound with a clean cloth, using both hands and your body weight. Don't lift it to check; if it soaks through, add more cloth on top. If the bleeding won't stop, put on a tourniquet 2 to 3 inches above the wound and write down the time.

For a severe allergic reaction, like trouble breathing, throat swelling or faintness, call for help and use their epinephrine auto-injector in the outer thigh right away, even through clothing. Have them lie down, or sit up if breathing is hard. If there's no improvement after 5 to 15 minutes, give a second dose if available.

If someone has a seizure, move hard or sharp objects away and cushion their head, but don't hold them down or put anything in their mouth. Time it, and roll them onto their side once the shaking stops. Call for help if it lasts over 5 minutes, they don't wake up, they're hurt or pregnant, or it's their first seizure.

For a nosebleed, have the person sit up and lean forward, not back, so blood doesn't run down the throat. Pinch the soft part of the nose firmly for 10 to 15 minutes without letting go to check. Get medical help if it's still bleeding after 20 minutes, follows a head injury, or they take blood thinners.

For a burn, hold it under cool running water for a full 20 minutes, and take off rings, watches or tight clothing before swelling starts. Don't use ice, butter or ointments. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean non-stick dressing, and get medical help for burns larger than their palm or on the face, hands, feet or genitals.

If someone in the heat becomes confused, stops making sense, or collapses, treat it as heat stroke and call for help. Move them to shade and cool them fast: soak them with cold water or immerse them, fan hard, and put ice packs on the neck, armpits and groin. Only offer sips of water if they're fully alert and can swallow.

If an adult collapses and isn't breathing normally, call for help and start hands-only CPR: push hard and fast in the center of the chest, at least 2 inches deep, 100 to 120 times a minute. Send someone for an AED and use it as soon as it arrives, following its voice prompts. Keep going until help takes over.

If an adult is choking and can't cough, speak or breathe, call for help and give 5 firm back blows between the shoulder blades, then 5 abdominal thrusts just above the navel. Keep alternating until the object comes out; if they go unresponsive, start CPR. Anyone who got abdominal thrusts should see a doctor afterward.

For heavy bleeding, call for help, then press hard on the wound with a clean cloth and don't lift it to check. If blood soaks through, add more layers on top. If an arm or leg keeps bleeding, put a tourniquet 2 to 3 inches above the wound, tighten it until the bleeding stops, and write down the time.

If someone has trouble breathing, throat tightness, or swelling after a sting, food or medicine, use their epinephrine auto-injector in the outer thigh right away, then call for help. Have them lie down with legs raised, or sit up if breathing is hard. If they aren't better in 5 to 15 minutes, give a second dose if one is available.

During a seizure, don't hold the person down or put anything in their mouth. Clear hard objects away, cushion their head, and time it; call for help if it lasts over five minutes or another follows. When the jerking stops, roll them onto their side and stay with them until they're fully awake.

Spot a stroke with FAST: Face drooping on one side, Arm weakness when both are raised, Speech that is slurred or strange, and Time to call for help right away. Write down the exact time symptoms started, because it guides treatment. Give no food, drink or medicine, including aspirin, unless a dispatcher tells you to.

For a burn, hold it under cool running water for a full 20 minutes, even if help is on the way. Take off rings, watches and tight clothing near it before swelling starts, but leave anything stuck to the skin. Skip ice, butter and creams, then cover it loosely with plastic wrap or a clean, non-fluffy cloth.

Heat stroke is an emergency: hot skin, confusion, slurred speech, or collapse after heat exposure means call for help, then cool them fast. Move them to shade, remove extra clothing, and soak them with cool water while fanning, or pack ice at the neck, armpits and groin. Don't give drinks unless they're fully alert and can swallow.

After a child bumps their head, watch them closely for the next 24 hours. Call for help right away if they vomit more than once, are hard to wake, act confused, have a headache that gets worse, have pupils of different sizes, or have clear fluid coming from the nose or ears. Don't wait to see whether it passes.

If someone choking can still cough hard, let them cough. If they can't cough, speak, or breathe, give five firm back blows between the shoulder blades, then five inward-and-upward thrusts just above the navel, and keep alternating. If they go limp, lower them to the floor, call for help, and start CPR.

Heavy bleeding from an arm or leg: press hard on the wound with a folded cloth and don't lift it to check. If blood soaks through, add more layers on top. If firm pressure doesn't stop spurting or pooling blood, put a tourniquet two to three inches above the wound, tighten it until the bleeding stops, note the time and call for help.

Severe allergic reactions move fast: swelling of the lips or tongue, hives with trouble breathing, or sudden dizziness after a sting or food means use their epinephrine auto-injector in the outer thigh right away, even through clothing, and call for help. A second dose may be needed after five to fifteen minutes if symptoms don't improve.

During a seizure, don't hold the person down or put anything in their mouth. Move hard objects away, cushion their head, and time it. When the jerking stops, roll them onto their side. Call for help if it lasts more than five minutes, another one follows, they were hurt, or they don't wake up.

Suspected stroke is a clock, not a judgment call: check for face droop, arm weakness on one side, or slurred speech, note the exact time symptoms started, and call for help immediately. Don't give food, drink, or aspirin, and don't wait to see if it passes, since treatments only work within a narrow window.

Burns: cool the area under running tap water for a full twenty minutes, not ice, and take off rings or watches before swelling starts. Cover loosely with clean plastic wrap or a dry cloth, skip butter and ointments, and get help for any burn bigger than the person's palm, on the face or hands, or that looks white or leathery.

Heat illness turns dangerous when sweating stops: hot, dry skin plus confusion or fainting means get them into shade, strip extra layers, and cool aggressively with wet cloths and fanning while someone calls for help. Cramps and heavy sweating alone are earlier warnings — rest, shade, and sipped water usually turn those around.

Sprains and suspected fractures get the same first move: stop using the limb, splint it in the position you found it with a rolled magazine or padded board tied above and below the injury, and check that fingers or toes stay warm and pink. Ice wrapped in cloth for twenty minutes helps swelling, but don't try to straighten anything that looks bent.

Choking looks quiet, not dramatic—if someone can't speak, cough, or breathe, give five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades, then five abdominal thrusts, alternating until it clears. For a baby under one, use back blows and chest thrusts instead, never abdominal ones, and call for help if they go limp.

If someone's bleeding hard, press directly on the wound with whatever cloth is closest and keep pressing—don't lift to peek, and don't waste the first minute hunting for sterile gauze. Add layers on top if it soaks through, and if the bleeding won't stop or the wound is spurting, that's a call for help, not a wait-and-see.

Keep a list of what everyone actually takes on hand, but also know which meds are dangerous to stop suddenly—insulin, heart and seizure drugs, blood thinners. If a disruption looks like it will outlast your supply, call the pharmacy early about an emergency refill rather than rationing doses quietly at home.

Write your family's medical basics on a card in the kit: each person's meds and doses, allergies, conditions, and the pharmacy name. In a bad moment you won't recall a dosage, and if you're the one hurt, whoever helps you can read it out to the crew.

Hypothermia hides in wet clothes indoors, not just outside—if a heating outage has someone shivering, confused, or clumsy with their hands, get the wet layers off and dry insulation on, including a hat. Warm sweet drinks help if they're alert enough to swallow; skip alcohol, and handle them gently.

Burns need cool running water for 20 minutes, not ice and not butter—then cover loosely with cling film or a clean non-fluffy cloth. Remove rings and watches before swelling starts, and don't pop blisters. Anything larger than the person's palm, or on the face, hands, or across a joint, gets seen by a clinician.

Practice on your own kit before you need it: open the packaging, feel how the gauze and shears actually work, and let anyone who might be home alone try too. Fumbling with a sealed wrapper is a bad way to spend the first minute of an emergency.

Check your first-aid kit twice a year and note expiry dates: adhesive loses grip, antiseptic wipes dry out, and epinephrine or inhalers expire quietly. Swap in current sizes too—the child bandages and splint you packed three years ago may no longer fit the kid who needs them.

Rinse a chemical splash to the eye with lukewarm water for a full 15 minutes, holding the lid open and letting water run from the inner corner outward so it doesn't wash into the other eye. Take out contacts if you can, keep the product container to show the clinic, and don't try to neutralize acid with anything.

Set a "twenty minutes" limit on any nosebleed: lean forward, pinch the soft part of the nose just below the bone, and breathe through the mouth. If it hasn't stopped by then, or it started after a head injury or blood thinners, get medical care rather than waiting it out.

Keep a real tourniquet in the kit and know the two places it goes: high and tight on the arm or leg, never over a joint. Deep bleeding from a limb that soaks through pressure needs one, and once it's on, write the time and leave it for the crew to remove.

Write down each household member's medicines, doses, allergies, and known conditions on one card in the kit, and update it whenever a prescription changes. If someone can't speak for themselves, that card answers the first questions responders ask—and photos of the actual bottles help even more.

Know when to call for help and don't drive them yourself: sudden face droop, slurred speech, or one-sided arm weakness means note the exact minute symptoms started and call emergency services. Same for crushing chest pain or a first-time seizure. Ambulance crews start treatment on the way; a car ride doesn't.

Learn the pressure points for a burn instead: cool it under cool running water for 20 minutes, and don't use ice, butter, or ointment. Cover loosely with cling film or a clean non-fluffy cloth, and remove rings or watches near the area before swelling starts.

Learn how much pressure a real bleed takes: press hard with a clean cloth directly on the wound and hold without peeking for a full ten minutes by the clock. Peeking restarts the clot. If blood soaks through, add another layer on top rather than pulling the first one off, and get help for anything spurting or gaping.

Practice one drill with your household this month: everyone finds the kit in the dark, and each adult can name where the gloves are and how to open the packaging with cold hands. Skills you've only read about disappear under stress; the ten minutes you spend now is the difference between fumbling and helping.

Rinse an eye splash immediately: hold the lid open and pour lukewarm water from the inner corner outward for 15 minutes, and never rub. Take out contacts once you start, keep rinsing on the way to care, and know what the chemical was.

Check your first-aid kit twice a year: adhesive bandages and tape lose their stick, antiseptic wipes dry out in the packet, and elastic bandages go brittle. Write the earliest expiration date on the outside of the bag so you can see at a glance when it's due, and swap out anything sized for a child who's outgrown it.

Keep a paper copy of poison-control and emergency numbers in the kit, and don't induce vomiting or give anything by mouth unless a professional tells you to. If a child swallows something, bring the container or a photo of the label with you—knowing the exact product and strength changes the treatment.

If someone is choking and can't cough, speak, or breathe, give five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, then five abdominal thrusts just above the navel—alternate until the object clears. If they go limp and unresponsive, start CPR and call for help.

If someone is unconscious but breathing, roll them onto their side in the recovery position: this keeps the airway open and lets vomit drain instead of choking them. Tilt the head back slightly, and keep checking that they're still breathing until help arrives.

For a burn, run cool (not icy) water over it for a full 20 minutes—longer than feels necessary—then cover loosely with cling film or a clean non-fluffy cloth. Skip ice, butter, and toothpaste; they trap heat or cause infection. Any burn bigger than the person's palm, or on the face or hands, needs medical care.

Learn to stop severe bleeding: press hard directly on the wound with a clean cloth and keep steady pressure for at least 10 uninterrupted minutes—don't peek. Stock a few compressed gauze rolls, and if you keep a tourniquet, get hands-on training so you can place it correctly under stress.

Write each family member's allergies, conditions, medications, and doses on a card in the kit. In a crisis you won't want to rely on memory.

Welcome to First Aid. Keep at least a 7-day supply of any prescription medication, and know which ones need refrigeration and your plan if the power's out.

A first aid kit is only as good as the person using it. If you do one thing this month, take a basic first aid and CPR class.