Know the signs, start the help
What to do in the minutes before help arrives, from CDC and Ready.gov.
Control heavy bleeding
Have someone call 911 or your local emergency number, then press on the wound and don't let up.
- Find where the blood is coming from
- Put gloves, a cloth or even a plastic bag between your hands and the blood
- Press firmly and steadily on the source, even if it hurts them
- Keep the pressure on until emergency services take over
Spot a stroke fast
Call 911 or your local emergency number at once, and note the time the symptoms started.
- Face: ask them to smile and look for one side drooping
- Arms: ask them to raise both and watch for one drifting down
- Speech: ask them to repeat a simple phrase and listen for slurring
- Don't drive them to hospital yourself. Wait for the ambulance
Recognise a heart attack
Most start with discomfort in the centre or left of the chest that lasts several minutes or comes and goes.
- It can feel like pressure, squeezing or fullness
- Pain can spread to the jaw, neck, back, arms or shoulders
- Shortness of breath, a cold sweat or light-headedness. Women more often also feel tired or sick
- Call 911 or your local emergency number right away
Cool someone with heat stroke
Confusion, slurred speech or collapse in the heat means heat stroke. Call 911 or your local emergency number and start cooling while you wait.
- Move them to shade and take off outer clothing
- Cool with a cold bath, or wet the skin and keep air moving over it
- Put cold packs or cold wet cloths on the head, neck, armpits and groin
- Heavy sweating, dizziness and thirst point to heat exhaustion: get them out of the heat and give small sips of cool water
Warm someone with hypothermia
A body temperature below 95°F is an emergency, so call 911 or your local emergency number.
- Signs: shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, slurred speech, drowsiness
- Move them to a warm room and warm the chest, neck, head and groin first
- Keep them dry and wrapped in blankets, head and neck included
- For frostbite (numb, white or waxy skin), warm it with body heat or warm water, without rubbing it or using a heating pad
Remove a tick
Take it off as soon as you find it, without waiting for a doctor.
- Grip it close to the skin with fine-tipped tweezers
- Pull straight up with steady pressure, no twisting or jerking
- Skip nail polish, petroleum jelly and heat
- Clean the bite, and see a doctor if a rash or fever follows within a few weeks
Stock a family first aid kit
Ready.gov prints the Red Cross list for a family of four. Here is the core of it.
- Two 5 x 9 inch compress dressings, 25 adhesive bandages, gauze pads and roller bandages
- Antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, hydrocortisone and 81 mg aspirin
- Nonlatex gloves, a breathing barrier, an instant cold compress, tweezers and a thermometer
- Then add what your family needs, such as an epinephrine injector or glucose tablets
