Basic First Aid Guide: Helping Patients Before Things Become Too Serious

Having a basic first aid guide on hand that provides information regarding all of the essential points covering how to give first aid to patients prior to the arrival of a qualified medical healthcare giver is very important. In fact, you will have to learn about the basic principles of giving first aid and know when as well as how to give such first aid, and to also understand your own limitations with regard to your own knowledge of first aid sot that you act within your limits and thus minimize chances of further complicating the patient's condition.

American Red Cross

It is in fact highly recommended that you know all about first aid methods as laid out by the American Red Cross (for example) or any other recognized first aid agency so that you know about best techniques as well as procedures. Having a basic first aid guide is the first step that you must take though at the same time you also need to be aware of the fact that many of the procedures and techniques mentioned in a basic first aid guide may be different from those provided by the American Red Cross. You would thus need to learn about modifications that need to be made that will help tailor your first aid procedure to fit with the patient's condition.

A basic first aid guide will also show you how to select a proper first aid kit that must include essential items and which must be sturdy as well as light in weight while still is big enough to contain all the essential items and which must also be readily visible so that taking out the required items is quick and convenient. What's more, you can use the information provided in the basic first aid guide to show you how to refill the spent items as well as know how to place the kit in a convenient location.

With regard to contents of a first aid kit, a basic first aid guide should be able to provide advice to you about essential items that must include items such as a bar of soap, two inch roller bandages, one inch roller bandage, one inch adhesive, three by three inch sterile pads, triangular bandages, assorted gauze pads as well as adhesive strips, scissors, sunburn lotions and a whole lot more.

Besides using a basic first aid guide to show you the correct way of providing first aid, there is also need to have access to an emergency first aid guide which will help you understand how to deal with situations that obviously are a lot more serious and which require special handling.

In addition, you can also learn from a basic first aid guide how to avoid contracting communicable diseases and how to use latex or plastic goggles, or eye protection as well as antiseptic in order to provide proper first aid to patients that are bleeding.