Legal Issues Surrounding First Aid

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Term Paper Title	Legal Issues Surrounding First Aid
# of Words	1694
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.78

Legal Issues Surrounding First Aid

First aid is the initial care given to a sick or injured person before more formal medical
assistance is applied.  The goal of first aid is to intervene actively to prevent further
damage, to provide life support, and to begin effective treatment of the victim's
condition, to minimize injury and prevent death.  Although first aid is not a substitute for
medical care, those trained in first aid are able to assess the nature and the extent of an
emergency and determine the best course of action to take until professional medical
help arrives.
   The need for training in first aid is evident, considering that injury is the fourth leading
cause of death.  Falls are the most common cause of injury, but motor vehicle accidents
are the most lethal, accounting for 22 percent of injury deaths.
   An important thing to know when dealing with a first aid situation is to be up to date as
far as procedures are concerned.  Procedures like slapping a choking person on the back,
putting iodine on a wound, cutting an X on a snake bite, putting ointment on burns, or
using a tourniquet to stop bleeding are old, out dated procedures and have been replaced
by new ones from the Red Cross association.  If you decide to administer first aid, be sure
you are familiar with current procedures.
   First aid begins with a scene survey.  Before approaching a victim, a survey of the area
is necessary to determine if conditions surrounding the incident may place the victim and
the rescuer in danger.  Next, the primary survey will determine if lifesaving procedures
must be immediately performed to save the victim's life.  The primary survey involves
checking the ABC's:  A:  Is the airway opened and the victim's neck stabilized?  B:  Is the
patient breathing?  C:  Is the victim's blood circulating?  Is there a pulse?  Or is there
active bleeding?
   Lifesaving procedures include cardiopulmonary resuscitation , which may be needed to
provide basic life support when a victim has no pulse and is not breathing.  The Heimlich
maneuver aids choking victims by forcing ejection of obstructing material from the
windpipe.  The severity of spinal cord injuries has decreased 30-45 percent due to
awareness that the neck must be stabilized before moving the accident victim.  External
bleeding is controlled by direct pressure and elevation of the bleeding site.
   The secondary survey is a total body examination, a pulse check, respiration co...

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