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[[File:Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal logo.svg|250px|right|thumb|Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal logo]]

'''First aid''' is promptly helping people who are suddenly sick ([[Disease|illnesses]]) or hurt ([[Injury|injuries]] or body damage).  For example, first aid is used at [[accident]]<nowiki/>s to help an injured person until they get medical treatment (help by [[Medical doctor|doctors]], [[nurse]]s or [[ambulance]]s).  First aid is also used to help people who suddenly become sick, until help arrives or they can be taken to medical care.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Ray|date=2024-04-16|title=Empowering Communities with Spanish Mental Health First Aid Courses|url=https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2024/04/empowering-communities-with-spanish-mental-health-first-aid-courses/|access-date=2024-04-17|website=Mental Health First Aid|language=en-US}}</ref>

A person does not need much equipment to give first aid. A package of things useful to give first aid is called a [[first aid kit]]. Lives can be saved even without a first aid kit. What is required is basic knowledge. First aid can be done just about anywhere that an [[emergency]] requires. In places far from [[hospital]]s, first aid may be the only help possible until the person can be taken to a hospital or [[clinic]].

[[Emergency medical dispatcher]]s are trained in first aid, so that if there is an [[medical emergency|emergency]], they can give the caller some information on what to do until the ambulance arrives.  This can include the “C–A–B" listed below.
== Goals of first aid ==
First aid skills are kept simple on purpose so that people can remember and use them in an emergency to save at least one life.

One set of goals of first aid is called the "''Three P's''":
* '''P'''reserve life – stop the person from [[Death|dying]]
* '''P'''revent further injury – stop the person from being injured even more.  If possible, an injured person should not be moved.  First aid can include how to safely move injured people  or move them anyway with less harm if there is no choice.
* '''P'''romote recovery – try to help the person [[Healing|heal]] their injuries
Another set of goals for keeping a badly hurt person alive is sometimes called "C–A–B" ''':'''
* [[Circulatory system|circulation]] (or '''C'''ompressions) – keep [[blood]] inside the body and the [[heart]] beating.  '''C'''ompressions refers to a part of [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]] called Hands Only CPR, where someone pushes with their hands on the center of a person's chest over and over again to keep blood flowing to the brain.  This requires no kit and only a little training.  Emergency medical dispatchers can tell a person how by telephone or radio.
** Keeping blood inside the body can be done using a piece of cloth (which soaks up blood) to apply firm [[pressure]] to the [[bleeding]] area(s).  This "direct pressure" is the simplest and most effective way to stop bleeding.  Others such as a [[tourniquet]], are taught in first aid classes.  If a first aid kit is not there, a cloth "dressing" for direct pressure can be made from ripped or cut clothing.  Traditionally it was taught to use the patient’s clothing, if practicable, as any bacteria will be familiar to the patient.
* [[Airway|'''A'''irway]] – keep a path open for air to go from the mouth to the [[lung]]s.  Turning an ill person on their side if they have [[vomit]]ed ("thrown up") may help keep the airway open so they can breathe.  Moving a hurt person can make their injuries worse.  But without an airway, a person cannot breathe and will soon die unless an airway can be re-opened.  A choking person with no airway can be helped with abdominal thrusts, sometimes called the Heimlich maneuver.
* [[Breathing|'''B'''reathing]] – move air from the outside into the lungs.  "Giving breaths" is blowing air into someone else's mouth while holding their nose shut and watching their chest rise from the air you blow in.  This is taught as part of CPR.  A helper could get sick from "giving breaths" to someone who has a disease.  A CPR class can teach how to use a CPR mask to make this much safer.  A first aid kit may include a CPR mask or barrier device.
== Training ==
[[File:Algérien Au travail 06.jpg|thumb|First aid by firefighters.]]
People can learn about first aid from books ("manuals") and videos.  A good first aid kit will often include a simple First Aid Guide.

It is best to have good training to give first aid.  In addition to books and videos, good training includes a good teacher and the chance to practice.  For example, CPR is practiced on a dummy called a mannequin, so a student can learn to push down on someone's chest in an emergency without actually doing it to a person.  The teacher makes sure the first aid student is doing the skill correctly.

Training can be given by an organization or by a professional medical person, like a doctor, a nurse, or a [[paramedic]].  Organizations that teach first aid include the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|International Red Cross]], schools, hospitals, the military, [[Scouting|Scout groups]] they fully train in first aid, and rescue groups such as [[fire department]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=First-aid training held at S Waziristan school|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1128273-first-aid-training-held-at-s-waziristan-school|access-date=2024-04-17|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref>

The level of training needed to be a first aid helper changes from country to country.  For example, in the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]], you can go on a 1-day course to become a first aid giver.  In the [[UK|U.K.]], you can go on a 4-day course for emergencies in a place of work.  All [[firefighter]]s, [[police officer]]s, and [[soldier]]s are trained in first aid during their basic training.
== First aid kits ==
[[First aid kit]]s may be kept in cloth bags or plastic or metal boxes.  They are often labeled with a symbol such as those on the upper right.  A first aid kit may contain many items, but basic items that can help with first aid include:
* Gloves for the helper's hands made of [[vinyl]], [[latex]] or [[nitrile]] to protect the helper's hands from blood
* Dressings of cloth that can be put on [[wound]]s to stop bleeding, much like [[gauze]] pads or sanitary napkins
* [[Bandage]]s of gauze or cloth which hold dressings tightly over wounds; but these are in rolls
* Rolls of tape to hold on dressings and bandages
* Scissors that can be used to cut tape, to open clothing and to make more bandages and dressings
* CPR masks or barriers to make it sanitary for a helper to breathe into someone's mouth, which is one part of CPR
* Blanket made of cloth or [[Mylar]] ("space blanket") to cover a sick or hurt person to keep them warm
* A small first aid book which shows how to do first aid and reminds people who have been trained
* Adhesive strips (a small piece of tape with a bit of cloth in the center), special dressings such as moleskin for [[blister]]s, and [[antiseptic]] creams for small wounds
* Tweezers to remove stingers, splinters and thorns

== First Aid Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:ISO 7010 E003 - First aid sign.svg|ISO 7010 E003 - First aid sign

File:A skateborder falls off his board and cuts his hand.jpg|Skateboard Fall Resulting in a Hand Wound

File:Esmarch original.jpg|The original Esmarch bandage

File:Tongue blocking airway.svg|In case of tongue fallen backwards, blocking the airway, it is necessary to hyperextend the head and pull up the chin, so that the tongue lifts and clears the airway.

File:A first aid box.jpg|A first aid box

File:Suicide-prague.jpg|First aid scenario training in progress

File:First aider in parade.jpg|First aider of the British Red Cross accompanies parade of morris dancers at the Knutsford Royal May Day 2012
</gallery>
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Other websites ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|First aid}}
{{wikibooks|First Aid}}
{{Wikivoyage|First aid kit for travellers}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Iggulden |first1=Hal |last2=Iggulden |first2=Conn |title=The Dangerous Book for Boys |url=https://archive.org/details/dangerousbookfor0000iggu_u2s8 |date=2007 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0061243585 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dangerousbookfor0000iggu_u2s8/page/128 129]–133 |chapter=First Aid}}
* [http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/FirstAidIndex/FirstAidIndex First Aid Guide at the Mayo Clinic]
* [http://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid/first-aid-apps/ First aid from the British Red Cross] – including first aid tips and first aid training information
* [http://www.sja.org.uk/get-advice/free-first-aid-app/ First aid from St John Ambulance] – first aid information and advice
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{{First aid topics}}
{{Emergency medicine}}

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