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Why First Aid And CPR Skills Are Useful For Parents
As a parent, you can never be too prepared for the unexpected, which is why first aid and CPR skills are so important to learn.
While you might never need them, it's never a bad idea to learn the basics of caring for your child as well as the rest of your family in an emergency situation.
By taking the time to learn first aid and CPR, you can be confident that you can handle any situation with your family.
Helping a Child
Children are simply prone to more accidents than their parents are. Bumps and scrapes are a part of growing up, it seems. But when the cuts happen, you need to learn how to properly care for them.Here are some basic steps to know:
• Clean the wound
• Apply pressure to stop the bleeding
• Add an antiseptic cleanser or gel
• Cover the wound
If the cut or scrape doesn't stop bleeding in ten minutes, you will want to take your child to your local ER. But for most cuts and scrapes, this is all you need to do.
Helping Your Spouse
While first aid and CPR skills are useful with children, your spouse might also have medical issues at some point. In the case of a heart attack, learning CPR can help them maintain heart function until paramedics arrive.It's essential that you learn these first aid and CPR skills from a professional, however, as you need to make sure you are always doing good instead of doing harm.
Knowing When To Step In
But even first aid and CPR skills can't help in some situations. When this is the case, teach your children to call 911 to alert professionals that you need help.Even if you think you can drive the injured person to the hospital, in severe injuries, it's best to call paramedics. They have the right equipment on hand and can be to your house in minutes, while driving to the hospital can take longer.
Here are the situations when you need to call 911:
• When the person is having troubles breathing
• When the person is having severe pain
• When the person is bleeding profusely
• When there is an obvious open fracture – bone sticking out of the skin
• When the person is unconscious for no apparent reason
• When you walk into a situation where the person is lying on the ground and you have no idea what happened
• When the person is unable to speak or move
Sometimes you can't help directly, but by staying calm and using the first aid and CPR skills you do know, you can help prevent the situation from becoming worse.