The core principle of first aid is to save a human life by preventing further injury and promoting fast recovery. In case of an accident, first responders give pre-medical care (first aid) to the people, who are ill or seriously (or minor) injured. If they will understand the four B’s concept of first aid, then they can easily prioritize care when there are several injured people:

•    Breathing: Check for casualties who are not able to breathe properly. If such victims are not provided first aid within minutes, their brain cells will die as they are not breathing. Immediately check for any airway blockage, breathing, and circulation (A-B-C) and perform CPR.

•    Bleeding: If a victim is bleeding heavily, provide first aid care to him/her before emergency help arrives. This may require you to use bandages or other medicines you happen to find at the accident site.

•    Broken bones & fractures: A fracture is a broken bone. Fracture can be closed or open and it requires medical attention. If fracture is the result of major injury, call local emergency number first, and take necessary steps to avoid further injury such as stop bleeding, apply ice packs and perform CPR if the victim is not breathing.

•    Burns: After covering casualties with above injuries, treat victims with burns. Depending on the level and type of burn injury, treat the patient to cool the affected area.

Attend first aid training classes to learn about first aid for fractures, burns, and CPR.

The AVPU Mnemonic is an acronym for Alert, Voice, Pain, and Unresponsive. It is a system that can be used by first responders and emergency medical professionals to measure or record a victim’s responsiveness at the time of emergency situation. The four levels of AVPU scale include:

‘A’ stands for Alert: In this state, the patient is fully awake and alert. Though neurologically patient may not respond normally, but they can respond to your voices and follow commands given by first responders.

‘V’ stands for Voice: It may happen that the victim is not alert but you can get them to open their eyes. If the injured person obeys a command given by you or is able to speak to you, then you can say that they are responsive to voice.

‘P’ stands for Pain: In this state, the victim doesn’t talk or respond to your voice. They only respond to a pain stimulus when you try pinching him/her.

‘U’ stands for unresponsive: If the patient is not showing any voice or motor response to your voice or pain stimulus, then they are completely unconscious.

The 4-points of AVPU Mnemonic help in faster assessment of the injured person’s consciousness level by first responders, EMTs, doctors, and nurses. The AVPU scale is very helpful in determining the level of responsiveness of the victim in an emergency setting.

The aim of First Aid is to provide immediate/initial care for an illness or injury. In an emergency situation, first aid treatment is given to a victim to prevent the condition from worsening and prevent further injury. The 3 P’s of First Aid will guide you to determine first aid treatments and the priorities. Here are the three P’s in order:

First ‘P’ – Preserve Life: The main responsibility of a bystander/first responder is to preserve life of the injured person by providing first aid treatments. After assessing the emergency scene for dangers, first responders should start the C-A-B procedure of first aid. Circulation – Assess the quality of their circulation , Airway – ensure that the victim has an airway, Breathing – ensure that the person is breathing. If required perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and rescue breathing until medical professionals arrive.

Second ‘P’ – Prevent Deterioration: The patient must be kept stable and his/her condition must not worsen before emergency medical technicians arrive. The main responsibilities of a first responder in this stage include placing casualty in a comfortable and safe position, providing comfort to casualty, preventing further injury, and applying first aid techniques.

Third ‘P’ – Promote Recovery: Following the first aid treatment, first responder should now encourage confidence in the patient, attempt to relieve pain, and take steps that may help in the recovery process.

Though first responders have a number of responsibilities during emergencies, but remembering these three P’s of first aid will help them to prioritize things that are important for the victim.

Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. We should always “be prepared” to provide first aid treatment to a person who has been injured or has suddenly become sick. Proper first aid training can mean the difference between life and death for the victim. However, knowing the three C’s of first aid is equally important. The 3 C’s of First Aid provide a structure for how you should act in an emergency situation:

The first C – Check: This step involves checking for anything unsafe, such as traffic, fire, and other hazardous items and ensuring that the first responder is not putting himself/herself in danger while helping the victim. If possible ask for assistance from anyone around the scene.

The second C – Call: Emergency situations demand quick and careful action from first responders. Once done with the inspection of the scene, check to see if the victim is breathing or has a pulse or not. Call 911 immediately or the local emergency number and provide correct information about the situation, patient, and location.

The Third C – Care:  Once you have followed the first two C’s, first responders are required to provide initial care until medical professional arrive. Continuously monitor victim’s breathing, and condition. Give any specific care needed such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or follow the CAB (Circulation- Airway-Breathing) of first aid.

First aid or CPR training is particularly important during medical crisis. One could never go wrong when performing first aid, if they attend safety training classes and learn about First Aid basics.