Introduction to First Aid & Basic Life Support

First Aid

Is immediate help provided to a sick or injured person until professional medical help arrives or becomes available.

Scope and Limitation

First aid does not imply medical treatment and is by no means a replacement for it.

Basic Life Support does not imply medical treatment and is by no means a replacement for it. Protection includes the application of basic techniques to ensure the comfort, safety, and well-being of an ill or injured person.

If unresponsive Call Local Emergency no. and get an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Check for pulse not more than 10 seconds

BASIC LIFE SUPPORT

an emergency procedure that consists of recognizing respiratory or cardiac arrest or both and the proper application of CPR to maintain life until a victim recovers or advanced life support is available.

Objectives of First Aid

First aid aims to accomplish the following goals.

Preserve Life
Prevent further harm and complications
Seek immediate medical help
Provide reassurance.

According to the Article 12 no.4 of Act

No.3815 of the Philippine Revised Penal Code Book One

“any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it” is exempt from criminal liability.

Legal Concerns

Consent - People have a basic right to decide what can and cannot be done to their bodies.
Duty to Act - This is the duty to respond to an emergency and to provide care. Failure to fulfill these duties could result in legal action.
Standard of Care - This is the public’s expectation that personnel summoned to an emergency will provide care with a certain level of knowledge and skill.
Negligence - Pertains to the failure to follow a reasonable standard of care, thereby causing or contributing to injury or damage.
Abandonment - This refers to discontinuing care once it has begun.
Confidentiality - This is the principle that information learned while providing care to a victim is private and should not be shared with anyone except to those healthcare professionals directly associated with the victim’s medical care.

According to the Article 275 no. 1 & 2 of Act No. 3815 of the Philippine Revised Penal

Code Book Two: “Abandonment of person in danger and abandonment of one’s own victim”.

Anyone who shall fail to render assistance to any person whom he shall in an uninhabited place wounded or in danger of dying, when he can render such assistance without detriment to himself, unless such omission shall constitute a more serious offense.
Anyone who shall fail to help or render assistance to another whom he has accidentally wounded or injured.

Health Hazards and Risks

Common Transmittable Diseases

Infectious disease- those that can spread from one person to another- develop when germs invade the body and cause illness.

Diseases that may cause concern

Herpes- has a small risk of transmission through a contaminated needle stick or direct blood to blood contact.
Meningitis- Inflammation of the meningeal coverings of the brain. Caused from a form of meningococcus meningitidis, is highly contagious. This bacterium colonizes the human nose and throat only.
Tuberculosis- The pulmonary form of the disease is spread most often by coughing and sneezing. A person may have tuberculosis for a long time before it is detected. Symptoms may consist of nothing more than a persistent cough, slight loss of weight, night sweats, and a continual ‘all-in‘ or ‘tired-out‘ feeling that persists when there is no good reason for it. More definitive signs pointing to tuberculosis are a cough that persists for more than a month, raising sputum with each cough.
Hepatitis- Inflammation (and often infection) of the liver Transmission:

Hepatitis A: only from a patient who has an acute infection

Hepatitis B and C through blood contact from either a patient with an acute infection or from a chronic carrier who shows no signs of illness.

This is spread by the fecal-oral route (as is hepatitis E). Hepatitis B is spread sexually or by contaminated blood or needles.

HIV Infection- There is no vaccine to protect from HIV or AIDS; it is not easily transmitted and less contagious than Hepatitis B. It is a potential hazard only if deposited on a mucous membrane or directly into the bloodstream.

PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT DISEASE TRANSMISSION

Body Substance Isolation- Are precautions taken to isolate or prevent risk of exposure from any other type of bodily substance.

Basic Precautions and Practice

Hand Washing
Personal Protective Equipment
Equipment Cleaning and Disinfecting

Self Protection

Avoid contact with blood and other body fluids or any objects that may be soiled with blood or other body fluids.
Use of protective CPR breathing barriers
Use of barriers such as gloves, mask, goggles, and other Personal Protective equipment that are needed.
Do not touch your eyes, nose, mouth, when giving care or before you wash your hands after giving care.

Disease Transmission

Infectious diseases are those that can spread from one person to another through the following ways:

Direct contact.
Indirect contact.
Airborne transmission.
Bites.

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