THE LIFE YOU SAVE may be YOUR OWN

Treating LIFE-THREATENING emergencies

Wouldn't it be great if adults and older children would to learn to perform CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver for choking, and how to stop hemorrhage?  It is expected that those in public service who are ubiquitous in our community, Fire, Police, Teachers, and Medical personnel, not only know how to do these things but  have basic equipment readily available.

The most important life-saving tool an average person has is the cell phone.  In case of emergency, call 911 immediately. Then try to help if you can. 

Automated External Defibrillators (AED), used in the treatment of Cardiac Arrest, are placed in public areas for use by the general public.  Few people are familiar with how to use an AED unless they have recently taken a Basic Life Support course with the Red Cross or American Heart Association. Even if you don’t know how to use one, the directions are very clear, and the machine takes you step by step. It's easier than an iPhone.  CPR is an excellent tool for saving lives but if someone’s heart has stopped, unless defibrillation by electric shock is given, the likelihood of survival rapidly decreases.

The universal “choking” sign indicates someone may need to have their airway cleared so they can breathe.  A simple technique that can be learned by anyone in a few minutes, makes saving a life in these situations much more likely.  We should learn this for ourselves, our family and to render help to a stranger, as we would want them to help us. 

If someone is bleeding profusely from a major artery,  direct and firm pressure on the wound can save a life.  With a little more that a gallon of blood in our bodies, a human being can bleed to death in a few minutes, a shorter time than it takes for the EMTs to arrive.  A simple device that has been around in some form for thousands of years, the tourniquet, when properly used, can stop even the heaviest bleeding from an arm of leg and save a person’s life.  The public should expect tourniquets to be available in public places.  A simple one costs less than $10.  Every police officer should have one on his or her person.  To protect and serve means not only from crime but also from common medical emergencies. A box of band-aids, antiseptic, and ace bandages in the trunk of a patrol car or the company first aid kit is not enough.

There are many other things that would be “nice” to have like epinephrine (adrenaline) for severe allergic reactions, and Narcan spray for drug overdoses.  Making a 911 call,  performing CPR, doing the Heimlich maneuver, and controlling bleeding are the most important and common things that  the average person can do with very little training.