When an emergency situation arises, it’s usually unexpected. And at that moment, you will not have time to start Googling what to do. From natural disasters to sports wounds or car accidents, you never know when logistical knowledge, first aid training or basic preparation will help an injured person.
Here are some tips to help you be prepared.
The Education Step
Without a doubt, knowledge is king when it comes to emergencies. Think about:
- Which emergencies might affect you and your loved ones?
- What natural disasters could occur in your local community?
- Does your family have higher risks, e.g. toddlers in a riverside home?
Learn about the particular characteristics of these events.
Categories Of Emergencies
Your lifestyle, type of work and location will inform the category of emergency you might be exposed to.
Health category emergencies affect a surprisingly diverse portion of the population.
Car accidents are one of the highest causes of injury, from whiplash to more complex injuries, which could be life-threatening.
You can also be injured due to muggings, burglaries, or tripping and falling onto sharp edges. A top home injury is sliced off fingertips from semi-blunt knives slipping off vegetables.
How To Prevent Injuries
As we all know, prevention is better than cure. Setting up simple safety rules will immediately reduce the risks of injury. Teach them to your family, staff or colleagues. For example:
- Look both ways before crossing the road
- Don’t jaywalk
- Don’t drink and drive ‒ use a designated driver or taxi
- Err on the side of caution, e.g. don’t go into high-risk areas at night and listen to your gut in all scenarios
Steps To Take In An Emergency
Fast responses are always beneficial in an emergency scenario. If you have preplanned various emergency action plans, this will benefit you when such emergencies occur.
To create a plan, list the steps that you need to take. You could save it to a file on your phone.
For home safety, you could write up lists of steps to take for different scenarios, e.g. kitchen fire, chopped fingertip, etc. For the fire plan, consider mapping out the safest exit route and meeting point. For knife injuries, list where the first aid boxes are and what equipment to use.
A First Aid Approach
In an emergency, fast action doesn’t mean wild action. You must act fast but with a cool, calm attitude. Being overly emotional stunts critical thinking skills and thought processing speed.
You can calmly instruct others to assist you by asking an adult, tween, or older child to put pressure on a wound, check the breathing status, call emergency services, etc.
Knowing what to do, how to behave and what to instruct is the critical factor and having a first aid kit will make a big difference in an emergency. Have one at home, in your car, in your camping or sports kit, etc.
Lastly, but most importantly, having first aid training at any level could literally be the difference between life and death.
Be an asset in an emergency. Book a first aid course in Melbourne now!
