First aid mistakes

First aid mistakes

We can end up putting the victim in even more danger if we don't know how to properly administer first aid

Tilting your head back during a nosebleed

No matter what the reason we've all been told to tilt our head back whenever we have a nosebleed

Tilting your head back can make the blood travel from your nose to your throat which means you could find yourself choking on or swallowing blood

The best thing to do instead is to apply steady pressure to the bridge of your nose for at least 20 minutes you'll have to breathe through your mouth this whole time but you'll safely stop the bleeding

Forcing a fainted person to sit up

When someone faints our immediate course of action is to try to set them up

Always start by checking their breathing and pulse

If that's all good leave them on the ground but raise their legs about 12 inches off the floor

Putting heat on a sprain or fracture

Heat on a sprain or fracture only increases blood flow and leads to more swelling

The way to go for these types of injuries is always to ice it at first the ice will help reduce any swelling bruising and muscle spasms

Trying to remove debris from your body

If you step on some glass for example your gut reaction will be to pull those shards out of your skin yourself

if the tool you use isn't sterile or if you underestimate how deep the wound is you risk getting an infection and doing further damage

Treating a burn too quickly

The first step to treating a burn is to run it under cool water but a common mistake is to just do it for a few seconds or a couple of minutes tops

If the water is to actually help the skin you need to hold the burn under it for at least 20 minutes

Going straight into the Heimlich maneuver for choking victims

Instead of going straight for the Heimlich maneuver to give first aid-choking victims

Instead stand behind the victim lean them forward and give their back five quick blows with the heel of your hand only

Putting something in a seizing persons mouth

A lot of people immediately try to block the person's mouth for fear of the victim biting their own tongue

This is actually dangerous for the victim and for the person trying to help another mistake is trying to restrain the person's movements

Prioritizing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for heart attack victims

Even if the victim isn't breathing and there isn't a heartbeat the body has enough oxygen that you can help it circulate thanks to CPR

A common mistake is to think that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is more important than chest compressions

Not knowing what you're doing

If you don't know how to for instance administer CPR or the Heimlich maneuver correctly you can end up doing more harm than good in all serious first-aid situations

Using a tourniquet for a bleeding wound

Tourniquets can stop a person from bleeding but it's not a fix-all solution for any type of wound

If someone has a deep wound in their arm or leg applying a tourniquet can stop the blood flow to the entire limb which can actually starve the tissues of oxygen and possibly lead to amputation