This is not medical training
Read this page now, not during an emergency. Then take a real class — the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a free Stop the Bleed course. Always call 911 first if you can. Even in a disaster, dispatchers can coach you.
The order of priorities
- Is the scene safe? Don't become a second victim (downed lines, fire, traffic, CO).
- Call 911, or have someone else call, and get the first aid kit and AED.
- Life-threatening bleeding: stop it.
- Not breathing normally / no response: start CPR.
- Everything else: burns, breaks, sprains, shock.
Stop serious bleeding
Severe bleeding can kill in minutes, faster than an ambulance can arrive.
- Find the source. Open or cut away clothing.
- Press hard directly on the wound with gauze, a clean cloth or your hands. Keep pressing. Don't peek.
- Pack deep wounds (thigh, groin, armpit, neck) by stuffing gauze or cloth into the wound, then pressing hard for at least 3 minutes.
- Tourniquet for arm or leg bleeding that pressure won't control: place it 2–3 inches above the wound (not on a joint), tighten until bleeding stops, and note the time. It will hurt — that's normal. Don't loosen it; leave that to medical staff.
A commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOF-T style) belongs in every home, car and go-bag. Improvised ones rarely work well.
CPR
If an adult collapses and is not responding and not breathing normally (or only gasping):
- Call 911 and send someone for an AED.
- Push hard and fast in the center of the chest: at least 2 inches deep, 100–120 pushes a minute — the beat of "Stayin' Alive."
- Don't stop until help arrives, an AED is ready, or the person starts breathing.
- Use an AED as soon as you have one. Turn it on and follow its voice prompts.
Hands-only CPR is recommended for adults and teens. For children and babies, training that includes rescue breaths is best.
Common injuries
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Burns | Cool with cool (not ice-cold) running water for 10–20 minutes. Remove rings and tight items. Cover loosely with clean plastic wrap or a non-stick dressing. No butter, ice or ointments on serious burns. Get care for burns larger than your palm, or on face, hands, feet, groin or joints. |
| Cuts | Clean with lots of clean water, apply pressure until bleeding stops, cover. Watch for infection: spreading redness, warmth, swelling, pus, fever. |
| Sprains | Rest, ice (wrapped, 20 minutes on/off), compression wrap, raise above the heart. |
| Possible broken bone | Don't straighten it. Splint it in the position found (padded board, rolled magazine, pillow) to the joints above and below. Check fingers/toes for warmth and feeling. |
| Shock (pale, clammy, fast breathing, confused) | Lay them flat, keep warm, raise legs if no spine/leg injury, treat the cause, get help. |
| Choking | Ask "are you choking?" If they can't speak or cough: 5 back blows, then 5 abdominal thrusts (Heimlich), repeat. |
| Hypothermia / heat stroke | See Staying warm — and cool. |
| Carbon monoxide | Get everyone into fresh air, call 911. |
Build a real first aid kit
Store-bought kits are mostly small bandages. Add the things that handle serious problems:
Staying healthy in a long outage
- Wash hands with soap before eating and after the toilet. Diarrhea spreads fast when water and sanitation are down.
- Rehydrate: if someone has diarrhea or vomiting, give small sips often. Make oral rehydration solution with 1 liter clean water, 6 level teaspoons sugar, and ½ level teaspoon salt.
- Medications: keep a 2-week supply where possible. See Medications, kids, elders & pets.
- Mental health: stress, darkness and isolation are hard. Keep routines, get daylight, talk, and check on each other.
Free offline references: FM 4-25.11 First Aid and ATP 3-50.21 Survival (chapter 2: survival medicine). For remote areas, Hesperian's Where There Is No Doctor is a classic.
Sources: American Heart Association — Hands-Only CPR · Stop the Bleed · American Red Cross · WHO — Oral rehydration salts