All health guidesFirst Aid & Emergency Awareness
First Aid & Emergency Awareness
Recognising emergencies and giving safe first aid until professional help arrives.
This is awareness material, not a substitute for hands-on certified first-aid training. In any emergency call 112 (India) or your local emergency number first.
First aid buys time. The priorities are the same everywhere: make the scene safe, call for help, check response and breathing, control bleeding, and keep the person warm and monitored. Bystander CPR can double survival in cardiac arrest, and correct pressure stops most external bleeding.
Key concepts
- DRSABC: danger, response, send for help, airway, breathing, circulation
- Chest compressions: centre of chest, 100–120 per minute, allow full recoil
- Direct firm pressure is the first step for bleeding
- Recovery position for an unresponsive person who is breathing
Signs to watch for
- Unresponsiveness or abnormal breathing — cardiac arrest
- Face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty — stroke
- Crushing chest pain radiating to arm or jaw — heart attack
- Severe bleeding, burns or suspected fracture
Prevention
- Learn accredited CPR and basic first aid
- Keep a stocked first-aid kit at home, in the car and in the lab
- Store emergency numbers in every family phone
- Know your nearest 24-hour hospital
Self-care
- Cool burns with running water for 20 minutes; do not apply toothpaste or oil
- Do not move someone with a suspected spine injury unless in danger
- Do not give food or water to an unconscious person
When to seek professional help
- Call 112 immediately for any suspected cardiac arrest, stroke, heart attack or severe bleeding
- Any loss of consciousness, seizure or difficulty breathing
- Poisoning, drowning, electrical injury or major burn
FAQs
Can I harm someone by doing CPR?
Doing nothing is far more dangerous. Compression-only CPR is recommended for untrained bystanders.
Do I need to check the pulse first?
No — for untrained rescuers, unresponsive plus abnormal breathing is enough to start compressions.