5 First Aid Myths – What You Need To Know…

In a medical emergency, the right response can save lives

Many of us are still doing the wrong thing. Getting first aid right can mean the difference between life and death. Here are some of the most common myths about first aid… and what you should do instead.

 

MYTH 1: Put butter on a burn

Any new burn that’s exposed to the air is incredibly painful. Covering it with a cool substance such as butter will slightly ease the agony for a time. But the pain will soon return –  and sealing off the air before the burn has cooled can keep the heat in, meaning the skin continues to burn.

For most burns, the general advice instead is to remove any clothing and jewelry touching the burn, then to run your burn under the faucet for a lot longer than you think – at least 20 minutes. This prevents the skin from continuing to burn, as well as helping to numb the area.

Once the burn is thoroughly cooled you can cover it up with a clean cloth or cling film or a plastic bag to prevent it from becoming infected.

There’s just one situation where butter on a burn can be useful: if you get hot tar on your skin. The fattiness of the butter can help to remove it, reducing the pain.

 

MYTH 2: Giving chest compressions to someone who doesn’t need them can cause more harm than good

If someone has a cardiac arrest, the biggest predictor of their survival is whether or not someone gives them cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before medical help arrives.

If you go on a first aid course, you learn to watch the chest and put your head to person’s close to listen for breaths. If there’s no sign that the person is breathing, you should call emergency services and begin CPR.

First aid instructors also tell you that even if you’re not sure the person is breathing normally, you should again proceed with CPR anyway.

Although this is the advice, many people are reluctant to give CPR because they fear doing more harm than good.

 

MYTH 3: To do CPR properly, you need to give mouth-to-mouth as well as doing chest compressions

The guidelines on this have changed a lot in the past decade. Standard CPR used to involve alternating 15 fast-paced compressions with two breaths into the patient’s mouth. Then it was found that giving two breaths after every 30 compressions was just as effective. This became the standard advice.

There was a 22% improvement in survival rates if bystanders gave compression alone, instead of compression with breaths

Next came the idea of doing CPR without giving any breaths at all. This results in fewer pauses and allows more opportunity for the compressions to keep blood flowing to the brain. Although the blood may not be fully aerated, at least it gets to the brain quickly. Three randomized controlled trials comparing the methods found only marginal differences between the two methods.

But when the results from these studies were combined and re-analyzed, there was a 22% improvement in survival rates if bystanders – who were doing CPR with guidance on the phone from ambulance dispatchers – gave compression alone.

These results do not apply to children or to cases of near-drowning, where breaths are still recommended.

Giving CPR without breaths is easier and more effective than with breaths – but even so, only 39% of women and 45% of men receive CPR from bystanders

Also, many people are reluctant to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a stranger.

But still, not everyone is prepared to give chest compressions. Research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2017 revealed that some bystanders seem to be wary of touching women’s chests. Audrey Blewer studied almost 20,000 cases of cardiac arrest and found that 45% of men received CPR from bystanders – compared with 39% of women.

 

 

MYTH 4: You shouldn’t shock someone with a defibrillator unless you are certain their heart has stopped

This is a major myth. After all, defibrillators, often kept in public places like railway stations, are designed for anyone to use. You don’t have to work out for yourself whether the person who’s collapsed would benefit from electric shocks to startle the heart into rhythm: the machine itself can assess what’s needed. If shocks aren’t necessary, it won’t give them.

Even though defibrillators often can be found in many public places, many people remain intimidated to use them

US research has shown that survival rates double if a public access defibrillator is used rather than CPR alone.

 

 

MYTH 5: Tilt the head backward to stop a nosebleed

This is very old advice – but can result in a person swallowing their blood into their stomachs or even choking on it, all while continuing to bleed. Instead, the best way to stem the bleeding is to apply pressure by pinching the soft part of the nose and leaning forwards for 10 minutes. If bleeding hasn’t stopped after half an hour, seek medical advice.

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