What is first aid?

Introduction

First aid refers to measures and procedures that assist an injured/ill person at the scene in order to save a person's life, avoid threatening hazards, or mitigate health problems before receiving professional help. First aid is given to prevent death or additional injury, to neutralize shock and to relieve pain.

Certain injuries and/or conditions, like suffocation or severe blood loss, require instantaneous treatment for the patient to survive - a delay of even a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death. On the other hand, the treatment of majority of injuries or some other medical emergency may be safely postponed for a few minutes necessary to find a crew-member skilled in first aid, or to find appropriate medical supplies and equipment.

All crewmembers need to be prepared to administer first aid. They ought to have enough knowledge of first aid to be able to use the right emergency measures and decide when treatment can be postponed until a crew-member skilled in first aid is found. Those that do not have proper training must recognize their limitations and not attempt procedures and techniques beyond their ability since such procedures might result in more harm than good.