Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the unexpected collapse of a patient whose heart has stopped pumping due to an electrical malfunction of the heart. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is not a heart attack, although a...

There are around 206 bones in the adult human skeleton. Bones are also integral to the body’s strength. Some bones have a protective function (skull), some a supporting function (pelvis), while others are for...

Sprains and strains are common soft tissue injuries. Most of us will experience a strain or a sprain at some point. In this first aid blog post we’ll take a closer look at the...

The acronym ‘AMEGA’ in first aid stands for ‘assess,’ ‘make safe,’ ‘emergency aid,’ ‘get help,’ and ‘aftercare,’ It entails the key steps involved in dealing with an emergency, injury, or incident. Bystanders and first...

PLUSDICT is a first aid acronym used to help first aiders remember the key signs and symptoms of a fracture (broken bone). There are lots of acronyms and mnemonics in first aid training, we’ve...

SCALD is an acronym used to recall the important steps when assessing the severity of a burn injury. Burns are common accidental injuries in the home. Effective first aid is vital to stop the...

Choking is one of the leading causes of accidental death worldwide. Choking occurs when an object (‘foreign body’) blocks the upper airway of the victim. This obstruction prevents air from reaching the lungs causing...

ACVPU is a scale used to assess and track a patient’s neurological status and level of consciousness. ACVPU stands for: ACVPU has been developed from the more widely known AVPU scale. A new assessment...

CPR guidelines are revised every five years and the next major revision is expected in 2020. The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) co-ordinates guideline development and publishes consensus documents on resuscitation. The European...

The American Heart Association (AHA) Chain of Survival describes the critical actions required to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). When all links of the Chain of Survival are completed this provides the...

Opiate drugs are an increasingly common cause of deaths from accidental and deliberate overdose. In the United States, the CDC describes opiate overdoses as an “epidemic” which claimed more than 47,000 lives in 2017....

The abdomen can be divided into four quadrants. Dividing up the abdomen in this way can help when assessing a patient with abdominal pain. The location of the abdominal pain can give first responders...

CPR is made up of performing chest compressions and rescue breaths to help a victim in cardiac arrest. Chest compressions work by compressing the heart and pushing blood around the body. CPR buys vital...

The commonest cause of a blocked airway occurs with loss of consciousness when the muscles that support the tongue become relaxed and the tongue drops back into the throat. Since the tongue muscles are...