Real First Aid for the Real World
Hi, I’m Justin and I’m a trainer with the Singapore First Aid Training Centre.
I had a great chinese child care class last weekend. The vibe is high, class is responsive and received good energy from the crowd.
So a child care teacher asks me a very interesting question.
She says “In the old days, when a child is choking, her mom simply blows some breath onto the forehead of the choking child, and the choking symtoms just disappear. Is that true?” I told her that it is just a myth.
Blowing onto the forehead doesn’t help in relieving choking. Rather, a proper abdominal thrust or chest thrust is needed to be rendered to someone who is choking.
Dear Readers, we at Singapore First Aid Training Centre is proud to inform you that we are now a “Instructor Training Centre for CPR plus AED (NRC)”
Only a certain few first aid training centres can provide this special course. Now, you can learn to train just like us in using using an AED.
So.. do look out for this up and coming course at our centre in the near future.
Article written by Mr Mohamed Saufee, Lead Trainer of Singapore First Aid Training Centre on CPR for the Human Capital. Read it below:
The video here shows you how to help a child who is choking using the abdominal thrust method. This is the recommended method by the National Resuscitation Council.
You need to first ensure that a child is choking. A person who is choking has complete blockage of the airway and will not be able to speak, breathe or cough. Frequently, they will be grasping their throat – what is commonly known as the Universal Sign of Choking. When you see these signs, you must immediately perform amdomonal thrusts as shown in the video.
Continue to the abdominal thrusts until the object is dislodge or the child turns unconscious (which you will need to proceed with CPR, with the exception of a mouth check before giving breaths).
Even if the object is dislodge it is still recommended for the child to bring the child to the emergency room for further assessment.
We hope that this video has helped you understand the steps of choking better. To get frequent updates and tutorials on first aid and CPR, fill in the form below:
I refer to the article “Her quick actions save child from choking to death” published on the 3rd of April 2009 in the New Paper.
I would like to commend Madam Ng for her quick thinking and prompt action which had saved Robyjnn from being a victim of choking.
Things like these happen when they are least expected and if you just stall for a minute trying to figure out what to, it could potentially cause someone their life. What’s worse is that when it happens to someone near and dear, it could be even harder to react rationally. Yet, many of us take this for granted.
We are so caught up in our busy lives and what’s going on in the world that we rarely stop to think, what if someone at home swallows on a sweet or a piece of meat and chokes? Do I know what to do?
The real question is do we really want to wait till it happens to find out.
Nobody wants to stand around watching your loved one die before your eyes. That is why it is imperative that everyone should develop first aid skills. At least for the sake of the people you love.
For the benefit of ST readers, we have created a simple instructional video on How To Help A Choking Child. It can be viewed on our blog at www.firstaidtraining.com.sg/choking
What Madam Ng did was one of the methods using back blows. The video that we created shows the recommended method by the National Resuscitation Council and the American Heart Association, which is by performing abdominal thrusts with a clenched fist just above the navel.
Although both methods will help, some reports favour the abdominal thrust method because it is found to produce a greater pressure than back blows and tend to be more effective in dislodging the foreign body. Many of our participants have shared with us how they managed to help someone who was choking using the abdominal thrust method.
We urge everyone to learn at least the basic skills of first aid and CPR. You never know when you need to use them, or who will need them. And when that time comes and passes, can you live knowing whether you did or did not help?
Finally, the changes have been finalised! The latest CPR + AED guidelines have been released by the National Resuscitation Council, Singapore recently to our centre. The latest guidelines make peforming CPR and using the AED easier than ever before.
Below is a short extract taken from the full CPR+AED video:
Gain instant access and download to the FULL VIDEO now.
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The first PUBLIC ACCESS DEFIBRILLATOR in Singapore’s HDB Estate was launched on the 15th March 2009 at Kim Keat Ave. The very first AED was mounted in a white wall cabinet outside the Adventist Home for the Elderly to allow both residents of the home as well as members of the public to be able to access to the AED.
Security will not be an issue as several measures has been taken. For instance, the wall cabinet can only be opened by breaking a small glass to gain access to the key, which then can open the cabinet. There is also a loud alarm which will sound when the cabinet is opened, alerting the residents and staff of the Adventist Home for the Elderly (AHE) that the AED has been accessed to.
This is a true milestone in Singapore and in the history of Public Access AED. Singapore First Aid Training Centre is also involved in this project – by training 12 ready volunteers and staff to be fully equipped with the skills of performing CPR and using the AED.
This clip includes an introduction by the Chairman of the AHE, Mr Wan as well as a short presentation by VIP for this event was MP Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Mdm Josephine Teo during this inaugural launch of the public access defibrillator AED in HDB estate.
Please provide your comments on this!
In the third and final segment of his presentation, Mr Rasheed answers a few more questions on first aid and CPR, commonly asked by laypersons. There are also reviews by the audience as well as sharing of real first aid experiences by members of the audience – which further validates the need for everyone to know the basics of first aid. This part of the first aid presentation is approximately 5 minutes long and is a must watch to conclusion to this presentation.
This is the second part of the presentation which is conducted at BNI Renaissance on the 11th March 2009. During this segment, Mr Rasheed talks about what first aid really does and why it is so important, from the viewpoint of paramedics and doctors. Mr Rasheed also answers a few common questions about first aid and CPR. This segment is approximately 10 minutes long and is the second part of this first aid presentation.
