First Aid Basics Everyone Should Know

Most people will face a first aid situation at some point - a relative who collapses, a child who chokes, a colleague with a deep cut - and the difference between freezing and acting often comes down to knowing a few basics. This is a plain-English guide to the first aid everyone should have in their head. It is general information, not a substitute for proper training or medical advice, and the single best thing you can do is book a hands-on course. But knowing the fundamentals is far better than knowing nothing.

What first aid is

First aid is the immediate help you give someone who is injured or suddenly unwell, before professional medical care arrives or takes over. Its goals are simple and worth remembering as the "three Ps": preserve life, prevent the situation getting worse, and promote recovery.

You are not expected to be a paramedic - only to keep someone as safe as possible, get the right help on the way, and do a few high-value things well. In a serious emergency in the UK, that nearly always starts with calling 999 (or 112, which also works) and asking for an ambulance.

DRABC: a calm order to follow

When you come across someone who has collapsed, panic makes you skip steps. A simple sequence keeps you on track. The most widely taught version is DRABC.

The first letter is the most important and the most often forgotten: Danger. A hero who becomes a second casualty helps no one. Watch for traffic, electricity, fire, water or anything else that could injure you.

If the person responds, leave them where they are if it is safe, find out what is wrong and get help if needed. If they do not respond, shout for help and move quickly to checking their breathing.

The recovery position

If someone is unresponsive but breathing normally, the priority is to keep their airway clear, because an unconscious person lying on their back can choke on their tongue or vomit. Rolling them onto their side into the recovery position does this.

Broadly, you place the near arm out at a right angle, bring the far hand against their cheek, bend the far knee and use it to roll them towards you onto their side, then tilt the head back so the airway stays open. Call 999 and keep checking that they are still breathing until help arrives. The exact technique is far easier to learn by practising than by reading - one more reason a course pays off.

CPR: when breathing has stopped

If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally (occasional gasping is not normal breathing), they need cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) without delay. This is the headline skill of first aid, and acting fast genuinely saves lives.

1. Call 999 straight away. Ask for an ambulance and for the nearest defibrillator (often called a public access AED). Put your phone on speaker so you can keep your hands free.
2. Start chest compressions. Kneel beside them, place the heel of one hand in the centre of the chest, your other hand on top, and push down hard and fast - about 5 to 6 cm deep, at 100 to 120 compressions a minute. Let the chest come all the way back up between each push.
3. Add rescue breaths if trained and willing. After 30 compressions, give two breaths: tilt the head, pinch the nose, seal your mouth over theirs and blow until the chest rises. Then return to compressions. Repeat cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths.
4. If untrained or unwilling to give breaths, do hands-only CPR - continuous compressions with no breaths. The Resuscitation Council UK is clear that this is far better than doing nothing.
5. Use a defibrillator as soon as one arrives. Switch it on and follow the spoken instructions exactly; it will not shock someone who does not need it.

Keep going until emergency services take over, the person starts breathing normally, or you are too exhausted to continue. CPR for children and babies differs (it begins with rescue breaths and uses gentler compressions), which is exactly the kind of detail a course covers properly. The same body that produces this guidance also explains how the immune system works in keeping us well day to day, but in a cardiac arrest it is your hands that matter most.

Choking

A blocked airway is frightening and fast-moving. The response depends on whether the person can still move air.

• If they can cough, speak or breathe: encourage them to keep coughing. A strong cough is the most effective way to clear a blockage. Do not slap their back at this stage.
• If the airway is completely blocked (they cannot cough, speak or breathe, and may clutch their throat): give up to five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If that fails, give up to five abdominal thrusts - stand behind them, link your hands above the navel and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
• Alternate five back blows and five abdominal thrusts, rechecking the mouth each time. If the blockage does not clear, call 999.
• If they become unresponsive, lower them to the floor, call 999 and begin CPR.

Choking advice differs for babies (back blows and chest thrusts, never abdominal thrusts), so treat infants differently - another reason to train.

Serious bleeding

Heavy bleeding looks alarming but usually responds well to simple, firm action. The principle is pressure.

• Apply firm, direct pressure to the wound with a clean pad, cloth or even your hand, and keep pressing.
• Keep pressing - do not lift the dressing to peek. If blood soaks through, add another pad on top rather than removing the first.
• Call 999 for any bleeding you cannot control, anything spurting, or a large wound.
• If an object is embedded in the wound, do not pull it out; press around it instead, as it may be limiting the bleeding.

Keeping the person warm, calm and lying down helps guard against shock, a dangerous drop in circulation. Knowing the signs - pale, clammy skin, a fast pulse, confusion - and acting on them complements other everyday health knowledge such as understanding your blood pressure.

A home first aid kit

You do not need much. A basic kit, kept somewhere everyone knows, makes you far readier:

• Assorted plasters and sterile dressings
• A couple of larger wound dressings and a roll of bandage
• Disposable gloves and antiseptic wipes
• Scissors, tweezers and adhesive tape
• A foil blanket and a basic first aid leaflet

Pair it with the habit of looking after yourself day to day - the kind of small choices covered in the benefits of walking and broader mental health basics.

Why a course beats any article

Reading builds awareness, but it does not build skill. Chest compressions are more tiring than people expect; the recovery position is fiddly the first time; an abdominal thrust needs practice to do safely. A few hours with a trainer from St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross, practising on manikins, turns vague knowledge into something your hands remember under pressure. Many courses are inexpensive, and some employers fund them.

The bottom line

First aid comes down to staying calm and doing a few things well: check for danger, call 999 early, follow DRABC, put a breathing but unresponsive person in the recovery position, start CPR if someone is not breathing, clear a choking airway with back blows and thrusts, and stop serious bleeding with firm pressure. This article gives you the map; a hands-on course gives you the skill. Learn the basics, keep a simple kit at home, and book the training - it is one of the most useful few hours you will ever spend.