Safety as a Major Concern

Staying safe may be really hard. After all, you never know when you’ll be safe and when you can be in danger. However, for someone like you who’s trained in giving first aid, you’ve this instinct of rushing forward whenever a person is in dire need for your help. Meanwhile, it does not mean that you’ll ignore your own need for safety. You should always keep your senses alert and your wits intact. Safety is the concept that points to a person’s awareness of the condition in his surroundings as well as the healthy fear for the occurrence of any unstable situation.

Applying what You Know

So there you go with your license that proves you’re indeed qualified to perform any first aid remedies. What should you do when the circumstance finally comes? Keep these insights in mind and be prepared to do the right thing.

Get to know if the victim is awake. One of the principal indications that the victim has fallen into a very difficult situation is when you find it hard to keep him awake. If the person whom you’re trying to revive shows no signs of responding to your techniques, then you’ve to call the emergency service team at once.

Apply the ABC’s. Take note that A refers to Airway, B is for Breathing, and C is for circulation.

The victim’s airway highly depends on his being conscious or unconscious. If the person is wide awake, then let him speak. This will determine if his airway is clogged. To feel for the condition of an unconscious victim’s airway, place your ear near his mouth and listen for his breathing. Feel for some air that touches your cheek. You can also take a look at his chest for any rising and falling of the abdomen.

In case when the victim does not show signs of breathing, perform CPR immediately. Some of the possible causes of the person’s unconsciousness can be related to seizures, diabetes, poisoning, drug intoxication, alcohol intoxication, infection, illness, dehydration, or overdose.

As soon as the victim shows signs of breathing, it’s now time to determine if there’s sufficient circulation. You can feel for his temperature or look at his skin’s color. If there’s circulation but no response from the person, start with the CPR once again. If there’s some bleeding, perform the steps to control it and then be ready for the coming of the ambulance.

These situations are only to be handled by those who have gone through certified first aid training. So why should you put off this beneficial knowledge when in fact you can save hundreds of lives?

Nevertheless, the lifeguard is an individual who’s held responsible in overseeing the safety of the users of any body of water and surveying the location to make sure that everything is in order. There has to be a lifeguard in a water park, a swimming pool, and of course, a beach. It’s the duty of this person to ensure that the users are not only enjoying but are also far from any sort of harm.

Lifeguards vs. Life Savers

Generally, it has to be understood that lifeguards have their own distinction from the lifesavers. They’re qualified as strong swimmers who have been trained in water rescue, the use of different aids and equipment, and of course they’re knowledgeable in the performance of first aid. Meanwhile, the life savers are the people who are tasked to do the same thing but are actually involved in this activity as a form of sport or simply as a practical life skill.

Basically, a lifeguard has the main responsibility to look after the safety of the people in any water area. Being a lifeguard is a career but for some they do this as a volunteer work. To become certified, one has to go through a comprehensive training. Part of which is the educational information, provision of the warnings, supervision, and training in survival skills. All of these should be learned lengthily so that there will be higher chances of preventing drowning in their respective areas of responsibility.

A good lifeguard is measured not through the number of persons he has saved or the number of skills that he can execute. The basis for which is the absence or the reduction of the cases of accidents, drowning, and other forms of medical emergencies.

His Basic Duties

If the lifeguard is stationed on a beach, he has to perform the following duties:

He has to maintain a close look at his area and anticipate problems and therefore apply the necessary precautions.
He has to be alert in identifying the type of emergency so he could execute the necessary actions.

He must be ready to apply the necessary first aid to any given situation.

He must be well-versed in how to communicate with the people especially to the medical service team.

Lifeguards are the people to trust especially in any form of water area. Hence, it’s a must for someone to get the first aid training as completely as possible to alleviate any emergency situation.