Emergencies and first aid
First aid is the most useful thing on this list and the one to learn properly. These guides give you the order of actions so you are not starting from zero, but they are not a substitute for practice on a manikin. Take a certified class; most take a few hours, and many communities run them at low or no cost.
This category covers hands-only CPR, helping a choking adult, cooling a minor burn, controlling bleeding from a cut, recognizing a stroke, and helping someone use their own auto-injector during a severe allergic reaction. It also covers the planning: a home first aid kit, an emergency go bag, a fire escape plan, and what to say when you call for help.
Every page starts with the same instruction: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, or have someone else call while you act. Nothing here mentions medicine doses, removing embedded objects, or moving someone with a possible spinal injury. Guidance changes, so each page shows the date it was last reviewed against current national first aid guidelines.
0 of 14 marked learned.
The first aid checklist
What each skill is for
- How to do hands-only CPR: It is the single highest-value skill on this list, and bystanders make the difference.
- What to do when someone is choking: Choking is fast, and the order of actions is easy to learn.
- How to treat a minor burn: The first twenty minutes decide how bad a burn gets, and the old remedies make it worse.
- How to stop bleeding from a cut: Most cuts stop with steady pressure, and knowing when it needs stitches matters.
- What to put in a home first aid kit: A kit you can find in the dark saves minutes when they count.
- How to pack an emergency go bag: A packed bag turns an evacuation order into a five minute exit.
- How to make a home fire escape plan: In a real fire you may have only a couple of minutes to get out.
- Signs of a stroke to know: Recognizing a stroke quickly and calling right away saves brain function.
- How to help someone with a severe allergic reaction: Severe reactions move fast, and helping someone use their own auto-injector matters.
- What to say when you call emergency services: A clear first sentence gets help moving before anything else is asked.
- Signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke: On a hot day at a fair, a game or a garden, knowing which signs mean call now can save a life.
- Signs of frostbite and hypothermia: Waiting at a stalled bus stop or walking a dog in a cold snap can turn serious faster than it feels.
- How to prepare for a severe storm: The day before a storm is when the useful jobs are still easy and the stores still open.
- What to do when there is lightning: Lightning injures people who thought the storm was still far away.
Last reviewed . First published .