Here are some tips for life saving and “What to do if…” My source is the German Television Show Quarks & Co which is aired at the WDR.
What to to if someone’s heart stopped?
- Talk to the person on the ground to see if he/she reacts.
- If not, put one hand on the chest to feel if the heart is beating and your ear close to the nose and mouth to listen if he/she is breathing.
- Call the rescue number!
- If not, the reviving part has to be done. And How to do that?
- Undress the chest wide to really have nothing disturbing the revive.
- Get very close to the body
- and place the heel of your hand on the lower one-third of the breastbone
- With a beat of 100 beats per minute push it down 30 times. You need to do it with a lot of weight but not too much.
- Pull the head back and a little into the neck to free the lung pipe.
- Than do mouth to mouth or mouth to nose with deep breaths twice. Be sure to close nose / mouth so you really blow the air into the persons lungs.
- Start over with the 30 pushes.
- Do NOT stop doing this until the ambulance arrives!
- While pushing down the breastbone you might break a rib. No worries, it will grow together again.
- If you don’t like to do mouth to mouth you can skip this part and just do the pushes. It is better than nothing at all.
If you help this person like described he/she has the chance of more than 30% of surviving instead of just 3%.
What to do on heavy burnings?
Take hand warm water and pour it over the wound.
What to do if someone has a blackout (eg. while doing sports)?
Put him into recover position.
How to stop a heavy bleeding wound?
Do NOT bind the body part. It might lead to thrombosis.
If possible lift up the body part and do a pressure bandage.
What to do if someone breaks the leg?
Put the the person into a comfortable position and cool the leg. The rescue team can do everything else better than you.
Are you allowed to take of the helmet of a injured motorbike driver?
If the person has no visible injuries on the head you need to take of the helmet very carefully. It is more likely that the person would choke on his vomit (Erbrochenem).