Introduction to First Aid

Introduction to First Aid

First Aid
Is immediate help provided to a sick or injured person until
professional medical help arrives or becomes available.

Scope and Limitation

First aid does not imply
medical treatment and is by
no means a replacement for
it.
Objectives of First Aid

First aid aims to accomplish the following goals:

 Preserve life.
 Prevent further harm and complications.
 Seek immediate medical help.
 Provide reassurance.
Legal Concerns
 Consent
 Duty to Act
 Standard of Care
 Negligence
 Abandonment
 Confidentiality
Legal Concerns
 Consent - People have a basic right to decide what can and cannot be done to
their bodies. They have the legal right to accept or refuse emergency care.
 Duty to Act - This is the duty to respond to an emergency and to provide
care.
 Standard of Care - This is the public’s expectation that personnel summoned
to an emergency will provide care with a certain level of knowledge and skill.
 Negligence - Pertains to the failure to follow a reasonable standard of care,
thereby causing or contributing to injury or damage.

According to the Article 12 no.4 of Act No.3815 of the Philippine

Revised Penal Code Book One
“any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an
injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it” is
exempt from criminal liability.
 Legal Concerns
 Abandonment - This refers to discontinuing care once it has begun.
 Confidentiality - This is the principle that information learned while
providing care to a victim is private and should not be shared with anyone
except to those healthcare professionals directly associated with the
victim’s medical care.

According to the Article 275 no. 1 & 2 of Act No. 3815 of the Philippine Revised Penal Code
Book Two: “Abandonment of person in danger and abandonment of one’s own victim”
1. Anyone who shall fail to render assistance to any person whom he shall in an uninhabited place
wounded or in danger of dying, when he can render such assistance without detriment to
himself, unless such omission shall constitute a more serious offense.
2. Anyone who shall fail to help or render assistance to another whom he has accidentally wounded
or injured.
 Disease Transmission
 Direct Contact
Health Hazards and Risks  Indirect Contact
 Airborne transmission
 Bites
Common Transmittable Diseases

 Herpes
 Meningitis
 Tuberculosis
 Hepatitis
 Human Immune Deficiency Virus
(HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS).
Common Transmittable Diseases

 Herpes - viral infection that causes eruptions of the skin and

mucous membranes.
 Meningitis - inflammation of the brain or spinal cord which is
caused by a viral or bacterial infection.

 Tuberculosis - respiratory disease caused by bacteria.

Common Transmittable Diseases

 Hepatitis - viral infection of the liver

 Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - is the virus that
destroys the body’s ability to fight infection.
Prevention and Protection
Universal Precautions are a set of strategies developed to prevent
transmission of blood borne pathogens.

Body Substance Isolation (BSI) are precautions taken to isolate or

prevent risk of exposure from body secretions and any other type of
body substance such as urine, vomit, faeces, sweat, or sputum.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is specialized clothing,

equipment and supplies that keep you from directly contacting infected
materials.
Prevention and Protection