First aid tips—especially when shared by paramedics—focus on emergency situations and procedures.
It’s all about how to react when blood is spurting, parts are missing, or breathing has stopped. That’s all good information, but the best first aid tips are for the mundane injuries that are most likely to happen at the company picnic or a child’s birthday party.
You shouldn’t ignore the advice on calling 911 or learning CPR. But it’s good to know what first aid you can do for the little things.
1. Stop a Bloody Nose
Bloody noses can happen without warning (and probably should be reported to your doctor), but the majority of bloody noses have help, usually in the form of digital trauma. That simply means nose-picking. If your nose starts bleeding and you didn’t do something to traumatize it, tell the doctor. Otherwise, keep your fingers out of your nostrils. If you can’t, learn how to stop a bloody nose.
2. Treat a Cut Finger
There’s nothing special about how to treat cut finger. You could use this first aid tip on a sliced nose, a split earlobe or a torn toe just as easily as a pinky finger. But when you do have blood dripping on the floor of your house it’s most likely coming from your digits. Thumbs, of course, are also included.
3. Treat a Sprain
Even if you’re not sliding into second base or crawling on rocks, everybody eventually gets a twisted ankle. You can sprain a wrist playing the Wii or taking out the garbage. As a normal adult, you need to know how to treat a sprain.
4. Remove a Splinter
As far back as kindergarten, you had to know how to remove a splinter. From playground equipment to trees and debris, splinters are ubiquitous with growing up. But in case you missed some of the fine points, review how to do it right and help prevent an infection.
