Red Cross Training
Yesterday I spent my day getting trained by the Red Cross. In exchange for nine hours of my time, and a few hours worth of pay, I learned skills that may help me to save the rest of one of my family members lives. I’d recommend that anyone out there who can, take the class.
The full version of the class is for First Aid, Adult CPR+AED and Child/Infant CPR.
For those that may not know, CPR stands for Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, which basically means that when someone’s heart stops pumping, you pump their blood for them, by squeezing their heart between their sternum and spine. Sometimes this will restart a person’s heart. This is rare, but it has been known to happen.
CPR is mainly to help keep blood pumping to a person’s brain, to reduce the risk of brain damage before the medics arrive. The rescue breaths you see people do are to put oxygen back in the lungs, to keep the blood you are pumping to their brain oxygenated.
In addition to actual CPR, the CPR classes teach you the related skills to help a choking victim, or a child who has a pulse, but is not breathing.
This is where I really feel I should note that if someone is coughing forcefully, don’t interfere with their coughing, as this is the body’s natural response to having something partially lodged in their throat. If you strike them on the back, it could cause the food to dislodge from it’s current location, and lodge fully in their airway, especially if they take a deep breath in as a response to the slap.
On the other hand, if someone is actually choking, a back blow between the shoulder blades can potentially dislodge the particle, and help to clear the air ways.
Sometimes a person’s heart isn’t pumping correctly due to the electrical signals in their heart being out of sync. In cases like this, An AED, or Automatic External Defibrillator, can be used to shock the heart to put it back in it’s natural rhythm. This, by it’s self, may cause the person to resume breathing and circulation normally.
First Aid training is training in how to correctly give people just that, the first aid that they will receive, while waiting for medical professionals.
If you pass the course, you get certification for both the CPR, and First Aid.
First Aid Certification lasts 3 years, and CPR certifications last 1 year. I went back for my CPR re-certification, but I figured that since it was only 2 more hours, not all that much more in cash, and since I had never had occasion to use my first aid training on anyone but myself, it would be a good idea to get a refresher on the first aid certification as well.
Those of you who have been around for a while may recall that I support the American Red Cross, and the fact that they give this training is one reason why.
August 27th, 2007 at 4:36 am
The rest of one? Typo?
Congratulations!
August 28th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
No, not a typo. Each one member has the rest of their lives ahead of them at any given moment. If I save the rest of the life of one family member, I have saved “the rest of one of their lives”
August 28th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
My highschool taught us all CPR I think it was senior year. I learned exactly one thing that I still remember.
I am physically incapable of putting my hands in position to perform CPR. To do so I would have to break my wrist.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Ouch. Sorry to hear about that Ryvaken. Although really, CPR can technically be performed one handed if need be, especially on children. It just means that you have a really hard time putting the necessary force into it.
Still, I know that not everyone is physically capable of the tasks they teach.
You could still potentially learn First Aid, and maybe learn how to use an AED though.