First aid: press, cover, call
Thirty minutes with a stuffed animal and a first-aid kit. Practice pressing on a cut, covering it, and the words to say to 911, using today's advice, not 1911's.
- Time
- 30 min
- Cost
- About $10
- Ages
- 6 and up
- Where
- Kitchen table
Since 1911: The 1911 book says never to wash a wound, to press on arteries with your fingers, and to make a tourniquet from a handkerchief and a stick. Today the Red Cross says to call 911 for serious bleeding and press directly on the wound, and the AAP says to wash a minor cut with soap and water once bleeding stops. Use a tourniquet only if trained.
What you need
- A stuffed animal with a red marker "cut" on an arm or leg
- Gauze pads and a roller bandage, or a clean cloth and a strip of fabric
- Disposable gloves (optional)
- A play phone or an unplugged phone for the 911 practice
Before you start
- Practice on a stuffed animal, never on a person's real limb. Don't wrap anything tight on a child.
- In a real emergency call 911 first. Blood spurting or flowing without stopping, or about half a soda can of blood, needs 911 right away.
- Don't practice a tourniquet. Tourniquets are for trained people; take a Red Cross or Stop the Bleed class.
Steps
- Look in the kit. Open the kit and name each item and what it's for.
- Big or small? Big bleeding spurts or keeps flowing: call 911. Small cuts can be treated at home.
- Press on it. Press a pad firmly on the cut and count to 60 without peeking.
- Cover it. Wrap a bandage over the pad; add a pad on top if it soaks through.
- Call 911. Practice: give your address, say who is bleeding and stay on the line.
- Minor cuts. For a small cut, wash gently with soap and water, then cover.
If it stalls
- If a child gets squeamish, switch to the kit tour and name the items instead.
- Do the practice a few times a year. It's a skill that fades.
Steps done in order
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date