Assessment: check-call-care

The American Red Cross organizes every emergency into three steps. Memorize them: they keep you from freezing up or doing things in the wrong order.

1. Check the scene and the person

1. Stop and look at the scene. Is there traffic, fire, downed wires, gas, moving water, an attacker, an animal? How many victims are there? What happened? If it is not safe, do not go in: call 911 and wait.
2. Put on gloves (nitrile) if you have them. Use a CPR mask to give breaths.
3. Form a first impression. Is there heavy bleeding that is obvious at a glance? Is the person moving, talking, or an abnormal color (gray, bluish)?
4. Check for a response: "shout-tap-shout." Call out loudly ("Are you OK?"), tap the shoulder firmly, and call out again.
5. Check breathing for no more than 10 seconds. Gasping (agonal, irregular breaths) is NOT normal breathing.
6. Look for life-threatening bleeding and deal with it immediately (see "Severe bleeding").

2. Call

Call 911 —or point to a specific person: "You, in the red shirt, call 911 and bring an AED"— if the person:

• Is unresponsive, or responds but is confused or increasingly drowsy.
• Is not breathing or is breathing with great difficulty.
• Has chest pain or pressure, or signs of a stroke.
• Is bleeding uncontrollably, or has a serious wound to the head, neck, or back.
• Is having a seizure (see criteria under "Seizures"), has a severe allergic reaction, severe burns, poisoning, heat stroke, or has drowned.

When talking to 911: first say where you are (address, building and apartment number, access gate of the complex), then what happened, how many victims, and what you are doing. Do not hang up until told to; the operator can guide you step by step. Put the phone on speaker to keep your hands free.

3. Care

Give the care your training allows, in order of threat to life: massive bleeding, airway, breathing, circulation (CPR), and then the rest. Keep the person calm, warm (or cool if it is hot), and watch them until help arrives. Do not give food or drink if they are seriously ill.

Recovery position

If the person is unresponsive but breathing normally and you do not suspect a spinal injury, lay them on their side: that way, if they vomit, the fluid drains out and does not block the airway. Bend the top leg so they do not roll, rest the head on their arm, and check their breathing continuously. If they stop breathing, turn them onto their back and start CPR.