Accidents don’t come knocking at the door. And even the most careful of us can face an accident. As a result, one can be left with a torn ligament, fractured bone, or deep cut...

A pulse oximeter is a noninvasive photoelectric device that measures the arterial oxygen saturation and pulse rate in the peripheral circulation. It consists of a portable monitor and sensing probe that clips onto the...

The airway begins at the tip of the nose and the lips and ends at the alveolocapillary membrane, through which gas exchange takes place between the air sacs of the lung (the alveoli) and...

Head injuries are either open or closed. depending on whether the object responsible for the injury compromised the skull and exposed the brain. Brain injury can also be divided into two components, primary and...

Diabetes is a condition which is caused by an imbalance of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Diabetic emergencies can appear in two forms hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (hyperglycemia). What is Hypoglycemia? Hypoglycemia...

A heart attack occurs when a coronary artery is suddenly blocked by a blood clot and heart muscle is damaged due to a lack of oxygen. Also known as a myocardial infarction (MI), a...

A stroke is a brain attack which occurs when brain cells become starved oxygen due to an interruption in blood supplying the brain. A stroke, like a heart attack, requires urgent time-critical medical attention....

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the unexpected collapse of a patient whose heart has stopped pumping due to an electrical malfunction of the heart. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is not a heart attack, although a...

There are around 206 bones in the adult human skeleton. Bones are also integral to the body’s strength. Some bones have a protective function (skull), some a supporting function (pelvis), while others are for...

Sprains and strains are common soft tissue injuries. Most of us will experience a strain or a sprain at some point. In this first aid blog post we’ll take a closer look at the...

PLUSDICT is a first aid acronym used to help first aiders remember the key signs and symptoms of a fracture (broken bone). There are lots of acronyms and mnemonics in first aid training, we’ve...

SCALD is an acronym used to recall the important steps when assessing the severity of a burn injury. Burns are common accidental injuries in the home. Effective first aid is vital to stop the...

Choking is one of the leading causes of accidental death worldwide. Choking occurs when an object (‘foreign body’) blocks the upper airway of the victim. This obstruction prevents air from reaching the lungs causing...

CPR guidelines are revised every five years and the next major revision is expected in 2020. The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) co-ordinates guideline development and publishes consensus documents on resuscitation. The European...