Day 152 First Aid: Why it’s okay to jump up and down on an unconscious person; however you need to be sure your Emergency Triangle is placed at the proper distance first.

 

 So yesterday Joern and I took another step toward in the required-for-me-but-not-other-States (still FAIL, North Carolina!) process of getting a Driver’s License.  In Germany, you have to take a First Aid (Erste Hifle) class as part of getting your License.  Personally, I think this is a great idea.  For Germans to do.  I’ve taken lots of First Aid courses, and once- due to a technical error- a Professional Rescuer class.  I feel that I would be able to handle an emergency.  Plus, they’re really long and on the weekends.  But it’s what I have to do to drive, so off we went to the Sunday course.  Joern has been absolutely wonderful this whole time, translating documents, finding answers, and going with me to an all-day First Aid course on his Sunday off.  I can understand a lot of German, but I was glad that he came with me to translate the technical stuff, like ‘oxygen to the brain,’ ‘unconscious,’ and stuff like that.    

So the course obviously had a finite amount of information to give in a required amount of time.  The course is also most commonly taken by 18-year-olds who haven’t taken a First Aid course before, so a certain amount of repetition came into play.  One of the more interesting things we learned was that in Germany, every car is required to have an Emergency Road Triangle and an up-to-date First Aid kit.  In Austria you also have to have emergency reflector vests for ever seat in the car.  In France you have to have those little disposable Alcohol Tests (way to prioritize, France).  Anyways, the rule is that you need to alert other drivers of the emergency. 

This led to a plethora of possibilities for how to use said Triangle.  Quick background: In Germany, you are obligated to stop at the scene of an accident and help unless you have a Very Good Reason not to (small children, driving to hospital, etc).  That’s when you break out the Triangle.  But where to put it?  It depends on what kind of road you’re on and how fast traffic is going.  Also, what if there is a curve?  A T-intersection? A four-way intersection?  A roundabout?  Needless to say, there were a lot of diagrams.  Basically everyone there with a Triangle needs to get it out and place it somewhere.  We learned how to estimate distance depending on these factors by counting big steps or using mile-markers and things like that.  My question was, is this really that important?  Shouldn’t we all just be glad we were able to assemble it?  Yes, it is that important apparently.  If you grossly under- or overestimate your Triangle placement, making things more dangerous, you could get a ticket.  Guess I’ll be adding a tape measure to my First Aid Kit. 

Next up, we started to learn basic First Aid, and I must say, things have changed since I last took my Professional Rescuer course.  As always, the whole point is to get the person help as fast as possible.  We learned the basic Check-Call-Care step (I got to pinch Joern, my practice buddy- fun day! Right hon?).  If they’re breathing, you just roll them over (in a special way of course) and wait for help.  Pretty standard, but then things got weird.  The next step was to Look-Listen-Feel for signs of life, namely breathing.  Not breathing?  Well okay, next we should probably see if their heart is beating…-NO!  Nope, skip the pulse thing and start compressions.  It’s tricky with the wrist, and the counting, and yeah, just start pounding away.  We learned rescue breaths, but then our instructor further blew my mind.  He said that if you can’t remember, just keep doing compressions as fast as you can. 

                I was completely at a loss.  Really?  You see a person down and you just start compressions?    We’re going to end up with would-be Heroes compressing sleeping people all over the place!  How can that be right?  Apparently, it was.  The American Heart Association calls it “Hands Only” CPR.  The logic is that the most important part of CPR is the compressions, and lots of people who find themselves in that situation are nervous to mess it up- so they don’t do anything.  With this method there’s not a lot to remember.  Call for help and start compressing.  I guess if they’re just sleeping they’ll wake up?

My favorite part is that you even get to sing.  No counting, so instead you can sing anything with 100 beats per minute.  Suggestions were “Stayin’ Alive,” “Yellow Submarine,” and ironically, “Highway to Hell.”  Our instructor even cited a few recent studies that suggest that if you aren’t strong enough to compress a person, you can take off your shoes and use your foot/leg to compress.  If you’re worried about cracked ribs and lawsuits, the US and Germany both cover people who are trying to help under Good Samaritan laws.  So not to worry, it doesn’t matter how you do it, if a person collapses, compress, compress, compress as fast as possible.   

                Now I feel like an informed, safe person in general.  I’m ready for any emergency!  I’ll do whatever it takes, foot compressions included- I can save lives!  As soon as my Triangle is properly placed.