05 Feb Don’t Have a Heart Attack if a Coworker Has One
February is Heart Disease Awareness Month, so take the opportunity to give your workers first-aid training for heart attacks so they don’t panic if they encounter a coworker in trouble. Begin by making them aware of the signs that someone is having a heart attack.
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Anxiety
- Crushing pain in the chest
- Pain radiating down the left arm, or in the jaw
- Ashen color to skin
- Perspiration, nausea, or vomiting
Burns:
- First- and second-degree burns: Treat with cold running water for pain relief. Cover burned area with moist, sterile dressing. Don’t break blisters on second-degree burns.
- Third-degree burns: Call 911, and keep victim comfortable until help arrives.
Chemical exposure:
- Eyes: Flush with water for 15 minutes, cover with clean cloth, and get medical attention.
- Skin: Flush with water for 15 minutes, and get medical attention.
- Inhalation: Move victim to fresh air. Administer CPR, if necessary.
- Ingestion: Call 911, check SDS for first-aid information, and/or call local poison center.
Remind employees that this session provides a basic overview of first-aid techniques and priorities. It is not the same as a first-aid and CPR certification course. A certification course is much more detailed and offers the opportunity to practice first-aid and CPR skills as well as providing hours of classroom training.
Encourage your employees to take a course and get certified. Taking a certification course will give them the full knowledge and confidence they need to use first-aid skills on the job, at home, and elsewhere in the community.
The information above comes from BLR’s “Basic First Aid” PowerPoint® training presentation. For information about other BLR’s PowerPoint® training sessions, click here.