Preparedness Quiz: A plus or F minus?

Do not attempt any of these actions if you are not confident, properly prepared, or certified. All information is online from the American Red Cross site, U.S. government sites, and the American Red Cross phone app.

JENNY LEE
Features Editor

Pop quiz.

1) Should you apply ice onto your burned patch of skin?

2) How will you act if your friend accidentally cuts their hand on a knife?

3) Would you tell a choking person to swallow a few gulps of water?

If you answered “I guess,” “I would unfriend them,” or “I dunno,” please download the Red Cross First Aid app.

Students are no surgeons, but they do not need an M.D. attached after their names to be prepared individuals. Most cannot differentiate between myths and facts, but in emergencies, every action counts.

With serious burns, pressing ice onto it causes body heat loss and is essentially layering an ice burn over the initial burn. Running cold water over it for twenty minutes is the better solution.

Bleeding wounds vary from paper cuts to knife gashes. To treat severe injuries, apply pressure onto the wound.

Choking takes the situation to a new level. Helping a choking person who cannot breathe requires hitting them firmly on the back five times between the shoulder blades, followed by five quick abdominal thrusts.

Of course, given any urgent emergency, calling 911 is always the right choice. Emergencies are not limited to burning, bleeding and choking. It encompasses heart attacks, food poisoning, unconscious breathing, and those are but a few.

There are many volunteer-based organizations like Red Cross that offer plenty of opportunities for interested high school students to be first aid and CPR-certified. The only initiative in between is your step to take action. How prepared are you?