Tactical Tuesday: How to Not Die (or at least die slower) 101

Common misconceptions about first aide
1)  When someone is having a seizure (neurological or otherwise) DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING IN THEIR MOUTH. It is physically impossible for someone to "choke on their tongue." When someone having a seizure chokes, they choke on vomit or saliva caught in their throat because they are lying on their back. If someone is having a seizure you should 1) unbutton anything constrictive around their neck and remove jewerly etc, 2) roll them on their side--this keeps their airway open 3) check for a bracelet that may inform you of any preexisting condition that may have caused the seizure: some conditions like epilepsy don't require medical attention unless the person hit their head when they fall---either way unless you know the person very well (I have a friend with epilepsy, getting a ride in the ambulance 4 times a year is expensive) call an ambulance or in the very least find their cell phone or relation if possible.

2) Unless you are certified to do CPR......DON'T DO IT. Have you ever seen anyone ACTUALLY doing CPR? Not on TV, where the person doing it is using their shoulders and bending their elbows. Real CPR, which involves compressions 1-2 inches into the person's chest, often cracking their ribs. Imagine someone doing that to your chest at 100 times a minute while you are still breathing.....it'd probably kill you. People have died before because an inexperienced person trying to help performed CPR incorrectly and/or performed it on someone who didn't need it.  Scream. Scream your head off. And don't scream "help" either. Scream "Fire." People will come to "fire" and will automatically know to call the police/fire department. Thus people exprienced in CPR will appear.

3) If your nose is bleeding, don't tilt your head back. This will cause the blood to run down the back of your throat instead of clotting. That blood will sit in your stomach and thus make you sick, and probably vomit. Instead lean forward pinching the soft tip of your nose, breathing through your mouth and holding a cold pack on the back of your neck (some people say the cold pack on the back of the neck doesn't do any good, but my mom always did this and it worked for me). This will help clot the blood in the nose instead of clotting it in the septum behind your mouth.


Hopefully this will be helpful!