Category: First Aid FAQ’s

Most in-person classes can be completed in around two hours. If you opt for a class with an online learning component, you can go at your own pace. Once you’ve fulfilled all the requirements, you will receive a certificate.

CPR was invented in 1960, when a group of three doctors combined mouth-to-mouth breathing with chest compressions to create the lifesaving procedures involved in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. “Cardio” refers to the heart and “pulmonary” refers to the lungs. CPR is used when someone’s heart and breathing have stopped.

No. Inhalation of vapor to relieve congestion is not recommended for COVID-19 or the common cold. There’s no proven benefit to this folk remedy. There is, though, evidence of serious risks. This can include burns from the steam and scalding from the water.

Yes. Steam is water in the vapor state, so it is at a hotter temperature. This can cause second-degree burns that affect the outer and underlying skin. Also, when steam hits your skin, it cools and becomes water. This change releases a large amount of energy. That heat release causes a more severe burn.

Put antibacterial ointment such as Neosporin on your wound when you first dress it.

 Be careful about ointment not recommended for burns such as Bactroban. As the wound heals, you can use vitamin E cream to help restore the skin.

Yes, it can scar. It can also leave discoloration, known as traumatic tattooing, which results when pigmented debris isn’t washed out of the wound. Scars from road rash may be similar to those left by burns—the worse the burn, the more likely the scar.

Yes and no. A rash from poison ivy is not contagious. You cannot get poison ivy from another person’s rash. However, if your skin touches someone or something contaminated with urushiol—the oily irritant found in poison ivy—you can develop a rash if you are allergic.

Rashes from poison ivy and poison oak can be extremely itchy. To stop the itch, try applying a cold compress of an ice pack wrapped in a towel for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Calamine lotion, a topical antihistamine, hydrocortisone cream, or aloe vera gel may also help soothe the itch. Another thing you can try is a cool bath with baking soda or colloidal oatmeal. If the reaction is severe and home remedies do not bring relief, call your doctor. A course of steroids, such as prednisone, may be needed for the rash to heal.

Poison ivy has three spoon-shaped glossy leaves that are red in the spring, green in the summer, and yellow or orange in the fall. It is more common in the United States in Eastern and Midwestern states. Poison oak has between three and seven leaves with deep edges around each leaf that are similar to oak tree leaves. It is most common in the Western U.S. and sometimes found in Eastern states, but rare in the Midwest. Poison sumac has clusters of pointed leaves, with between seven and 13 leaves per stem. It typically grows in wooded, swampy areas and is more common in the Southeastern states.