“Why should I take a First Aid or CPR course?”

It’s a hot and humid summer day and the temperature is in the high 90’s. Record high scorching temperatures have been reached for the entire week in our area. It’s so hot outside that you feel like crispy bacon in a sizzling frying pan. You decide to call a few friends and head to the beach to relax and make the best of the sweltering weather.

Your day is filled with fun summertime activities as you beat the heat in the cold and refreshing water. As you are leaving, you see a crowd of people gathering and you hear the earsplitting siren screaming from an ambulance in the distance. As you get closer you see that a swimmer has suffered a fatal accident. Regrettably, the swimmer had gotten pulled out on the strong ripe tide and was unable to swim back to shore safely. This could have been avoided had the swimmer known how to react to this situation.

When you least expect it, accidents can happen and sometimes with grim consequences. In 2006, the CDC stated that 123,706 people in the United States died due to unintentional injuries. Whether we are walking down the street, driving to the store or cooking a meal there could be hazards lurking around us. Since danger can strike anytime, a good way to protect yourself is to raise your awareness about safety. According to the latest data available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, accidental, or unintentional, injury is a leading cause of death among children, teens, and young adults. The leading causes of accidental injury at home are burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, poisonings, falls, and fire arms.

Understanding how to avoid and react to harmful situations is vital in keeping safe in our daily activities. A good way to increase your awareness about safety is too receive hands on training by attending a first aid class. Organizations like the American Red Cross or American Heart Association offer courses on CPR and Basic First Aid.

With these skills, participants will be able to anticipate dangerous situations and be able to administer care to those who might need it until the professionals arrive. Older teenagers who enroll in these classes may gain summertime employment as a life guard or babysitter. Some people may feel uneasy about giving care to people they don’t know and these feelings are normal, but in life threatening situations time is of the essence because every second counts.

 Today, our world can be very dangerous place to live in and understanding how to deal with emergency situations is essential to our survival.  Everyone can benefit when enough people take first aid and safety classes. No one looks forward to using safety skills, but think about how much safer you and your family will feel when you know someone is prepared to deal with any difficult situation that may arise.

Interested in taking a First Aid/CPR course? Check out the American Heart Association for a complete listing on locations and dates.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/classConnector.jsp?pid=ahaweb.classconnector.course.schedule&_requestid=1454458

Sources: Center for Disease Control, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, National Safe Kids Campaign