In an emergency, the first minutes matter most — and panic wastes them. These advices give you the basic algorithms: burns, cuts, choking, fainting, when to call an ambulance, and what to do while it's on the way.
Your liver clears alcohol at its own pace, and coffee, a cold shower or sweating do not hurry it. Neither the clock nor how you feel tells you that you are sober — and a very drunk person should never be left alone to sleep it off.
Five minutes teaching the hands-on-throat gesture can mean a child gets help the instant they need it.
Sit up, lean forward and pinch the soft part of your nose without letting go; heavy bleeding that won't stop, a nosebleed after a blow to the head or while on blood thinners needs medical help.
If you are choking alone, thrust your upper belly against a hard surface or your own fist — do not wait for it to pass.
Start flushing a chemical eye splash with clean water at once and keep going for at least fifteen minutes; call for help on speakerphone without stopping, and see a doctor even if the eye feels fine.
Fast sugar can reverse a diabetic low, but if someone cannot swallow safely, stop and call emergency services instead.
When a problem takes over your whole mind, naming three things that are still okay puts it back in proportion.
Turn off heat, slide a lid on, and leave it for 15 minutes — if the fire spreads, get out and call for help.
Rinsing chicken splashes bacteria around your kitchen — skip washing, pat dry, and cook to 74°C to kill all pathogens.
Call for help at once and check breathing: if they are not breathing normally — gasping doesn't count — start CPR; if they are, put them on their side. Don't make them sick, and get extra paracetamol checked today even without symptoms.
Lay the person down and check breathing: not normal means an ambulance and CPR; normal — raise the legs. Call one too if they don't come round quickly, fainted on exertion or have chest pain, palpitations or a seizure; see a doctor after a first faint.
Smoke means the oil has passed its limit: kill the heat, slide the pan off the burner, and if it ignites smother it with a metal lid — never water, never move a burning pan.
Grip the tick close to the skin with fine tweezers and pull it out steadily; skip oil, heat and nail polish. See a doctor within days if a rash, fever or aches appear in the following weeks.
Heat exhaustion: heavy sweating and weakness — cool down and drink. Confusion, a seizure, collapse or no improvement with cooling: call emergency services and cool fast, even if the person is sweating.
You cannot swallow your tongue — putting objects in a seizing person's mouth only causes injury.
A full fridge stays cold about 4 hours, a full freezer about 48 hours — don't open the door, and discard meat that rose above 4 degrees C.
A falling knife has no handle — step back, let it drop, and pick it up safely from the floor.
Learn the FAST acronym — Face, Arm, Speech, Time — and call emergency services at the first sign of a stroke.
