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Health & First Aid Guide

Home Emergency First-Aid Skills

A well-stocked first-aid kit is only half the job. This is the action layer: what to actually DO in ten common home emergencies, aligned with Canadian Heart and Stroke and American Heart Association BLS guidelines, with the common mistakes to avoid and when to call 911 instead of waiting.

Read this first

This is general guidance, not training, and not medical advice. The only proper preparation is a hands-on first-aid and CPR course with the Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, or the Heart and Stroke Foundation. For any life-threatening situation, call 911 (or your local emergency number) first and act under the dispatcher's guidance.

For a faster lookup in the moment, the Emergency Action Decision Tree turns the incident, severity, and patient into the ranked first steps. This guide is the deeper read behind that tool.

The call-911-first principle

The single most common bystander mistake is waiting. People assess, hesitate, and lose minutes before they call.

Call first for anything life-threatening: someone unconscious, severe bleeding, stroke signs, heart-attack signs, a severe allergic reaction, or a severe burn.
Put the phone on speaker so your hands are free. Dispatchers are trained to walk you through CPR, bleeding control, and childbirth in real time.
Point at one person and tell them to call, rather than saying "someone call 911." A named person acts; a crowd assumes someone else will.
Give your location first in case the call drops, then the problem, then follow instructions.

Stroke recognition (FAST)

Stroke outcomes depend heavily on how fast treatment starts. Memorise FAST.

F – Face: ask them to smile. Does one side droop?
A – Arms: ask them to raise both arms. Does one drift down?
S – Speech: ask them to repeat a simple sentence. Is it slurred or strange?
T – Time: any one sign means call 911 now, and note the time symptoms started.

Note the onset time. The clot-buster drug (tPA) window is typically 3 to 4.5 hours from the first symptom, so that timestamp directly shapes treatment. Do NOT give food, water, or medication, and do NOT drive them yourself; paramedics start treatment en route.

CPR basics (hands-only is fine)

For an untrained bystander, hands-only CPR is the modern recommendation and beats doing nothing every time.

Check: tap the shoulders, shout, and look for normal breathing for 5 to 10 seconds. Occasional gasping does not count as breathing.
Call: if they are not breathing normally, call 911 (speaker on) and send someone for an AED.
Compress: push hard and fast in the centre of the chest. Depth is about 2 in (5 cm) for an adult, one-third of chest depth for a child, and about 1.5 in (4 cm) for an infant using two fingers.
Rate: 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Set the pace with the CPR Compression Metronome.
Breaths: 30 compressions to 2 rescue breaths if you are trained; hands-only if you are not.
AED: turn it on the moment it arrives and follow the voice prompts. Continue until the person breathes or paramedics take over.

Choking (the 5-and-5 method)

If the person can still cough or speak, encourage hard coughing and stay with them. If they cannot, act now.

Adults and children 1 and up: alternate 5 back blows between the shoulder blades with 5 abdominal thrusts (Heimlich): a fist just above the navel, pulled sharply inward and upward.
Infants under 1: 5 back blows face-down along your forearm, then turn them over for 5 chest thrusts with two fingers on the lower breastbone. NEVER use abdominal thrusts on an infant; they can damage the liver.
Pregnant or larger adults: give chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts.
If they become unresponsive: lower them to the floor, start CPR, and check the mouth for the object between cycles, removing it only if you can see it.

Severe bleeding

Direct pressure controls almost all bleeding. The mistake is being too gentle or peeking.

Press hard and hold: use the cleanest cloth available and hold firm, unbroken pressure for at least 10 minutes. Do not lift to check.
Tourniquet only for a limb: if an arm or leg has spurting blood that pressure will not stop, apply a commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOFTT-W) 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) above the wound, tighten until the bleeding stops, and note the time. Leave it on for paramedics.
Never improvise a tourniquet: belts and towels cannot reach arterial-occluding pressure and cause a crush injury.
Do not remove embedded objects: press firmly around them instead.

Burns (cool water, never ice or butter)

The right first move is cool running water and nothing else on the burn.

Cool it: hold the burn under cool (not icy) running water for 10 to 20 minutes, then cover with a clean dry cloth.
Nothing else on it: no ice (extra tissue damage from rapid cooling), no butter, toothpaste, or home remedies (they trap heat in). Aloe or burn gel only after it is fully cooled.
Severe burns are 911: full-thickness or charred, larger than a 3 in (8 cm) circle, on the face, hands, feet, or genitals, or caused by electricity or chemicals. Cool gently, remove jewelry before swelling, and do not remove clothing stuck to the burn (cut around it).

Suspected heart attack

Signs include chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to the arm, jaw, or neck, sweating, nausea, and shortness of breath.

Call 911 right away. Do not wait to see if it passes.
Chew aspirin (162 to 325 mg of regular aspirin) if the person is not allergic and not on blood thinners. Chewing, not swallowing whole, works faster.
Sit them semi-reclined and loosen tight clothing.
Do not drive yourself or have a non-medical bystander drive; paramedics begin treatment on the way.

Anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction)

Hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue, wheezing or trouble breathing, and a rapid pulse, usually soon after a trigger.

EpiPen first: inject epinephrine into the outer thigh, through clothing if needed, and hold it for several seconds.
Call 911: everyone who gets epinephrine needs hospital monitoring.
Second dose: if there is no improvement after 5 to 10 minutes, give a second dose.
Watch for a return: a biphasic reaction can recur 4 to 8 hours later. Do NOT lay the person flat if breathing is hard; sit them up.

Seizure

Your job is to protect them and time it, not to stop it.

Clear the area of hard or sharp objects and cushion the head.
Time the seizure from when it starts.
Recovery position on their side once it stops; stay until they are fully alert.
Do NOT restrain them, and do NOT put anything in their mouth; that myth causes broken teeth and a blocked airway.

Call 911 if it is a first-ever seizure, lasts more than 5 minutes, repeats within 24 hours, happens in water, the person is pregnant, they are injured during it, or they do not breathe normally afterward.

Fall and head injury

Check responsiveness and the ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation), then decide whether the spine is at risk.

Suspect a spine injury after any significant fall. Keep the head and neck still and in line, and do NOT move the person unless their airway is threatened or they are in danger.
Concussion signs: confusion, dizziness, headache, nausea, sensitivity to light or sound, loss of consciousness, or vomiting. Any of these means a medical assessment.
Call 911 for any loss of consciousness, repeated vomiting, worsening confusion, a seizure, or clear fluid from the nose or ears.

Common mistakes (the NEVER list)

NEVER put butter or ice on a burn.
NEVER move a suspected spine injury unless there is an immediate threat.
NEVER give water to an unconscious person.
NEVER use an improvised tourniquet.
NEVER stop CPR for more than 10 seconds.
NEVER put anything in the mouth during a seizure.
NEVER pull an object out of a wound.
NEVER tilt the head back if a neck injury is suspected.
NEVER drive yourself to the ER for a suspected heart attack or stroke.

Print the one-page Emergency Response Quick Reference (printable) for the fridge and the kit.

Canadian (and US) first-aid context

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (heartandstroke.ca) publishes BLS guidelines that align with the American Heart Association, so the skills above are the same on both sides of the border. The practical differences are who certifies you, the Good Samaritan protections, and the poison-control numbers.

Good Samaritan protection: all 10 provinces protect bystanders who give reasonable aid in good faith (Quebec frames it as a duty to assist with volunteer protection). All 50 US states have similar laws.
Provincial poison control: BC 1-800-567-8911, Alberta 1-800-332-1414, Saskatchewan 1-866-454-1212, Manitoba 1-855-776-4636, Ontario 1-800-268-9017, Quebec 1-800-463-5060, Atlantic provinces 1-800-222-1222, and Yukon-NWT-Nunavut 1-800-661-0509. The US uses one national line, 1-800-222-1222.
Canadian certification: St. John Ambulance Canada (sja.ca) Standard First Aid with CPR-C runs about 14 hours for roughly 135 dollars CAD; Canadian Red Cross (redcross.ca) Standard First Aid runs about 16 hours for roughly 130 dollars CAD.
US certification: the American Red Cross (redcross.org) Adult and Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED course runs about 6 hours for roughly 110 to 130 dollars USD. Recertify every 2 to 3 years.

FAQ

Should I do mouth-to-mouth, or are chest compressions enough?

For an untrained bystander, hands-only CPR (continuous chest compressions, no breaths) is the modern recommendation and is far better than doing nothing. If you are trained and willing, use the 30 compressions to 2 breaths cycle. Either way, push hard and fast in the centre of the chest at 100 to 120 per minute and do not stop for more than 10 seconds.

When do I use a tourniquet versus direct pressure?

Direct pressure controls almost all bleeding. Reach for a tourniquet only when an arm or leg has bright-red spurting blood that firm pressure will not stop. Use a commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOFTT-W) 2 to 3 inches above the wound, tighten until bleeding stops, and note the time. Never improvise one from a belt or towel.

Why never put ice or butter on a burn?

Ice causes additional tissue damage from rapid cooling, and butter, toothpaste, and creams trap heat in and can deepen the burn. The correct treatment is cool (not icy) running water for 10 to 20 minutes, then a clean dry cover. Aloe or burn gel only goes on after the area is fully cooled.

Is it safe to give aspirin for chest pain?

For a suspected heart attack, chewing 162 to 325 mg of regular aspirin can help, but only if the person is not allergic to aspirin and not on blood thinners. Call 911 first. Never give aspirin for a suspected stroke, since some strokes are bleeds and aspirin would make them worse.

Do I have to take a course, or is reading this enough?

Reading builds awareness, but hands-on practice builds the muscle memory you need under stress. A standard first-aid and CPR course from the Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, or the Heart and Stroke Foundation runs 14 to 16 hours for about 130 to 135 dollars CAD (about 6 hours and 110 to 130 dollars USD with the American Red Cross). It is one of the highest-value preparedness investments you can make.

Bottom line

Stocking a kit is the easy half; knowing what to do is the half that saves lives. Keep yourself safe, call 911 first for anything life-threatening, then work the right action: pressure for bleeding, the 5-and-5 for choking, compressions for cardiac arrest, the EpiPen for anaphylaxis. Read this, keep the Emergency Action Decision Tree bookmarked, and then book a real first-aid and CPR course this month so the steps are muscle memory when you need them.