Introduction: How to Be a Real Hero
Hello Everyone, CryoFire here, and I'd like to share some knowledge with you. But first, a little bit about myself.
I've been a proud member of the Boy Scouts of America for 12 years, joining in autumn of 2002 as a little Tiger cub and finally achieving The rank of Eagle in October 2014.
Throughout all of my life within scouting, The phrase "Be Prepared" has always been in my mind, and has affected the very way I live.
While browsing Instructables this week, I noticed that there was a contest underway with the theme being Heroes and villains.
This got me thinking: I've never been much of a comic book guy, so how could I create a truly "Heroic" Instructable? Then I thought: what about real life heroes?
We all know that there's Heroes among us everyday, such as firemen, military personnel, and medics, but what about your average Joe and Jane? Can anyone be a Hero?
Step 1: You Can!
The answer: Yes. ANYONE, ANYWHERE, can be a Hero. you just need to know what to do.
When an emergency occurs, sometimes its the actions of those nearby that save the day. Sometimes medical services can't get to the scene in time and The good Samaritan is our only hope. Take for example someone choking. When a person is choking, you only have a few moments before suffocation occurs. those precious seconds are vital. you need the act now. there's no time to wait for 911 to arrive. Or in the event of Cardiac Arrest, and the victim stops breathing. The actions of a nearby person will be what saves the victim. you should call 911 asap, but YOU are the one who can keep them alive until help gets there.
YOU can be that Hero.
"But how?" you may ask. "How can I be that Hero?"
The answer is simple. Two words ingrained so far into my skull that I probably mutter them in my sleep.
Be Prepared.
Step 2: Be Prepared
Being Prepared may seem like a vastly broad and unclear statement.
"Prepared for what?" you may ask.
Prepared for anything.
Lets face it. The world is a scary place. emergencies happen everyday. Thats why I would like to share some of the Emergency Preparedness knowledge that I've acquired through scouting.
Being prepared includes knowing how to respond in medical emergencies when there's no time to wait for medics to arrive on scene. That's why its called "First aid". It is the first kind of aid a person can receive before medical professionals arrive. Now, the first thing you want to do in any situation is remain calm. This will allow you to think clearly and help you act in an emergency. once you've accomplished remaining calm, here's a few Medical must-know procedures that can very well save a life:
1: CPR. CPR, also known as "mouth to mouth" stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This is the process of trying to revive a person when they've stopped breathing by giving rescue breaths (Mouth to Mouth) and forcefully applying pressure to the chest between rounds of breaths. A proper demonstration can be found here on youtube.
If the victim is a child or infant, The process of CPR is a little Different
I highly Recommend getting CPR certified as a part of being prepared in your daily Life.
2: Heimlich Maneuver: next we have the heimlich maneuver. This is the life saving process of clearing the airways of a choking person. a proper demonstration can be found here on youtube:
3. A first aid kit. This is especially important when being prepared. I keep a small first aid kit in my daily bag everywhere I go, just in case. A simple First aid kit can be purchased for a few dollars. Here's a checklist from The Boyscout site Meritbadge.org for building a simple first aid kit of your own:
Another Skill to note is knowing how to stop bleeding when it is serious or even life threatening. When someone is bleeding you want to stop the blood flow to the wound. This can be done by applying pressure to the wound and, if located on the extremities, holding that body part above the heart, slowing blood flow to the wound thanks to gravity.
If the bleeding is life threatening in an extremity however, you may have to apply a tourniquet. This should be used as a last resort however, because once you tie it. it is almost guaranteed that the victim will need to have the limb amputated. a how to can be found here:
(All youtube videos are property of their respective owners.)
Step 3: Other Thoughts.
These are only a few the core techniques that you can use to save a life. There are countless other ways you can be prepared in everyday life. too many to mention in a single instructable, but these are the techniques that are most commonly required in everyday life.
Being prepared is a huge advantage over the situation. Sometimes the only person who can save the day is the person who was there at the right place at the right time with the right knowledge. Knowing what to do in a situation can very well be the difference between life and death. However, If you do know, and you're that person there when help is needed, then YOU can be a hero. Be prepared for anything, and save lives. Thanks for reading. Peace out. :)
Participated in the
Superheroes and Supervillains Contest
