There are scores of websites out there that give firstaid advice. If you type in something like abdominal pain, you’ll come up with thousands of hits. This can often be frustrating. Some of the other sites, are written by medical doctors, for other doctors. They cite all kinds of statistics and clinical studies, and don’t really address what to do in a real world setting. Even worse, there are many sites that simply regurgitate what other authoritative sites have written, often misinterpreting valuable information and instructions.
Recently, my son woke up with a high fever, and I had to take him to the emergency room for what was in my view, was a serious condition. After a 3 hour visit, they told us there was nothing to worry about, and that it would go away soon.
I started wondering if there was a website that could help me decide in the wee hours of the morning, if I really had to go to the emergency room. A general reference for simple problems, that could help me make simple decisions and help me decide what was serious, and what I could handle at home. Nothing too deep, just some common sense tips. Here’s what I found:
I stumbled across this neat free site called FirstAidLessons that is written by emergency personnel in plain English. They call it “practical first aid for everyone”, and they try to give you enough information to help you decide whether you need to go to the ER or not. Also they give you easy to follow, common sense steps for hands on first aid techniques. You can learn to take care of many ailments yourself, whenever possible, saving you time and money.
The articles are all written my medical doctors and physician assistants, who actually are employed in busy emergency departments. The information is straightforward and concise. I’ve found everything from hangnails to abdominal pain. They even have methods for setting dislocated fingers and how to do basic suturing, should you be far away from a real ER.
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