Take a first-aid class before you need one

You have meant to learn first aid for a while and the class is still not booked. Or something quieter is stopping you: the worry that you would freeze, do it wrong and make things worse, or be blamed for trying. This page is for that reader. If someone has collapsed near you right now, the box above is the part to read.

Book one short first-aid or CPR class that also covers a defibrillator, and book it before you feel ready.

What a class gives you

Some people say that having done a course is what stops you freezing, because you already know the first thing to do and the knowledge goes straight into action. Some people describe the gain as confidence more than technique: training gives you the nerve to step forward when others are stuck. One person says that even when the details fade, a course leaves a baseline that keeps you from total paralysis. One person says even a basic certificate leaves you feeling more aware of emergencies than before.

Some people say they have used what a course taught, on a choking child or on an adult in cardiac arrest, and that it mattered. One person describes using skills from a work course for scene management and stopping bleeding.

Some people also say that bystanders can freeze or hesitate, so the person who acts may be the only one who does, and that hesitation costs time. Some people say brain damage begins within minutes without oxygen. The CDC says that about 60 to 80 percent of people who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital in the United States die before they reach one.

Where the doubt is fair

Some people argue the other way. They say classes practise on dummies in a calm room, so they do not prepare you for real stress, and that people freeze even when they were sure they would act quickly. Some people draw a different conclusion from the same point: they ask for classes built around scenarios and not only the steps. One person describes feeling unqualified to learn it at all, because of past failures in other areas, and fearing they would get it wrong in a real crisis. A class is where getting it wrong happens on a manikin.

One person also says not to assume a doctor or nurse in the crowd will take charge, because even experienced professionals may hold back so as not to get in others’ way. One person says to announce that you are helping, because bystanders can react unpredictably. Some people say laypeople should leave life-saving steps to the dispatcher’s guidance and keep to basic care; that view and the guidance above agree on the call, and differ on how far a layperson goes before help arrives.

If you do freeze, or half remember, some people point out that the emergency call-taker can talk you through each step by phone, and that doing CPR imperfectly beats doing nothing. The St John Ambulance guidance fits that: call, put the phone on speaker, and start. Some people say adrenaline carries them on once they start, until professionals tell them to stop. One person adds that pressing on a chest is tiring even for trained people, so if someone else is there, take turns.

On the odds, people disagree, and an honest page has to carry both. Some people argue that survival after a cardiac arrest outside hospital is low and that survivors can be left with lasting damage. Others answer that CPR, especially with a defibrillator, improves the chance, and that doing nothing improves none. The British Heart Foundation says CPR with a defibrillator can double a person’s chance of survival. One person, a former instructor, warns that some of the figures repeated in classes are not true, so treat any single number with care; this page uses figures only from the UK and US health bodies it names.

What you will be taught

It is smaller than it sounds. For an adult who has collapsed and is not breathing normally, the British Heart Foundation lists five steps: shake their shoulders and ask loudly if they are all right; call 999; if someone is with you, ask them to find a defibrillator; press the heel of your hand on the centre of the chest, down about a third of its depth, about two presses a second; and use the defibrillator as soon as you can. A class usually has you practise this on a manikin, which reading cannot give you. One person points out that a television scene is not training: the hand position, depth and rhythm it showed were wrong. Some people say to keep the pace by running a song in your head. One person warns that people tend to take a song’s tempo too fast, so hold to the two-a-second figure.

Hard pressing is part of it. Some people say fear of causing harm should not stop you starting. The British Heart Foundation says minor injuries such as a cracked rib can happen and you should keep going. Some people answer the fear bluntly: being hurt is better than dying, and any pressing beats none. One person says pressing deeper than recommended does not raise survival but raises the chance of broken ribs, which is a reason to learn the real depth in a class.

Breaths are where the teaching differs. Some people say courses are moving to compressions alone, because the thought of mouth-to-mouth puts people off starting. One person says breaths are back in current courses, and that the earlier removal depended on the certification level. St John Ambulance says that if you are trained, you give two breaths after each 30 presses, and if you cannot or will not, you keep pressing without stopping. The British Heart Foundation calls hands-only CPR very effective. So ask your class what it teaches and why.

One person says that CPR does not revive anyone; it keeps blood moving to the brain and other organs until a defibrillator or an ambulance crew arrives.

Choking is the other thing people ask about. St John Ambulance says a person who can still breathe, speak or cough may clear it themselves, and you encourage them to cough. If an adult cannot, it is five back blows, then up to five abdominal thrusts, and the emergency call if the blockage has not cleared; babies and children need different steps, which a class teaches. One person warns against driving a choking person to hospital instead of calling an ambulance, because the blockage can get worse on the way. How to help yourself when you are choking alone is not covered here; a class teaches it.

Choosing one

Some people say an employer can be persuaded to host a free CPR and defibrillator session for staff, which is a way to be trained at no cost to you. One person points to community colleges for affordable classes. In the UK, the British Heart Foundation offers free interactive CPR training that takes about 15 minutes at home with a cushion and a phone or tablet; this page could not check whether it gives a certificate.

Skills fade. Some people say they forgot the steps after a few years without practice. One person recommends regular refreshers, and another says certificates typically run out after two years, so check the date on yours. The way CPR is taught also changes, and one person warns that out-of-date training can be less effective, so a refresher is also a way to catch changes.

The legal worry

Some people say the law protects those who help in good faith, and that it varies by state. Others warn that coverage may depend on being certified, or that a trained person may be judged more strictly than a stranger, and one says that stopping once you have started can carry liability. These views conflict, and this page could not check any of them. The one authority fetched is for England and Wales, where the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 says a court must have regard to whether a person was acting for the benefit of society or any of its members, or acting heroically by intervening in an emergency to help someone in danger, when something went wrong. The law in your state or country is not covered here.

Defibrillators

Some people say to notice where the defibrillator is each time you walk into a public building. Some people also say these machines are made for anyone to use and will not shock unless a shock is needed. The US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says they are made so that untrained bystanders can use them, and that they give step-by-step instructions. One person points out that a defibrillator treats certain heart rhythms and does not restart a stopped heart, and that the machine itself decides whether a shock is needed and tells you to carry on with CPR if not. In the UK, the British Heart Foundation runs a finder where you can look up the nearest one by postcode.

What a class will not fix

One person wrote about a roadside crash where they felt that not knowing first aid had led them to do nothing in the first minutes, and wondered whether that had affected the outcome. A doctor replied that the care needed there, such as protecting the neck and removing a helmet, is advanced trauma care and not basic first aid, that the hesitation was correct, and that the death was very unlikely to have been caused by it. People also disagree on helmets. Some say that if the person is not breathing, the helmet must come off so that CPR can start. Others say never to take it off alone, because it can damage the neck. This page cannot settle that; in the moment, the emergency call-taker is who to ask. One person says that if you do not know what you are doing, you should keep out of the way so others can help instead of attempting complex moves.

One person says that even when it does not save a life, trying leaves fewer “what if” thoughts than doing nothing. One person says that being at a death can leave long-term distress even when you did everything right, and that therapy can help. How to cope afterwards is not covered here; a doctor or counsellor can help with that.

Who this page is not for

If someone has collapsed, this page is not the one to be reading: call, and press. If you care for someone who has a do-not-resuscitate order, or who is near the end of life, that is a conversation for their doctor or nurse; one person says CPR should respect a patient’s wishes. If you are a parent or carer of a baby or child, one person argues that CPR is a necessity for you; the British Heart Foundation says the steps for a child or baby differ from an adult’s, so pick a class that teaches them. If pressing hard on a chest is not something you can physically do, the parts that are still yours are the call, sending someone for the defibrillator, and giving other people jobs; one person says handing out tasks to bystanders speeds up the paramedics. And a class improves your chance of acting; it does not promise that a life will be saved.