Why is first aid necessary?

Answer 1

First aid is necessary because of what I call "the chain of events". Airplane crashes, for instance, are almost never the result of one isolated event that makes the crash happen. Far more often, they're the result of a series of events, one after the other, often each more serious than that last, that finally result in disaster. First aid is the delivery of stopgap medical care on the scene as soon as possible. Care delivered quickly can prevent the occurrance of other, far more serious consequences. Applying antiseptic to a scrape can prevent the occurrance of a serious infection that shows up in a few days. Had Princess Di been treated in the way UK and American first responders work -- stabilzed and moved to a hospital with an OR superfast -- there's a very good chance she'd be alive today. Note -- the French method of first response differs from the US method in that, in the US, we do not so much treat on-scene, as we stabilze, so that we can transport to an equipped hospital as quickly as possible. The French approach sends a doctor along with the first reponse team, and they'll often attempt to treat far more serious injuries on scene before transport. This is not intended as a criticism of the French method in an overall sense. Both methods have their valid pluses and minuses. I mention it here to indicate how principles of first aid apply to "breaking the chain". Whichever philosophy of first aid one chooses, it's generally accepted that first response treatment very frequently prevents the patient from becoming acute at a later time.

Answer 2

First aid is necessary because of what I call "the chain of events". Airplane crashes, for instance, are almost never the result of one isolated event that makes the crash happen. Far more often, they're the result of a series of events, one after the other, often each more serious than that last, that finally result in disaster.

First aid is the delivery of stopgap medical care on the scene as soon as possible. Care delivered quickly can prevent the occurrance of other, far more serious consequences. Applying antiseptic to a scrape can prevent the occurrance of a serious infection that shows up in a few days. Had Princess Di been treated in the way UK and American first responders work -- stabilzed and moved to a hospital with an OR superfast -- there's a very good chance she'd be alive today.