Most First Aid Mistakes Are Things People Add, Not Things They Miss
Learn what first aid is for and the rules that apply to every case, the correct response to bleeding, burns, fractures and snake bite, what to do about drowning and electric shock, and why tobacco, alcohol and drugs do lasting damage.
Why is the wrong first aid often worse than none at all?
Because most well-known home remedies make the injury harder to treat.
Put oil, ghee, toothpaste or ink on a burn and the heat is sealed in rather than let out, and the doctor must then scrape the coating off damaged skin. Cut a snake bite and suck it, and you have added a second wound and achieved nothing. Pull a fractured limb straight and you may turn a crack into a break.
In every one of those cases, doing less would have been better. The whole skill of first aid lies as much in what you do not do as in what you do. This page covers the second part of the ICSE Class 8 Biology chapter: first aid, and the substances that damage the body from within.
Put oil, ghee, toothpaste or ink on a burn and the heat is sealed in rather than let out, and the doctor must then scrape the coating off damaged skin. Cut a snake bite and suck it, and you have added a second wound and achieved nothing. Pull a fractured limb straight and you may turn a crack into a break.
In every one of those cases, doing less would have been better. The whole skill of first aid lies as much in what you do not do as in what you do. This page covers the second part of the ICSE Class 8 Biology chapter: first aid, and the substances that damage the body from within.
What is first aid for, and what rules apply to every case?
First aid is the immediate and temporary care given to a person who has been injured or suddenly taken ill, before proper medical treatment becomes available.
The words immediate and temporary both matter. First aid is given at once, by whoever is there, and it is never a substitute for a doctor.
Its three aims:
- Preserve life
- Prevent the condition from getting worse
- Promote recovery
Alongside those it also aims to relieve pain, prevent infection, and arrange for medical help.
The general rules, which apply whatever the injury:
- Stay calm and reassure the patient. Panic spreads, and a frightened patient is harder to help.
- Send for a doctor or an ambulance at once, before doing anything else if someone else can be asked to do it.
- Remove the danger, or remove the patient from the danger — but never at the cost of making yourself a second casualty.
- Check breathing and bleeding first. These are the two things that can kill within minutes; everything else can wait.
- Loosen tight clothing at the neck, chest and waist.
- Keep the patient warm and lying down, and do not let a crowd gather round — they block the air and the light.
- Do not give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. They cannot swallow, and liquid may enter the lungs.
- Do not move a patient with a suspected fracture or spinal injury unless it is unavoidable.
- Do not attempt more than you know. Stopping at what you are sure of is part of the procedure, not a failure of it.
Why the order is fixed. Breathing and severe bleeding are attended to first because the brain begins to suffer damage within minutes without oxygen. A broken arm, however painful, is not urgent in the same sense — and dealing with the painful and visible injury while ignoring the quiet, dangerous one is the classic error.
The one rule that overrides the rest. Your own safety comes first, in every case. A rescuer who is electrocuted or who drowns has not helped anybody and has doubled the problem.
The words immediate and temporary both matter. First aid is given at once, by whoever is there, and it is never a substitute for a doctor.
Its three aims:
- Preserve life
- Prevent the condition from getting worse
- Promote recovery
Alongside those it also aims to relieve pain, prevent infection, and arrange for medical help.
The general rules, which apply whatever the injury:
- Stay calm and reassure the patient. Panic spreads, and a frightened patient is harder to help.
- Send for a doctor or an ambulance at once, before doing anything else if someone else can be asked to do it.
- Remove the danger, or remove the patient from the danger — but never at the cost of making yourself a second casualty.
- Check breathing and bleeding first. These are the two things that can kill within minutes; everything else can wait.
- Loosen tight clothing at the neck, chest and waist.
- Keep the patient warm and lying down, and do not let a crowd gather round — they block the air and the light.
- Do not give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. They cannot swallow, and liquid may enter the lungs.
- Do not move a patient with a suspected fracture or spinal injury unless it is unavoidable.
- Do not attempt more than you know. Stopping at what you are sure of is part of the procedure, not a failure of it.
Why the order is fixed. Breathing and severe bleeding are attended to first because the brain begins to suffer damage within minutes without oxygen. A broken arm, however painful, is not urgent in the same sense — and dealing with the painful and visible injury while ignoring the quiet, dangerous one is the classic error.
The one rule that overrides the rest. Your own safety comes first, in every case. A rescuer who is electrocuted or who drowns has not helped anybody and has doubled the problem.
What is the correct first aid for bleeding, burns, fractures and snake bite?
Bleeding.
- Apply direct pressure on the wound with a clean cloth or pad, and keep pressing steadily.
- Raise the injured part above the level of the heart if possible, to reduce the flow.
- If the cloth soaks through, add another on top — do not remove the first, which would disturb the clot forming underneath.
- Bandage firmly, but not so tightly that circulation is cut off.
- Take the patient to hospital if the bleeding is heavy or does not stop.
- Do not wash out a deep wound, and do not pull out anything embedded in it.
- For a nosebleed: sit the person up, leaning slightly forward, pinch the soft part of the nose, breathe through the mouth, and apply something cold to the bridge. Do not tilt the head back, which sends blood down the throat.
Burns.
- Cool the burn under clean running water for a sustained period — several minutes at least. This is the single most useful thing that can be done.
- Remove rings, bangles and watches from the area before it swells.
- Cover loosely with a clean, dry cloth.
- Do not apply oil, ghee, butter, toothpaste, ink or any other home remedy.
- Do not break blisters, which are a sterile covering protecting the skin beneath.
- If clothes catch fire, make the person stop, drop and roll, or smother the flames with a blanket. Never let them run, which fans the flames.
- For a chemical burn, wash with plenty of water for a long time.
- A large or deep burn needs hospital treatment immediately.
Fractures. A fracture is a break or crack in a bone. The signs are pain, swelling, deformity and inability to move the part.
- Do not try to set the bone or straighten the limb.
- Immobilise the part with a splint — any stiff object such as a padded wooden plank, a thick roll of newspaper or cardboard — tied above and below the injury.
- Support an injured arm in a sling.
- Apply something cold to reduce swelling.
- Move the patient to hospital carefully, keeping the limb still.
- If the neck or spine may be injured, do not move the person at all. Wait for trained help.
Snake bite. The one useful treatment is antivenom, which only a hospital can give — so everything here is about buying time.
- Keep the person calm and still. Movement and panic speed the venom through the body.
- Reassure them, and remember most snakes are non-venomous.
- Immobilise the bitten limb as you would a fracture, and keep it below the level of the heart.
- Remove rings, bangles and anything tight from that limb before swelling.
- Wash the bite gently and cover it with a clean dry dressing.
- Get to a hospital at once.
- Do not cut the wound, do not try to suck out the venom, do not apply a tight tourniquet, do not apply ice, and do not give alcohol.
- Do not chase or try to kill the snake. Note its appearance only if that is safe.
The pattern running through all four. Every one of them is mostly restraint — press and wait, cool and wait, immobilise and wait, keep still and get to hospital. None of the four is treated by doing something clever, and three of the four have a longer list of do nots than dos.
- Apply direct pressure on the wound with a clean cloth or pad, and keep pressing steadily.
- Raise the injured part above the level of the heart if possible, to reduce the flow.
- If the cloth soaks through, add another on top — do not remove the first, which would disturb the clot forming underneath.
- Bandage firmly, but not so tightly that circulation is cut off.
- Take the patient to hospital if the bleeding is heavy or does not stop.
- Do not wash out a deep wound, and do not pull out anything embedded in it.
- For a nosebleed: sit the person up, leaning slightly forward, pinch the soft part of the nose, breathe through the mouth, and apply something cold to the bridge. Do not tilt the head back, which sends blood down the throat.
Burns.
- Cool the burn under clean running water for a sustained period — several minutes at least. This is the single most useful thing that can be done.
- Remove rings, bangles and watches from the area before it swells.
- Cover loosely with a clean, dry cloth.
- Do not apply oil, ghee, butter, toothpaste, ink or any other home remedy.
- Do not break blisters, which are a sterile covering protecting the skin beneath.
- If clothes catch fire, make the person stop, drop and roll, or smother the flames with a blanket. Never let them run, which fans the flames.
- For a chemical burn, wash with plenty of water for a long time.
- A large or deep burn needs hospital treatment immediately.
Fractures. A fracture is a break or crack in a bone. The signs are pain, swelling, deformity and inability to move the part.
- Do not try to set the bone or straighten the limb.
- Immobilise the part with a splint — any stiff object such as a padded wooden plank, a thick roll of newspaper or cardboard — tied above and below the injury.
- Support an injured arm in a sling.
- Apply something cold to reduce swelling.
- Move the patient to hospital carefully, keeping the limb still.
- If the neck or spine may be injured, do not move the person at all. Wait for trained help.
Snake bite. The one useful treatment is antivenom, which only a hospital can give — so everything here is about buying time.
- Keep the person calm and still. Movement and panic speed the venom through the body.
- Reassure them, and remember most snakes are non-venomous.
- Immobilise the bitten limb as you would a fracture, and keep it below the level of the heart.
- Remove rings, bangles and anything tight from that limb before swelling.
- Wash the bite gently and cover it with a clean dry dressing.
- Get to a hospital at once.
- Do not cut the wound, do not try to suck out the venom, do not apply a tight tourniquet, do not apply ice, and do not give alcohol.
- Do not chase or try to kill the snake. Note its appearance only if that is safe.
The pattern running through all four. Every one of them is mostly restraint — press and wait, cool and wait, immobilise and wait, keep still and get to hospital. None of the four is treated by doing something clever, and three of the four have a longer list of do nots than dos.
What do you do about drowning and electric shock?
In both cases the first action is about getting the person away from the cause without becoming a casualty yourself, and the second is restoring breathing.
Drowning.
- Get the person out of the water without endangering yourself. Reach out with a rope, pole, stick or float; do not jump in unless you are a trained swimmer and rescuer.
- Clear the mouth of weeds, mud or vomit.
- Turn the person on their side to let water drain out.
- If they are not breathing, begin artificial respiration at once and continue until breathing restarts or help arrives.
- Remove wet clothes and keep the person warm.
- Take them to hospital even if they seem to have recovered, since complications can follow hours later.
Electric shock. Here the order of actions is critical and cannot be varied.
- Switch off the main supply first. A person in contact with a live current is themselves live, and touching them puts you into the circuit.
- If the supply cannot be switched off, push them clear with a dry non-conductor — a dry wooden stick, a thick dry cloth or a rubber mat — while standing on something dry and insulating.
- Never use anything wet or metallic, and never grab the person with a bare hand.
- Once they are clear, check breathing and give artificial respiration if needed.
- Treat the burns, which occur where the current entered and left the body.
- Call for medical help, even if the person appears unharmed, since the current may have affected the heart.
Artificial respiration, in outline. It is used when breathing has stopped but the heart may still be beating, and its purpose is to keep oxygen reaching the brain, which begins to suffer damage within minutes without it.
- Lay the person on their back on a firm surface.
- Tilt the head back and lift the chin to open the airway, and clear the mouth.
- In mouth-to-mouth respiration: pinch the nose closed, seal your mouth over theirs, and blow steadily until the chest rises. Then lift away and let the chest fall.
- Repeat rhythmically and do not stop until breathing restarts or a doctor takes over.
Why the chest rising is the thing to watch. It is the only sign that air is actually entering the lungs rather than the stomach. If the chest does not rise, the airway is still blocked — so the head position and the mouth need checking before continuing.
And why this is taught as an outline only. Artificial respiration is a practical skill that has to be learnt on a training model under instruction, not from a description. Knowing the principle is what the syllabus asks; knowing when to call for help is what matters most in real life.
Drowning.
- Get the person out of the water without endangering yourself. Reach out with a rope, pole, stick or float; do not jump in unless you are a trained swimmer and rescuer.
- Clear the mouth of weeds, mud or vomit.
- Turn the person on their side to let water drain out.
- If they are not breathing, begin artificial respiration at once and continue until breathing restarts or help arrives.
- Remove wet clothes and keep the person warm.
- Take them to hospital even if they seem to have recovered, since complications can follow hours later.
Electric shock. Here the order of actions is critical and cannot be varied.
- Switch off the main supply first. A person in contact with a live current is themselves live, and touching them puts you into the circuit.
- If the supply cannot be switched off, push them clear with a dry non-conductor — a dry wooden stick, a thick dry cloth or a rubber mat — while standing on something dry and insulating.
- Never use anything wet or metallic, and never grab the person with a bare hand.
- Once they are clear, check breathing and give artificial respiration if needed.
- Treat the burns, which occur where the current entered and left the body.
- Call for medical help, even if the person appears unharmed, since the current may have affected the heart.
Artificial respiration, in outline. It is used when breathing has stopped but the heart may still be beating, and its purpose is to keep oxygen reaching the brain, which begins to suffer damage within minutes without it.
- Lay the person on their back on a firm surface.
- Tilt the head back and lift the chin to open the airway, and clear the mouth.
- In mouth-to-mouth respiration: pinch the nose closed, seal your mouth over theirs, and blow steadily until the chest rises. Then lift away and let the chest fall.
- Repeat rhythmically and do not stop until breathing restarts or a doctor takes over.
Why the chest rising is the thing to watch. It is the only sign that air is actually entering the lungs rather than the stomach. If the chest does not rise, the airway is still blocked — so the head position and the mouth need checking before continuing.
And why this is taught as an outline only. Artificial respiration is a practical skill that has to be learnt on a training model under instruction, not from a description. Knowing the principle is what the syllabus asks; knowing when to call for help is what matters most in real life.
What do tobacco, alcohol and drugs do to the body?
Tobacco is harmful because of three substances in particular.
- Nicotine is addictive, and it raises the heart rate and blood pressure. It is the reason stopping is so difficult.
- Tar collects in the lungs and is cancer-causing.
- Carbon monoxide combines with haemoglobin more firmly than oxygen does, so the blood carries less oxygen — exactly the mechanism described in the chapter on carbon monoxide.
Its effects: cancer of the lung, mouth and throat; bronchitis and lasting lung damage; heart disease; reduced stamina; stained teeth and bad breath. Chewing tobacco causes mouth cancer, and is not the safer alternative it is sometimes claimed to be.
Passive smoking — breathing someone else's smoke — carries many of the same risks, which is why smoking in public places is prohibited.
Alcohol is a depressant: it slows the nervous system down.
- Immediately: poor coordination, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reactions and impaired judgement. This combination is why drinking and driving causes so many accidents — and why the drinker is usually the last person to realise they are impaired.
- Over time: damage to the liver, leading to cirrhosis; stomach ulcers; damage to the brain and nerves; malnutrition, since alcohol supplies energy but no nutrients; and addiction.
- Socially: loss of employment, financial ruin, and serious harm to the drinker's family.
Drug abuse means taking a drug for reasons other than medical treatment, or in excessive quantity.
- It leads to addiction — a state in which the body and mind demand the drug, and stopping produces painful withdrawal symptoms.
- It damages the brain and nervous system, causing mood swings, hallucinations and loss of memory and concentration.
- It causes loss of appetite and weight, and severe weakness.
- Shared needles transmit HIV and hepatitis.
- An overdose can be fatal, and the risk cannot be judged by the user.
How to avoid all three. The routes in are remarkably consistent, so the defences are too.
- Say no firmly, and recognise that peer pressure is by far the commonest way people start. Everyone is doing it is both untrue and irrelevant.
- Choose your company, and avoid friends who pressure you.
- Talk to a parent, teacher or counsellor if you are being pressured. This is the step most often skipped and the one that helps most.
- Keep occupied — sport, hobbies, music, studies.
- Know the facts, so that advertising and casual claims do not mislead you.
- Never try it once. Every addiction began with a first time that seemed harmless, and the whole danger of an addictive substance is that the decision to continue is not made freely.
- Seek help early. Counselling and de-addiction centres exist, and addiction is treatable — far more easily early than late.
- Nicotine is addictive, and it raises the heart rate and blood pressure. It is the reason stopping is so difficult.
- Tar collects in the lungs and is cancer-causing.
- Carbon monoxide combines with haemoglobin more firmly than oxygen does, so the blood carries less oxygen — exactly the mechanism described in the chapter on carbon monoxide.
Its effects: cancer of the lung, mouth and throat; bronchitis and lasting lung damage; heart disease; reduced stamina; stained teeth and bad breath. Chewing tobacco causes mouth cancer, and is not the safer alternative it is sometimes claimed to be.
Passive smoking — breathing someone else's smoke — carries many of the same risks, which is why smoking in public places is prohibited.
Alcohol is a depressant: it slows the nervous system down.
- Immediately: poor coordination, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reactions and impaired judgement. This combination is why drinking and driving causes so many accidents — and why the drinker is usually the last person to realise they are impaired.
- Over time: damage to the liver, leading to cirrhosis; stomach ulcers; damage to the brain and nerves; malnutrition, since alcohol supplies energy but no nutrients; and addiction.
- Socially: loss of employment, financial ruin, and serious harm to the drinker's family.
Drug abuse means taking a drug for reasons other than medical treatment, or in excessive quantity.
- It leads to addiction — a state in which the body and mind demand the drug, and stopping produces painful withdrawal symptoms.
- It damages the brain and nervous system, causing mood swings, hallucinations and loss of memory and concentration.
- It causes loss of appetite and weight, and severe weakness.
- Shared needles transmit HIV and hepatitis.
- An overdose can be fatal, and the risk cannot be judged by the user.
How to avoid all three. The routes in are remarkably consistent, so the defences are too.
- Say no firmly, and recognise that peer pressure is by far the commonest way people start. Everyone is doing it is both untrue and irrelevant.
- Choose your company, and avoid friends who pressure you.
- Talk to a parent, teacher or counsellor if you are being pressured. This is the step most often skipped and the one that helps most.
- Keep occupied — sport, hobbies, music, studies.
- Know the facts, so that advertising and casual claims do not mislead you.
- Never try it once. Every addiction began with a first time that seemed harmless, and the whole danger of an addictive substance is that the decision to continue is not made freely.
- Seek help early. Counselling and de-addiction centres exist, and addiction is treatable — far more easily early than late.
Exam tip
Exam tip: the do-nots are worth as many marks as the dos
For each injury, give the do nots as well as the dos. Do not apply oil or toothpaste to a burn, do not break blisters, do not cut or suck a snake bite, do not set a fracture, do not tilt the head back for a nosebleed. These are separate marks.
For electric shock, the first step is to switch off the supply. Writing any other action first loses the mark, because the order is the safety point.
For burns, name cool running water for several minutes as the main treatment.
For fractures, use the word splint and say it is tied above and below the injury. Add that a suspected spinal injury must not be moved at all.
For snake bite, say antivenom at a hospital is the only real treatment, and that the person must be kept calm and still with the limb immobilised and below heart level.
Define first aid with both words — immediate and temporary — and give its three aims: preserve life, prevent worsening, promote recovery.
In artificial respiration, mention tilting the head back, clearing the mouth, and watching the chest rise.
Name the three harmful substances in tobacco — nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide — with what each does.
And for prevention of substance abuse, give practical steps, with peer pressure named as the main route in.
For electric shock, the first step is to switch off the supply. Writing any other action first loses the mark, because the order is the safety point.
For burns, name cool running water for several minutes as the main treatment.
For fractures, use the word splint and say it is tied above and below the injury. Add that a suspected spinal injury must not be moved at all.
For snake bite, say antivenom at a hospital is the only real treatment, and that the person must be kept calm and still with the limb immobilised and below heart level.
Define first aid with both words — immediate and temporary — and give its three aims: preserve life, prevent worsening, promote recovery.
In artificial respiration, mention tilting the head back, clearing the mouth, and watching the chest rise.
Name the three harmful substances in tobacco — nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide — with what each does.
And for prevention of substance abuse, give practical steps, with peer pressure named as the main route in.
Did you know
Why does cooling a burn with water work better than anything else?
A burn does not stop burning when the flame is removed. The heat already in the skin keeps spreading into the tissue below for some time afterwards, deepening the injury minute by minute.
Cool running water does the one thing that matters: it carries that heat away. Water has an unusually high capacity for absorbing heat, and running water keeps replacing itself so it never warms up and stops working — which is why a bowl of still water is much less effective than a tap.
That is also exactly why oil, ghee and toothpaste make things worse. They form a layer that holds the heat in, so the burn continues to deepen under a coating that also has to be removed before the injury can be treated.
So the most effective treatment for one of the most painful injuries is plain water, freely available, needing no skill — and it works better the sooner it starts. There are few clearer examples of why first aid is worth knowing before you need it.
Cool running water does the one thing that matters: it carries that heat away. Water has an unusually high capacity for absorbing heat, and running water keeps replacing itself so it never warms up and stops working — which is why a bowl of still water is much less effective than a tap.
That is also exactly why oil, ghee and toothpaste make things worse. They form a layer that holds the heat in, so the burn continues to deepen under a coating that also has to be removed before the injury can be treated.
So the most effective treatment for one of the most painful injuries is plain water, freely available, needing no skill — and it works better the sooner it starts. There are few clearer examples of why first aid is worth knowing before you need it.
Key takeaways
First aid and substance abuse: quick revision
- First aid is the immediate and temporary care given before medical treatment arrives, and is never a substitute for a doctor.
- Aims: preserve life, prevent worsening, promote recovery; also relieve pain, prevent infection and arrange medical help.
- General rules: stay calm and reassure, send for help at once, remove the danger without endangering yourself, check breathing and bleeding first, loosen tight clothing, keep the patient warm, nothing by mouth to an unconscious person, do not move a suspected fracture or spinal injury, and do not attempt more than you know.
- Bleeding — direct pressure with a clean cloth, raise the part, add cloth on top rather than removing it, bandage firmly. Nosebleed: sit up, lean forward, pinch the nose.
- Burns — cool under running water for several minutes, remove rings before swelling, cover loosely. No oil, ghee or toothpaste, do not break blisters. Burning clothes: stop, drop and roll, never run.
- Fractures — a break or crack in a bone, with pain, swelling, deformity and loss of movement. Do not set it; immobilise with a splint above and below, use a sling, apply cold, move carefully. Never move a suspected spinal injury.
- Snake bite — keep calm and still, immobilise the limb below heart level, remove tight items, cover the wound, reach hospital for antivenom. Do not cut, suck, tourniquet, ice or give alcohol.
- Drowning — reach out with a rope or pole rather than jumping in, clear the mouth, turn on the side to drain water, start artificial respiration if not breathing, keep warm, and go to hospital even if recovered.
- Electric shock — switch off the supply first; if not possible, push clear with a dry non-conductor while standing on something dry. Never use anything wet or metallic. Then check breathing and treat the burns.
- Artificial respiration — on the back on a firm surface, head tilted back, chin lifted, mouth cleared; pinch the nose, blow until the chest rises, let it fall, repeat without stopping.
- Tobacco — nicotine (addictive, raises heart rate), tar (cancer-causing), carbon monoxide (reduces oxygen carriage). Causes lung, mouth and throat cancer, bronchitis and heart disease. Passive smoking carries the same risks.
- Alcohol is a depressant — poor coordination and judgement at once; liver cirrhosis, ulcers, nerve damage, malnutrition and addiction over time.
- Drug abuse causes addiction with withdrawal symptoms, brain and nerve damage, weight loss, HIV and hepatitis from shared needles, and death by overdose.
- Avoiding them: say no, resist peer pressure, choose your company, talk to a trusted adult, stay occupied, know the facts, never try it once, and seek help early.
Test yourself by writing the dos and the do-nots for each of the four injuries — the do-nots are where the marks and the real-world value both sit.
- Aims: preserve life, prevent worsening, promote recovery; also relieve pain, prevent infection and arrange medical help.
- General rules: stay calm and reassure, send for help at once, remove the danger without endangering yourself, check breathing and bleeding first, loosen tight clothing, keep the patient warm, nothing by mouth to an unconscious person, do not move a suspected fracture or spinal injury, and do not attempt more than you know.
- Bleeding — direct pressure with a clean cloth, raise the part, add cloth on top rather than removing it, bandage firmly. Nosebleed: sit up, lean forward, pinch the nose.
- Burns — cool under running water for several minutes, remove rings before swelling, cover loosely. No oil, ghee or toothpaste, do not break blisters. Burning clothes: stop, drop and roll, never run.
- Fractures — a break or crack in a bone, with pain, swelling, deformity and loss of movement. Do not set it; immobilise with a splint above and below, use a sling, apply cold, move carefully. Never move a suspected spinal injury.
- Snake bite — keep calm and still, immobilise the limb below heart level, remove tight items, cover the wound, reach hospital for antivenom. Do not cut, suck, tourniquet, ice or give alcohol.
- Drowning — reach out with a rope or pole rather than jumping in, clear the mouth, turn on the side to drain water, start artificial respiration if not breathing, keep warm, and go to hospital even if recovered.
- Electric shock — switch off the supply first; if not possible, push clear with a dry non-conductor while standing on something dry. Never use anything wet or metallic. Then check breathing and treat the burns.
- Artificial respiration — on the back on a firm surface, head tilted back, chin lifted, mouth cleared; pinch the nose, blow until the chest rises, let it fall, repeat without stopping.
- Tobacco — nicotine (addictive, raises heart rate), tar (cancer-causing), carbon monoxide (reduces oxygen carriage). Causes lung, mouth and throat cancer, bronchitis and heart disease. Passive smoking carries the same risks.
- Alcohol is a depressant — poor coordination and judgement at once; liver cirrhosis, ulcers, nerve damage, malnutrition and addiction over time.
- Drug abuse causes addiction with withdrawal symptoms, brain and nerve damage, weight loss, HIV and hepatitis from shared needles, and death by overdose.
- Avoiding them: say no, resist peer pressure, choose your company, talk to a trusted adult, stay occupied, know the facts, never try it once, and seek help early.
Test yourself by writing the dos and the do-nots for each of the four injuries — the do-nots are where the marks and the real-world value both sit.