First Aid: Basic Tips and Tools

About.com First Aid readers weigh in on what they think are the most important first aid skills everyone should know.

Readers weigh in on first aid myths. Tell us about your first aid myths and legends.

The pulse is the surge of blood that is pushed through the arteries when the heart beats, and is a vital sign that can tell a lot about a person's medical condition.

Dressing wounds can be done at home. Most lacerations and abrasions can be handled at home without ever going to the emergency room. To take care of wounds at home, they must be cleaned and may need to be dressed.

When treating eye injuries, always take care of both eyes together.

An impaled object in the eye can lead to vision loss and disfigurement. Proper first aid can save the eye.

Eye abrasions usually come from foreign objects in the eyes. Make sure to remove foreign objects before covering eyes.

Flushing the eyes with water is the preferred treatment to remove foreign objects or chemical contamination from the eyes.

Splinters can become infected if not removed. Some splinter will work their way out without removal, but if you don't want to wait, learn how to remove a splinter.

Wash your hands often when performing first aid procedures. Learn how to wash your hands thoroughly.

Fights lead to injuries that may require first aid. Many of these injuries can be treated at home, some require a trip to the hospital, and others require a call to 911.

How much first aid training do you need? Learning first aid may seem daunting with all the choices out there. Take the first aid course that's right for you.

This handbook of first aid will help lay rescuers with basic first aid and cpr needs.

The principles of leadership used by professional rescuers can be used by lay rescuers as well. Planning for an emergency should include defining the roles of rescuers and designating leaders before they are needed. If no leader is defined one will probably emerge, but don't count on it.

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted against blood vessel walls by the blood as it flows through them. Because of the way arteries and veins are used by the circulatory system, arterial walls are much thicker and withstand higher pressures than venous walls do. When we measure blood pressure, we are measuring the pressure in the arteries.

Blood pressure is measured with two different noninvasive techniques, a manually performed technique known as auscultation and an automated technique known as oscillation.

Measuring blood pressure at home leads to questions about odd readings. You may wonder what to do if you get a particularly high reading (hypertension) - or a particularly low one (hypotension). The answer is definitely: it depends.

It's time to dispel some of the most popular myths in first aid lore. Read on to see the worst first aid ideas, demystified with the correct response to each emergency.

Splinting a broken arm is more art than science. These images help illustrate the use of a cardboard splint to immobilize a broken forearm.

Know how to control bleeding in any situation.

There is no substitute for hands-on first aid training. But just in case you are challenged with someone in need and haven't had CPR or first aid classes, follow these basic steps.

What's in your first aid kit? Share your first aid kit and see how others put together their first aid kits. See where folks are putting first aid kits.See submissions

A quick primer on the most basic first aid procedures. This is no substitute for proper first aid training, but it will get you through a minor crisis.

The emergency room is filled with people who don't have medical emergencies. If they'd read this, maybe they wouldn't have come.

Can you treat it yourself or do you need a doctor? Here is how to tell.