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Mama mia! Comedy-bad first aid

By Mark Cox
July 10, 2010 at 11:30 am

See if you can spot the non-deliberate mistake in this story:

Recently (and this actually happened) an aged Italian pensioner in a Rome park choked on a piece of bread and stopped breathing. His panicking son, at a loss for what to do, laid him down on a park bench and started blowing, hard, into his mouth.

Now, I’m hoping that even the least first aid-savvy among you will realise what a colossally bad idea this was. Choking injuries and mouth-blowing tend not to go well together. The son was essentially giving the kiss of life to a half-digested piece of bread.

Luckily, a British couple (who had just done a Red Cross first aid course – I thank you!) were passing by. They quickly stood the pensioner up, gave him a whack on the back and – hey presto – the bread popped out and he started breathing again.

In true Godfather style, the old chap simply said ‘Grazie’ in a husky voice before toddling off with his hapless son, presumably to make him a first aid offer he couldn’t refuse.

Thanks to our first aiders, this story had a molto bello ending. But how many people, I wonder, end up doing damage because they didn’t have just that wee snippet of first aid knowledge that would have helped them?

At my school, every time some kid had a nosebleed our teacher would yank their head straight back and hold their nose. (This causes the blood to run down the back of the throat and possibly into the stomach, inducing vomiting).

I also remember a schoolfriend once got a nail stuck in his hand and – instead of doing the right thing – his dad just yanked the nail out, causing an impressive jet-spray of blood. (Objects in wounds often block further blood loss, so pulling them out exacerbates the injury.) And how many concerned mothers are still putting ice directly on to their child’s burn injuries? (This could cause a cold burn and make the injury worse.)

It’s always a good idea to think about doing a first aid course or, if you’re pressed for time, take five minutes to check out our first aid tips and videos. And take care with that crusty Italian bread.

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Tags: emergency response, First aid, first aid tips, first aid training

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