First Aid Training for Senior Care

Senior care is a noble profession. Providing comfort and care to the elderly is one of the best things anyone can do. Being in the twilight of their lives, it is the duty of the senior caregiver to make sure that their remaining years be as relaxed and as happy as possible. However, it is important to state here that this is no easy job. Making sure that the needs and wants of the senior patient are well taken care of can turn out to be quite a challenge. Yet, every senior caregiver does their best to fulfill this task.

However, needless to say, the job description for any caregiver goes beyond the routine check-ups and feeding the elderly. It also involves responding to emergency situations that can develop while they are on the job. A senior caregiver must be ready to perform emergency procedures on the patient when the need arises.

Common Senior Emergency Situations
Emergency senior situations can develop when you are least expecting it. This is because anything can happen while one is on the job. Accidents may happen, and the senior patient can get seriously hurt. There is also a need to consider the persistence of various medical conditions that most seniors have. These two factors, the deteriorating health conditions of the elderly patients as well as unavoidable accidents, demand that a senior caregiver be prepared to act accordingly in times of emergency. That is why it is of utmost importance that professional caregivers receive first aid and CPR certifications.

The following are the most common medical emergencies that senior caregivers must always be prepared to face:

· Heart Attack
· Cardiac Arrest
· Asthma Attack
· Loss of Pulse
· Onset of High Blood Pressure

On the other hand, the following are emergency situations that come as a direct result of accidents involving the senior patient:

· Severe Head Trauma
· Poisoning/Ingestion of dangerous substances
· Drowning
· Suffocation
· Inhalation of smoke and other dangerous fumes

Responding to Senior Emergency Situations
CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) is one of the most basic skills that every senior care professional should have knowledge of. It is used when the senior's heart has stopped beating and when they have stopped breathing. The procedure facilitates the flow of blood to the brain. Time is of paramount importance to these situations. This is the reason is why the procedure needs to be performed as quickly as possible.
The procedure itself is simple enough to do. It follows a simple pattern of two techniques: the chest compression and the rescue breaths. The cycle should follow the caregiver alternating between 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths. The chest compressions should be focused on the senior's lower sternum. It should be done hard and fast (with a rate of at least 100 per minute). The rescue breaths, on the other hand, should last about one second. Make sure that you breathe normally. Never take deep breaths before administering rescue breaths on the victim.

First Aid and CPR Courses
It is important for professional caregivers to attend first aid classes. This will help them be better at their jobs. It also helps them prepare for emergency situations involving their senior patients.

Be a better senior caregiver. Be ready for any number of emergencies. Visit http://www.firstaidcprhamilton.ca for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jasmeet_K_Aulakh

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