Patient resources

First Aid, the First Five Minutes

What to do in the first five minutes, before help arrives, for the emergencies people meet most often.

Chest pain, trouble breathing, sudden weakness on one side, a fit or heavy bleeding needs help now, not an appointment.

112Any emergency108Ambulance102Pregnancy and newborn
Check a symptomManage a conditionHealth calculatorsFirst aid

1Find what has happened

Common
Wounds, bleeding and burns

Heavy bleeding

Also called bleeding, khoon, cut, deep cut, wound

What you are dealing with

A wound that is soaking through cloth or spurting needs pressure straight away. Pressure stops almost all bleeding you will meet.

Do this, in this order

  1. Sit or lay the person down, and if you can, raise the bleeding part above the level of the heart.
  2. Press firmly and directly on the wound with a clean cloth, a folded towel or your gloved hand.
  3. Keep pressing without lifting to check. Ten minutes of steady pressure does more than twenty peeks.
  4. If blood soaks through, put another cloth on top and keep pressing. Do not remove the first one.
  5. Once the bleeding slows, bandage the cloth firmly in place and keep the person warm and still.
  6. Get to a hospital for any wound that is deep, gaping, dirty, on the face, or caused by glass or metal.

Never do this

  • Do not wash out a deep wound or poke inside it to look.
  • Do not remove an object that is stuck in the wound. Pad around it and leave it in place.
  • Do not tie a tourniquet unless you have been trained and the limb bleeding cannot be controlled any other way.
  • Do not apply turmeric, ash, coffee powder, cow dung or any home powder to an open wound.

Call an ambulance if

  • Bleeding that does not slow after ten minutes of firm pressure
  • Blood that spurts in time with the heartbeat
  • The person becomes pale, cold, sweaty, confused or faint
  • The wound is from a machine, a road accident, a fall from height, or a stabbing
Call 112 nowCall 108 ambulance

After the emergency

Get it looked at properly

First aid buys time, it does not finish the job. Most of these situations need a doctor to check what happened, prevent infection, and decide whether anything more is needed.

Consult a doctorCheck a symptom instead

Build a home first aid box today

Keep it in one place that everyone in the house knows, not scattered across three drawers.

  1. Sterile gauze pads, a roll of gauze bandage, and a crepe bandage.
  2. Adhesive dressings in a few sizes, and hypoallergenic tape.
  3. Blunt nosed scissors, tweezers, and a pack of disposable gloves.
  4. Antiseptic solution such as povidone iodine, and clean cotton for cleaning around wounds.
  5. A digital thermometer, oral rehydration salts, and glucose sachets.
  6. A written card with your emergency numbers, your blood group, your allergies and your regular medicines.

What to say when you call for an ambulance

Operators ask the same questions in the same order. Knowing them saves a minute you may not have.

  1. Your exact address with a landmark, and your phone number in case the call drops.
  2. What has happened, in one sentence.
  3. Whether the person is awake, and whether they are breathing normally.
  4. Their rough age, and whether they are pregnant.
  5. Any known condition and any medicine they take, especially blood thinners, insulin or heart medicines.
  6. Stay on the line. The operator can talk you through compressions or bleeding control while the ambulance is on its way.

Important. This page is general first aid education and cannot replace a hands on first aid course or professional emergency care. Techniques taught by the Indian Red Cross, St John Ambulance and similar bodies are worth a single day of your life. In an emergency, call 112 or 108 first and follow what the operator tells you, because they can see your location and know what is on the way.

Not what you needed? Try one of these

Check a symptomSomething feels wrong and you want to know what it could be and who to seeManage a conditionYou live with diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid, asthma or something similarHealth calculatorsYou have a number, such as weight, waist or blood pressure, and want to know what it means

Emergency numbers in India

Save these in your phone now, not when you need them. Tap any number to call it.

112Any emergencyOne number for police, fire and ambulance across India108AmbulanceFree emergency ambulance in most states and union territories102Pregnancy and newbornAmbulance for mothers and babies in most states14416Mental health supportTele MANAS, free counselling every hour of the day, many languages1800 116 117Poisoning or overdoseNational Poisons Information Centre, AIIMS New Delhi1098Child in distressChildline India, free and confidential

Where to read more

Public health sources written for patients rather than for doctors, and kept up to date.

Ministry of Health and Family WelfareOfficial Indian health programmes, advisories and public guidanceWorld Health Organization health topicsGlobal fact sheets written for the public, on hundreds of topicsNHS health A to ZPlain language pages on symptoms, conditions, tests and treatmentsMedlinePlusPatient information from the United States National Library of MedicineTele MANASIndia's national mental health support service, free and available all day

Important: Everything in Teleprac patient resources is general health education. It does not give you a diagnosis and it cannot replace examination by a qualified doctor, because it does not know your age, your reports, your pregnancy or the other medicines you take. Please do not start, stop or change any medicine on your own. Teleprac Healthcare is not liable for decisions made on the basis of this information. In an emergency, call your local emergency number or go to the nearest hospital immediately.