First Aid 18

There are various ways to celebrate the holiday season and many use decorations such as trees, lights and candles to show a festive spirit. Lighting candles, stringing ornaments, decking trees all make for merry holidays with friends and family, but it’s important to be aware of accidents at this time of year. Every year, common incidents include falling off ladders while hanging lights or decorations, cutting hands or fingers with scissors while wrapping or assembling toys, as well as electrical shocks.

Knowing basic first aid can help save lives. But if you’re more comfortable learning in a language other than English, it may be more challenging to find a first aid course. More than 50 per cent of the population in B.C.’s Lower Mainland speaks a language other than English at home. Luckily, Choi, who had to administer first aid on her infant daughter, was able to take first aid and disaster preparedness lessons in Chinese last year. 

It’s the spookiest time of the year! With so many monsters, witches and ghosts afoot it’s important to be extra safe. Here are some ways to help keep the Trick or Treaters in your life ready for the big night.

​Cliff Colpitts took his first ever first aid class. It was offered through his workplace. Canadian Red Cross training partner Ron Gillatt instructed the class, teaching important first aid skills – including CPR, which Cliff would later use to save his son’s life.

With summer still providing hot weather throughout many parts of Canada, it's important for everyone enjoying the outdoors to know how to prevent heat emergencies. Let Hudson show you how to deal with the dog days of summer.

Summer can bring warm, sunny weather and, after our Canadian winters, some welcome heat. When our summers heat up, it’s always important to keep your cool.
So to help beat the heat, and stay hydrated, indulge in tasty, refreshing beverages to keep cool - here are some recipes for your enjoyment:

“I really, really wanted to say thank you. I don’t think I conveyed how grateful I was.” Maggie Ireland fought back tears as she thanked two Red Cross volunteers for their assistance after she and her niece, Jamie, were involved in a car accident in downtown Edmonton.

Not everyone experiences chest pain during a heart attack. In my First Aid and CPR training with the Red Cross, I’d learned that heart attack symptoms for women can be a lot different than for men. But it didn’t really sink in how difficult that might make it to recognize a problem, until this happened.