Life-Saving Basics · free · always · no account

Ten things that keep a person alive until help arrives.

Most people who die in front of someone die in the minutes before an ambulance gets there — and most of what would have saved them takes less than five minutes to learn. This is that five minutes, ten times over, taught the way we teach clinicians: what to do, what not to do, and the one thing to remember when your hands are shaking.

911

Every skill on this page starts the same way. Call — or point at one specific person and say "you, call 911." Say where you are first, then what's wrong. Put the phone on speaker and leave it on. The dispatcher will talk you through anything below while you do it. You are never doing this alone.

01

Recognize it and call

Someone collapses, stops making sense, can't breathe, or is bleeding badly
Do this
  1. Check the scene is safe for you. A second patient helps nobody.
  2. Tap their shoulders and shout. Look at the chest for 5–10 seconds — is it rising normally?
  3. Point at one person: "You. Call 911. Come back and tell me what they said." If you're alone, call on speaker.
  4. Say your location first. Then what's happening. Then follow the dispatcher — they will coach you through every skill on this page.
  5. Send a second person for an AED if there's any chance one is nearby — offices, gyms, schools, airports.
Do not
  • Don't ask a crowd to call — everyone assumes someone else did.
  • Don't hang up. Speaker on, phone down, hands free.
  • Don't move someone who fell from height or was hit by a vehicle unless the scene is unsafe.
The one thing

Location first. One named person calls. Speaker on.

02

Hands-only CPR — adult

Unresponsive, not breathing or only gasping
Do this
  1. Kneel beside them. Heel of one hand on the centre of the chest, lower half of the breastbone. Other hand on top, fingers laced.
  2. Arms straight, shoulders over your hands. Push HARD — at least 2 inches — and FAST — 100 to 120 a minute. That's the beat of "Stayin' Alive."
  3. Let the chest come all the way back up between pushes. Don't lean.
  4. Do not stop. Swap with someone every two minutes if you can. Keep going until an AED arrives, help takes over, or they start breathing.
  5. Gasping is not breathing. If they're gasping occasionally, they need CPR.
Do not
  • Don't check for a pulse — you'll waste time and get it wrong. Unresponsive and not breathing normally is enough.
  • Don't stop to see if it's working.
  • Don't be gentle. Ribs may crack. A cracked rib heals; a brain without oxygen doesn't.
The one thing

Centre of the chest. Hard, fast, don't stop.

Next: AHA Heartsaver or Red Cross CPR/AED puts your hands on a manikin so the depth becomes muscle memory.

03

Use an AED

Anyone getting CPR — the moment one arrives
Do this
  1. Turn it on. It talks. Do exactly what it says.
  2. Bare the chest. Dry it if it's wet. Peel and place the pads exactly as the pictures on them show — one upper right chest, one lower left side.
  3. When it says "analyzing" — hands off. Say "CLEAR" and look to make sure nobody's touching.
  4. If it says shock: shout "CLEAR," look again, press the flashing button.
  5. Immediately back to compressions. Do not wait for it to say so. Do not check a pulse. The AED will re-analyze in two minutes on its own.
Do not
  • Don't delay compressions while someone fetches or unpacks it — one person does CPR, another handles the AED.
  • Don't put a pad over a medication patch or a pacemaker bump — move it an inch aside.
  • Don't take the pads off, even if they wake up.
The one thing

Turn it on and obey it. Hands back on the chest after every shock.

04

Choking

Hands at the throat, can't speak, cough, or breathe — or a silent, panicked face
Do this
  1. Ask: "Are you choking?" If they can cough or speak, encourage coughing and stay with them. Don't hit them yet.
  2. If they can't: stand behind them, lean them forward, and give 5 firm back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
  3. Then 5 abdominal thrusts: fist just above the navel, other hand over it, pull sharply in and up.
  4. Alternate 5 and 5 until it comes out or they go limp.
  5. If they go unresponsive: lower them to the ground, call 911, start CPR. Look in the mouth before each set of breaths and remove anything you can see.
Do not
  • Don't do abdominal thrusts on an infant under 1 — use 5 back blows then 5 chest thrusts with two fingers.
  • Don't do abdominal thrusts on someone pregnant or very large — use chest thrusts instead.
  • Don't sweep the mouth blindly with a finger; you'll push it deeper.
The one thing

Five back blows, five thrusts, repeat. Limp means CPR.

05

Severe bleeding

Blood that's spurting, pooling, soaking through clothes, or won't stop
Do this
  1. Call 911 — or have someone call — then find the source. Open or cut clothing so you can actually see it.
  2. Press. Both hands, all your weight, directly on the wound. Use a cloth if you have one; use your hands if you don't.
  3. If it's a deep wound in the arm, leg, neck, or groin and pressure isn't holding: pack it. Push gauze or clean cloth INTO the wound, all the way, then press on top.
  4. Arm or leg still bleeding through everything? Tourniquet. Two to three inches above the wound, never over a joint. Tighten until the bleeding stops — it will hurt. Note the time. Never loosen it.
  5. Keep them warm and lying down. Keep talking to them.
Do not
  • Don't peek. Lifting the dressing to check breaks the clot.
  • Don't remove a soaked dressing — add more on top.
  • Don't remove an object that's stuck in the wound. Press around it.
  • Don't ever take a tourniquet off once it's on. That's the hospital's job.
The one thing

Press hard. Pack deep. Tourniquet high and tight.

Next: Stop the Bleed is a free 90-minute course. It's the single best afternoon you can spend.

06

Recovery position

Unresponsive but breathing — drunk, overdosed, post-seizure, fainted — and no reason to suspect a neck injury
Do this
  1. Kneel at their side. Straighten their legs.
  2. The arm nearest you: out at a right angle, elbow bent, palm up.
  3. The far arm: across the chest, back of the hand against the cheek nearest you. Hold it there.
  4. With your other hand, pull the far knee up so the foot is flat on the floor. Then pull that knee toward you — they roll onto their side.
  5. Tilt the head back so the airway's open. Mouth points at the floor so anything they bring up drains out. Check breathing every minute until help arrives.
Do not
  • Don't leave them on their back. An unresponsive person on their back can drown in their own vomit.
  • Don't use this if they may have fallen or been struck — keep the head still and call.
  • Don't walk away. Breathing can stop after the roll.
The one thing

On their side, head back, mouth down.

07

Stroke — BE FAST

Sudden. Any of these, out of nowhere
Do this
  1. Balance — sudden loss of balance or coordination.
  2. Eyes — sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes.
  3. Face — ask them to smile. One side droops.
  4. Arms — ask them to raise both arms. One drifts down.
  5. Speech — ask them to repeat a simple sentence. Slurred, wrong, or can't.
  6. Time — call 911 immediately, and note the exact time they were last normal. That single number decides which treatments are possible.
Do not
  • Don't wait to see if it passes. It passing is also an emergency.
  • Don't give aspirin — some strokes are bleeds, and aspirin makes them worse.
  • Don't give food or drink. Swallowing may not be safe.
  • Don't drive them yourself. The ambulance starts treatment and calls the stroke team ahead.
The one thing

Face, arm, speech — and the time they were last normal.

08

Opioid overdose

Unresponsive, breathing very slowly or not at all, pinpoint pupils, blue or grey lips, gurgling or snoring
Do this
  1. Shout and rub your knuckles hard on their breastbone. If no response — call 911.
  2. Naloxone (Narcan): peel it open, tip in one nostril, press the plunger all the way. That's it. It cannot hurt someone who isn't overdosing.
  3. If they're not breathing: rescue breaths or CPR while you wait for it to work.
  4. No response in 2–3 minutes: second dose, other nostril.
  5. When they come round, roll them into the recovery position and STAY. Naloxone wears off in 30–90 minutes and they can go back under.
Do not
  • Don't put them in a cold shower, slap them, or inject anything.
  • Don't let them walk off. They may re-sedate.
  • Don't assume it isn't opioids because they "don't do that." Fentanyl is in things people don't expect.
The one thing

Call. Spray. Breathe for them. Stay.

Next: Naloxone is available without a prescription at pharmacies and free from most county health departments. Carry it.

09

Anaphylaxis

Minutes after a food, sting, or medication: hives or swelling PLUS trouble breathing, throat tightness, vomiting, or collapse
Do this
  1. Epinephrine, now. Get their auto-injector. Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh — pull the safety, press firmly into the outer thigh through clothing, hold as directed, about three seconds.
  2. Call 911. Even if they improve. Even if they say they're fine. Reactions come back.
  3. Lie them down with legs raised. If breathing is hard, let them sit up. If pregnant, on the left side.
  4. No better in 5–15 minutes: second injector, other thigh.
  5. Keep the used injector to hand to the paramedics.
Do not
  • Don't wait to see if antihistamines work. Benadryl does not treat anaphylaxis.
  • Don't let them stand up suddenly — blood pressure can crash.
  • Don't inject into the buttock, hand, or a vein. Outer thigh only.
The one thing

Two systems — skin plus breathing — means epi in the thigh, then 911.

10

Seizure

Sudden stiffening, rhythmic jerking, unresponsive, possibly foaming or incontinent
Do this
  1. Look at a clock. Time it from the start.
  2. Clear the space — move furniture, not the person. Put something soft under the head.
  3. Loosen anything tight at the neck. Take glasses off.
  4. When it stops: roll them onto their side. They'll be confused and exhausted — that's normal. Stay calm, stay with them, tell them where they are.
  5. Call 911 if it lasts longer than 5 minutes, a second one starts, they don't wake up, they were injured or in water, they're pregnant, or it's their first ever.
Do not
  • Don't put anything in their mouth. They will not swallow their tongue. You will break their teeth or your fingers.
  • Don't hold them down.
  • Don't give food, water, or medication until fully awake.
The one thing

Time it. Clear it. Cushion the head. Nothing in the mouth.

New

Learn these ten in the app — free.

The same course engine as the EMT track: each skill taught from the why, one signal at a time, then drilled until you understand it. Free account, no card.

Open Basics in the app
Next step

Now get the card.

Knowing the sequence is most of it. A hands-on course puts your hands on a manikin so the depth and rhythm become physical. A few hours; the card is good for two years.

American Heart Association — Heartsaver CPR AED & First Aid AHAAmerican Red Cross — Adult & Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED ARCStop the Bleed — free, about 90 minutes Free