Free First Aid Quick Reference PDF Printable

We’ve all experienced or heard of emergency situations that required the Heimlich maneuver or CPR, and thought to ourselves that it might be a good idea to learn those techniques.

Sure, we wake up every day and hope the day goes smoothly without any accidents occurring.

But we all know that’s not the case.

Therefore, I wanted to make an effort to learn first aid skills!

I understand that learning first aid skills won’t make my life easier on a day-to-day basis. But, this time invested could be something that save’s someone life one day, so it is definitely worth it.

In this article I will cover some tips I have learned and of course, you can download the free printable first aid manual PDF too!

First Aid Skills

When it comes to emergency procedures, I had to remind myself that the goal isn’t to become a doctor but have enough confidence for some basic first aid.

I just want to be able to offer the best assistance possible until I can get to a doctor or until the ambulance arrives.

For example, what if your child starts choking and stops breathing?

Of course, you are going to dial 911, but you should also know the necessary emergency medical procedures to perform while you wait for medical assistance.

a first aid kit laid out

Chances are, your child will encounter a minor injury or two, so let’s look at another example.

Let’s say your child fell off of their skateboard at high speed and their skin is scraped up, and the wound is bleeding heavily. If you have a first aid kit, you can find the correct bandage and get them cleaned up yourself if the injury is not too serious.

Society would be a lot better if each of us took the time to learn a few essential medical skills.

We’d be more equipped to help each other in minor emergency situations instead of waiting and hoping that help gets there in time. Furthermore, anyone with kids should keep a close eye on the health of their children and know-how to assist in emergencies.

It’s so important to equip our minds with these kind of helpful ideas.

You can read much more about basic first aid on sites like WebMD, the Mayo Clinic, and the Red Cross.

Continue reading for a few general first aid tips when dealing with children:

  • Make sure you know how to get help.
  • Take the child to a safe area.
  • Consider taking a CPR class. If disaster strikes, you will be able to help them continue breathing.
  • If the child is choking or having trouble breathing, be sure to put them in a position where their airway remains open.

A Printable First Aid Quick Reference Guide

To make my printable, I created a list of everything I believed to be the most essential first aid skills.

The list includes things that I would not want to wait for a doctor to arrive and do.

Most are skills I’ve studied before, but I don’t regularly use them, obviously. I wanted a way to remember them accurately if and when I needed to use them.

So, I created a one-page printable!

Put one in the car, on your fridge, or in the pantry. Make sure babysitters know where to find it, along with other babysitter notes.

You could even fold one up and put it in your wallet, kind of like a pocket PDF first aid guide! It’s simple, easy-peasy, and not overwhelming.

Important:  Please know, that you are more than welcome to use my printable above, but it is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment, or formal first-aid training. If you ever face a life-threatening medical situation, please call 911 as quickly as possible. This printable is the result of my personal online research and compilation of information I want myself, my family members, and babysitters to have quick access to. Again, you are welcome to use it, but you may also consider learning more about hands-only CPR, taking a First Aid / CPR training course, and adding some of the below first aid apps to your phone/device:

First Aid Apps

Below are a couple of first-aid apps that can also help you with some techniques!

Do you have any first-aid resources for learning necessary, life-saving skills I have not mentioned that you love? Tell us about it in the comments!

The Most Important First Aid Guide Techniques To Learn

I know a first aid guide has a lot of information, but if you’re stuck on where to begin, I’m here to help. Of course, it’s good to know every emergency procedure, but you shouldn’t burden yourself with that. Start by learning the ones that are the most common and move on from there.

1. CPR

CPR is one of the handiest first aid skills, and it has saved many lives. When a person is unable t breathe, it’s serious.

So, the quicker someone can get in there to help, the better. There are several ways to learn CPR— from local classes, online courses, and even YouTube videos.

2. Cleaning and Dressing Wounds

This is another very important skill to have.

Cleaning and protecting a wound makes a huge difference in how well a cut heals and whether it becomes infected.

3. The Heimlich Maneuver

I’m sure you’ve seen the Heimlich Maneuver played out on many movies and TV shows as a joke, but it’s actually very serious.

If a person is severely choking, you only have a few seconds to respond before the situation becomes life-threatening.

4. Treating Shock

A person can go into shock if they’ve witnessed something traumatic or endured a severe injury. Unfortunately, a person can still die from shock, even after their affliction has been treated. Therefore, it’s imperative to know the signs.

You want to keep the person calm, elevate their feet, and keep them warm, so their blood pressure stays regulated.

5. Treating Burns

Burns are extremely painful and damaging, and they must be treated quickly. Depending on the severity of the burn, it can cause infection and loss of skin.

You’ll want to know how to apply creams and properly wrap the wound.

How To Prepare For Emergency Situations (First Aid Guide)

According to safetyed.org, a first aid guide and safety kits are necessary for every home and vehicle.

Not only that, but your family should be ready in case of a natural disaster or life-threatening incident. Here are a few pointers they provided on their website:

Prevent And Treat Poisoning

Young children tend to be very curious, so you need to poison-proof your home. Keep harmful liquids out of their reach, and lock up medication, beauty products, and alcoholic beverages.

If someone in your household eats, drinks, or inhales something poisonous call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. They can provide you with instructions on how to treat ailments and remove toxins from the body.

Prepare Your Home For Earthquakes

Unless you live in an area where earthquakes are common, you might not think much about them. However, we all know they can happen anywhere! Before a quake occurs, figure out the safest area in your home and where you can go once it’s over.

Do research to learn if any fault lines in your area could potentially cause an earthquake in the future. You want to also make sure you have the correct supplies in your first aid kit, and that you can perform the proper medical techniques.

Lastly, keep your home stocked with non-perishable foods and bottled water in case you get stuck in your home.

Plan Ahead In Case Of A Fire

It’s unfortunate, but fires are common, and you never know when one might occur. Sometimes you can prevent a fire from spreading— like a grease fire —other times you can’t.

Therefore, your entire family needs to know what to do in case there’s an emergency. Map out where the exits are in your home and have a fire escape plan for every situation.

You don’t know which area of the house fire can start, so be sure to have different routes. Furthermore, take some time practicing with your family so that everyone is aware of what to do.

Prepare For A Tornado

The only good thing about tornadoes is that you usually have little time to prepare. Most likely, your local news will warn the residents in the area before the storm strikes. That’s fine, but when a huge storm is on the way, you don’t want to be scrambling to get supplies or putting together a safety plan.

To prepare for a tornado, find a place in your home that doesn’t have glass, dangling ornaments, or anything that can cause cuts and injuries. Furthermore, there might be a power outage once the tornado passes, so make sure your home is stocked with non-perishable food items and bottled water.

Plan For A Home Burglary

This is another tough situation that a lot of people don’t like to think about, but it’s a harsh reality. We all hope that we’re not the victims of robbery, but everyone needs to be on guard just in case. First, you should get an alarm system if you don’t already have one.

It will give you and your family the added peace of mind that you’re secure in case of an intrusion. Furthermore, prep your home when you’re away. Turn on the light or radio so that a burglar will think someone is home.

And if you go on vacation, send your packages to a P.O. box or a loved one’s house. Obviously, you want to make sure that all doors and windows are locked, but you can also have cameras installed to catch anyone that’s snooping on your property.

Final Thoughts On Following A First Aid Guide

The reality of life is that none of us know when tragedy might strike, and knowing first aid techniques is not only beneficial for your family but for others as well.

When emergencies occur, most people have to scramble to find someone who knows CPR and other medical procedures, but wouldn’t it be great if you were that person who could do it?

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “ knowledge is power”, but that statement applies to everything, not just book smarts. You won’t learn everything overnight, but I encourage you to stick with it. I’d like to get your feedback. Do you have any first-aid resources for learning life-saving skills I didn’t mention? Tell us about it in the comments!

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

42 thoughts on “Free First Aid Quick Reference PDF Printable”

  1. I love the idea of compiling the main points of first aid for families; however, we do need to make sure the information is accurate.

    Under Major Bleeding you wrote “Remove obvious objects from wounds, but don’t clean it. This is not totally correct.

    This is from Mayo Clinic Health Care and is standard of care: “Remove any clothing or debris from the wound. Look for the source of the bleeding. There could be more than one injury. Remove any obvious debris but don’t try to clean the wound. Don’t remove large or deeply embedded objects, and don’t probe the wound.”

    This does need to be specified or someone that is not medically trained will be removing large or deeply embedded objects. For this type of wound the object should be held securely and gauze packed and wrapped around it to hold it in place until can be assessed by a medical professional.

    I also noted other areas that are not according to standards of care per Red Cross or other health providers. Please check over your information for accuracy and re-write as needed, such as choking, finger sweeps are not done. You open the mouth and check.

    Reply
  2. Love this idea – have you considered making them “equal” size to print out and laminate to put on a ring? I’d love that for YW camps.

    Reply
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    Reply
  4. Our vets have put together a special Pet First Aid guide with handy tips, advice and steps to follow if you ever find yourself in this situation. The guide covers everything from heatstroke and traffic accidents to how to perform CPR and what you need inside your must-have pet first aid kit.

    Reply
  5. Can you please tell me where to find the link to the printable… maybe im just missing it but I don’t see a link to any kind of printable

    Reply
    • Hi! I couldn’t find it either at first. Go to the helpful new printable section, closer to the top of the page. Then click on the picture with the checklist. That’s how I found it. Good luck!

      Reply
  6. thank you so much for the printout. i am getting ready to take my CPR/First Aid training soon. i am a pre-k teacher. thanks again. elsie davis, charlotte, NC

    Reply
  7. Thank you for this simple printable. I am putting together small first aid kits for our local food bank and wanted to include easy-to-use emergency information to put in the kits. I just thought you would like to know that your hard will be be used in a cool way, and who knows whose life will be saved by this info.:)

    Reply
  8. I have a issue with the major bleeding part. You never ever remove a object from someone. That could cause more damage. Plus more bleeding. Always leave the object in a person. You wrap it as best as possible and get the person to the ER ASAP. Only then can the object be removed. Unless it is nothing major. Say a splinter. Or something that won’t need stitches.

    Reply
    • This is just what I found on the websites I linked to (Mayo, WebMD, RedCross etc), but it probably could be clearer – remove small objects – easy to remove debris. It does mention later to not remove deeply embedded objects.

      Reply
  9. This is a good guide. For those who want to learn more, check on free training from your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). They train on disaster response to help you keep you and family and friends safe until the pros arrive. You can still take a first aid and CPR class (recommended) but as a CERT volunteer you will learn about trauma and other things not covered in standard classes. And having this printable in different places (home, car, school, work, purse, backpack) with a mini first aid kit could really come in handy! Thanks, Misty!

    Reply
  10. Thank you very much for this. I have a great supply and even the bohemouth (sp) first aid kit from the Patriot Nurse – I could make a field hospital in my living room – but I don’t know what to do about much of none of it.

    Thank you very much for help me feel more comfortable too!

    Reply
    • Well you are very welcome Rhonda! If you have a lot of high quality first aid supplies, you might consider this book written by a doctor. It is one of my favorites and one I keep in our first aid kits just for the fact that I don’t have much knowledge outside of basic first aid.

      Reply
  11. Thank you for this most helpful post and free printable Misty. I do appreciate the time you put in to make this available. I never thought of myself as an extreme prepper but reading your article made me realize I have encountered many that are.. My preparedness roots go way back but I still enjoy an simple style of proceeding. Madgie

    Reply
  12. This is an area that I have been thinking about a lot. I have the first aid kid stocked and ready but do I know how to use everything and CPR. Lots to learn

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  13. This was well thought out and I commend you on your offer of this free printable. I have a few suggestions, though:
    “IMPORTANT: Hands-Only CRP” misspelling… should be CPR 🙂 Saw this in a couple of places, actually.
    Also, I believe it is the American Red Cross that recommends back blows and Heimlich and repeat, American Heart Association just recommends Heimlich (I am certified to teach AHA).
    your Heat Stroke section should be titled Heat Exhaustion… for Heat Stroke, you will want to get the body temperature down quickly so you will immerse them in water (https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/heat-stroke-symptoms-and-treatment)

    Reply
    • Thanks Shelli! I will fix those two “CRP” instead of “CPR”s soon. It took me a while to find them actually. I had to “ctrl-f” the document! You have a good eye! And yes, the Red Cross recommends back blows, heimlich and repeat. That is where I got the info. Did I say that I got it from the American Heart Association?

      And interesting about the Heat Stroke. I would have assumed that immersing would be the best couse of action as well, but I found a couple of places that said not to. One is here (https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/tc/emergency-first-aid-for-heatstroke-topic-overview). Here (https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/placement-of-ice-bags-for-heatstroke) is where it says to apply icepacks. Odd that the same site would have different recommendations! I’ll do some more research to try and find out why you shouldn’t immerse them. Let me know if you find anything as well.

      Reply
  14. Awesome, thanks for making a simplified version to refer to. I often get the numbers, positions, and compressions mixed up with CPR ( I’ve never had to use it but have tried to learn it multiple times ) this will be handy to have around. Thanks again!

    Reply

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