Bandaids, gauze, splints, & stitches

"Are you okay? Are you okay? My name is Elizabeth and I'm CPR/First Aid certified! May I help you?"

I just spent 4 invigorating hours getting First Aid and CPR training. My class was from 6pm-10pm, so the nap I managed to squeeze in this afternoon was essential for my participation in this evening's training.

I learned all about how to treat hypothermia, snake bites, poison ingestion (I memorized the Poison Control Center phone number: 800-222-1222), chemical burns, bloody noses, and other stomach-churching injuries. I'm convinced that the pictures used to aid in the training process might actually induce a serious condition such as vomiting or fainting. Is it absolutely necessary to use such graphic images? I did not particularly want to see an object embedded in a man's eyeball or a severed body part wrapped in bloody gauze. Blech!

I found this line particularly interesting in my training handbook: Do NOT put nail polish on an attached tick. Hmm.

While I hope I never have to perform CPR, Rescue Breathing, or Abdominal Thrusts, I am thankful for the training and fully support its merit.