First Aid

First Aid, generally understood in everyday life as the concept denoting the sum of simplest measures taken for the purpose of saving the life or health of victims of accidents or military actions. These measures include stopping bleeding and bandaging in case of wounds, assistance for fractures, fainting, drowning (artificial respiration), frostbite, burns, poisonings, and air-chemical attacks. In accordance with the importance that the preservation of health and working capacity of workers has in the USSR, the proper organization of first aid and its timely provision acquire special significance. Under the current regulations, the provision of F.A. is the duty of all medical institutions, including pharmacies, and all medical workers who are witnesses to an accident. For the provision of organized F.A. in the Soviet health care system on a city-wide scale, there are F.A. stations, and in all industrial enterprises - first aid posts (see Health Post). - In a combat situation, F.A. is provided in the Red Army in the order of self-help and mutual help by the Red Army soldiers themselves, specially trained for this purpose during sanitary training sessions, as well as by orderlies and sanitary instructors. Training the masses of workers in the technique of providing F.A. is the most important task of sanitary propaganda and has taken on broad dimensions in recent years, which is largely associated with defense preparations. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Society has widely developed a network of F.A. circles, from the members of which, after training, F.A. teams are formed, whose task is to provide F.A. in peacetime during public disasters (fires, floods, earthquakes) and to be on duty during mass gatherings of workers (demonstrations, sports competitions).