Dossier · First aid
First aid step by step: 23 emergencies
Twenty-three emergencies, one card for each: how to recognise them, what to do in the first few minutes and what never to do. Following the ERC/IRC 2025 guidelines.
In any emergency call 112
Start with the cardsIn an emergency the first few minutes matter most, and often the person nearby is not a doctor: it is a relative, a colleague, a passer-by. Knowing what to do, and what not to do, can change the outcome.
In this dossier you will find twenty-three cards: the ten most common emergencies and thirteen more, from newborns to older people, from the cold to New Year’s Eve fireworks. For each one: how to recognise it, what to do step by step, the mistakes to avoid and an in-depth video with animated drawings to watch and share (videos in Italian). All the content has been checked against the 2025 CPR guidelines of the Italian Resuscitation Council and of the European Resuscitation Council. The newer cards gain their video as each one is released, up to 22 December.
In every emergency, the first step is to call 112: the operator will guide you until help arrives.
Stroke
Time is brain
How to recognise it
Suddenly one side of the face droops, an arm loses strength, the person slurs their speech or cannot understand. A single sign is enough.
What to do
- Face: ask them to smile. Does one side of the mouth stay down?
- Arms: ask them to raise both arms. Does one drift down or not move?
- Speech: ask them to repeat a simple sentence. Is their speech slurred or muddled, or do they not understand?
- Even one sign: call 112 immediately and note the time the symptoms started (or the last time the person was well).
What not to do
- Don’t wait for it to pass, even if the symptoms seem to improve.
- Don’t give food, drink or medicines.
Heart attack
Time is life
How to recognise it
Pain, heaviness or tightness in the centre of the chest, which may spread to the arm (often the left), jaw, back or stomach. Often with cold sweats, nausea or shortness of breath. In women, older people and people with diabetes the signs may be less obvious.
What to do
- If the pain does not go away after a few minutes, call 112 immediately.
- Help the person sit or lie down in whatever position is most comfortable for them, and reassure them.
- Stay with them until help arrives and follow the operator’s instructions.
What not to do
- Don’t drive them to hospital yourself and don’t let them drive: the ambulance starts treatment during the journey.
- Don’t underestimate an «odd» pain just because it isn’t very severe.
Severe bleeding
Press and don't let go
How to recognise it
Blood flowing heavily, spurting or not stopping from a wound.
What to do
- If you have gloves, put them on.
- Press hard directly on the wound with a sterile gauze or a clean cloth, and keep up the pressure without letting go.
- Call 112.
- On an arm or leg, if pressure is not enough, someone who is trained can apply a tourniquet as soon as possible, noting the time.
What not to do
- Don’t release the pressure to «check» whether the bleeding has stopped.
- Don’t remove objects embedded in the wound: press around them.
Cardiac arrest
You can make the difference
How to recognise it
The person does not respond when you call them and gently shake them, and is not breathing normally (not breathing at all, or taking infrequent, noisy breaths).
What to do
- Call 112 and put the phone on speaker: the operator will guide you.
- Have someone bring a defibrillator (AED) straight away: switch it on and follow its voice prompts.
- One hand on top of the other in the centre of the chest, arms straight: compress 5–6 cm, 100–120 times a minute, with as few interruptions as possible.
- Keep going until help arrives or the person starts breathing normally again.
What not to do
- Don’t be afraid of getting it wrong: without compressions there is no chance of survival.
- Don’t stop to check for a pulse.
Choking
5 blows, 5 thrusts
How to recognise it
While eating, the person brings their hands to their throat, cannot speak or cough, is struggling to breathe or is not breathing.
What to do
- If they are coughing, encourage them to keep coughing: it is the best way to clear the obstruction.
- If they cannot cough: lean them forwards and give up to 5 firm back blows with the heel of your hand between the shoulder blades.
- If that doesn’t work: up to 5 abdominal thrusts (Heimlich manoeuvre): fist above the navel, pull sharply inwards and upwards.
- Alternate 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts until the object comes out.
- If they become unresponsive: call 112 and start CPR.
- After abdominal thrusts the person must always be seen by a doctor.
What not to do
- Don’t put your fingers blindly into their mouth.
- In infants and young children the technique is different: it is taught in paediatric choking and life-support courses (P-BLSD).
Anaphylaxis
Adrenaline and 112
How to recognise it
After a food, a medicine or an insect sting: swelling of the lips, tongue or face, difficulty breathing, widespread hives, sudden feeling of being unwell.
What to do
- Call 112.
- If the person has an adrenaline auto-injector, help them use it in the outer thigh as soon as possible.
- If they have not improved after 5 minutes and have a second dose, it can be repeated.
What not to do
- Don’t let them stand up suddenly: if they feel faint, have them lie down.
- Don’t wait for the symptoms to get worse.
Burns
20 minutes of water
How to recognise it
Reddened skin, with blisters or wounds after contact with heat, boiling liquids, flames or steam.
What to do
- Cool immediately under cool running water (not ice-cold) for at least 20 minutes.
- Remove rings, bracelets and watches before the area swells.
- Cover with a clean dressing or with cling film, without wrapping it tightly.
- Large burns, or burns to the face, hands or genitals, or in children: call 112.
What not to do
- No ice, toothpaste, butter, oil or other home remedies.
- Don’t pull off clothing stuck to the skin and don’t burst blisters.
Hypoglycaemia
Sugar is needed
How to recognise it
In a person with diabetes: sweating, shaking, pallor, confusion, strange behaviour, sudden reduced responsiveness.
What to do
- If they are awake and able to swallow: 15–20 g of fast-acting sugar (glucose tablets, sugary sweets, 50–100 ml of fruit juice or a sugary drink).
- If the symptoms have not gone after 15 minutes, repeat.
- Once they feel better, give them a light snack.
- If they do not respond or do not improve: call 112.
What not to do
- Don’t give anything by mouth to someone who is not responding: they could choke.
Poisoning
No DIY remedies
How to recognise it
Swallowing or contact with medicines, detergents, chemicals, plants or mushrooms; breathing in gas or fumes.
What to do
- Call 112 or a Poison Control Centre (Centro Antiveleni) and follow their instructions.
- Keep the product’s packaging (or a photo of the label) to hand.
- If it is gas or fumes, move the person into the fresh air without putting yourself in danger.
What not to do
- Don’t make them vomit.
- Don’t give milk, oil or anything else to drink unless healthcare professionals tell you to.
Head injury
Mind the head
How to recognise it
After a blow to the head: headache, dizziness, nausea, blurred or disturbed vision, confusion, difficulty remembering, drowsiness.
What to do
- Have the person stop immediately: no sport or exertion.
- Call 112 if they lose consciousness, vomit repeatedly, are confused, very drowsy or have seizures.
- Even if they seem fine, have them seen by a doctor and don’t leave them alone in the following hours.
What not to do
- Don’t let them go back to playing or training on the same day.
- If there has been a fall from a height or a heavy impact, don’t move their neck.
More emergencies: from newborns to older people
Seizures
Protect, don't restrain
How to recognise it
Loss of consciousness with rhythmic jerking of the arms and legs, sometimes frothing at the mouth or a bitten tongue. It usually stops on its own within a few minutes.
What to do
- Move dangerous objects away and clear the space around the person.
- Put something soft under their head and loosen their collar.
- Check the time: if it lasts more than 5 minutes, call 112.
- Also call 112 if it is their first seizure, if they are injured, if they are pregnant, if the seizures recur or if they do not come round.
- Once the movements stop, check their breathing: if they are breathing normally, put them on their side and stay with them. If they are not breathing normally, start CPR.
What not to do
- Don’t restrain their movements.
- Don’t put anything in their mouth: no fingers, no objects, no water.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 10 November.
Road accident
Safety first
How to recognise it
Vehicles involved, people injured or trapped, traffic still passing: the first danger is to whoever stops to help.
What to do
- Stop in a safe place, switch on your hazard lights and put on your high-visibility vest.
- Place the warning triangle at least 50 metres away.
- If you can do so without risk, switch off the engines. No cigarettes.
- Call 112: where you are, how many are injured, whether anyone is trapped.
- Talk to the injured, reassure them and keep them covered. If someone is not breathing normally, start CPR.
What not to do
- Don’t move the injured, unless there is an immediate danger such as a fire.
- Don’t remove a motorcyclist’s helmet, unless it is needed to let them breathe.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 13 November.
Fainting
Down, and legs up
How to recognise it
Beforehand: pallor, sweating, nausea, blurred vision, ringing in the ears. Then a brief loss of consciousness, usually less than a minute.
What to do
- If you feel you are about to faint: cross your legs and tense your muscles, or squat or lie down.
- If they faint: lying down with legs raised, clothing loosened, fresh air.
- If they don’t come round within a minute, check their breathing and call 112.
- Once they feel better, help them up slowly: first sitting, then standing.
What not to do
- Don’t let them get up suddenly.
- Don’t underestimate fainting during exertion, with chest pain or palpitations: call 112.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 17 November.
Choking in infants
5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts
How to recognise it
A baby under one year old who cannot cry, cough or breathe and turns blue.
What to do
- If they are coughing or crying, let them cough and keep a close eye on them.
- Have someone call 112, or call on speakerphone.
- 5 back blows between the shoulder blades: face down along your forearm, head lower than the body, supporting the chin.
- 5 chest thrusts: face up, head down, with two thumbs in the centre of the chest.
- Alternate 5 and 5. If they become unresponsive: 5 rescue breaths into the mouth and nose, then CPR.
What not to do
- Don’t put your fingers blindly into their mouth.
- Don’t give round foods whole: cut grapes, cherry tomatoes and olives into quarters, lengthways.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 20 November.
CPR in children
First, 5 breaths
How to recognise it
The child does not respond and is not breathing normally.
What to do
- Call 112 on speakerphone. If you are alone with no phone, do 1 minute of CPR first.
- Give 5 rescue breaths (in an infant over the mouth and nose), until the chest rises.
- Compressions in the centre of the chest, to one third of its depth (about 4 cm in an infant, 5 cm in a child), 100–120 a minute: in an infant with two thumbs encircling the chest, in a child with one or two hands.
- Then 30 compressions and 2 breaths (15 and 2 if you have done a paediatric course).
- Use the AED: under 25 kg in paediatric mode, if available, with one pad on the front and one on the back.
What not to do
- Don’t stop until help arrives or the child is breathing normally.
- If you can’t give breaths, don’t stand still: at least do the compressions.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 24 November.
Fractures and sprains
Keep it still, don't straighten it
How to recognise it
Severe pain, swelling, bruising, an odd shape of the limb or a part that cannot be moved.
What to do
- Support the part in the position you find it (hands, a cushion, an arm sling).
- Ice wrapped in a cloth, for about 20 minutes.
- Open fracture: cover with a clean gauze and press around it if it is bleeding.
- Call 112 for open fractures, fractures of the hip, thigh bone, back or neck, very severe pain, or a hand or foot that is cold and numb.
What not to do
- Don’t straighten the limb and don’t let them move it.
- Don’t push the bone back in and don’t put ice directly on the skin.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 27 November.
Hypothermia and frostbite
Into the warm, gently
How to recognise it
Intense shivering, cold pale skin, clumsy hands, then confusion and drowsiness. If they stop shivering, it is serious. Frostbite: white, numb fingers, ears or nose.
What to do
- Get them to shelter and somewhere warm, moving them gently.
- Remove wet clothing, dry them and cover them with dry blankets, including the head.
- If they are awake and can swallow, a warm, sweet drink.
- If they are confused, drowsy or no longer shivering, call 112. If they are not breathing normally, start CPR.
What not to do
- No alcohol: it makes the body lose even more heat.
- On frostbite, don’t rub and don’t warm it with fire or heaters.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 1 December.
Carbon monoxide
The gas you can't detect
How to recognise it
Headache, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, often in several people in the same home, and in pets too. The gas has no smell and no colour.
What to do
- Open doors and windows and get out into the fresh air.
- Switch off the appliance only if you can do it straight away and without risk.
- Call 112, even if you feel better outside.
- Prevention: annual servicing of boilers, stoves and flues, and a carbon monoxide detector.
What not to do
- Don’t enter a room full of gas if you would be putting yourself at risk too.
- Never use braziers or generators indoors, never use a gas oven for heating, never leave an engine running in a closed garage.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 4 December.
Asthma attack
Sitting up and calm
How to recognise it
Shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, chest tightness. In severe cases they cannot speak.
What to do
- Have them sit up, leaning slightly forwards, with their arms resting on something.
- Stay calm and help them breathe slowly.
- If they have their own reliever inhaler, help them use it as their doctor has explained.
- Call 112 if the inhaler isn’t enough, they cannot speak, their lips are blue or they are drowsy.
What not to do
- Don’t make them lie down.
- Don’t underestimate swelling of the lips or tongue: it may be anaphylaxis.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 8 December.
Button batteries and magnets
Suspicion is enough
How to recognise it
A child may have swallowed a button battery or magnets. Often there are no signs at first; sometimes coughing, drooling, pain, vomiting or refusing food.
What to do
- Even if you only suspect it: call 112 or go straight to A&E (pronto soccorso).
- Bring the packaging or an identical battery.
- Prevention: toys with a screw-fastened battery compartment, new and used batteries kept away from children.
What not to do
- Don’t wait for symptoms: within a few hours the battery can burn the oesophagus.
- Don’t make the child vomit and don’t give food or drink, unless doctors or the Poison Control Centre tell you to.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 11 December.
Falls in older people
No rush
What to look for
Pain, a knock to the head, confusion, a leg that won’t move or a very painful hip.
What to do
- Reassure them and ask where it hurts, whether they hit their head, whether they remember what happened.
- Call 112 if they hit their head, take anticoagulants (blood thinners), have severe hip pain, cannot move a leg or are confused.
- If they are fine, get up in stages: onto one side, onto the knees, then using a sturdy chair.
- If they cannot get up: a cushion under the head, a blanket, and wait for help.
- Prevention: no slippery rugs, night lights, grab rails in the bathroom, a phone within reach.
What not to do
- Don’t pull them up suddenly and don’t force them.
- Don’t leave them alone in the following hours, especially if they hit their head.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 15 December.
New Year's Eve fireworks
Celebrate without harm
The risk
Every year burns, hand injuries and eye injuries, often from illegal or unexploded firecrackers.
What to do
- Only fireworks with the CE mark, bought from authorised shops.
- Burn: cool running water for at least 20 minutes, then cling film or clean gauze.
- Bleeding hand: press hard and call 112.
- Severed finger: in a clean, sealed bag, and the bag in ice.
- Injured eye: cover it without pressing and call 112.
What not to do
- Don’t pick up or relight an unexploded firecracker.
- Don’t rub the eye, don’t remove fragments, don’t let the finger touch the ice directly.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 18 December.
The first-aid kit
Ready for anything
What you need
Gloves, sterile gauze, bandages, plasters, scissors, a disinfectant, an instant ice pack and a foil emergency blanket.
What to do
- Add a sheet of useful numbers: 112, the Poison Control Centre, your doctor.
- In the car, also keep a high-visibility vest and warning triangle.
- Once a year, check expiry dates and replace what you have used.
- Keep it within reach of adults and out of reach of children.
What not to do
- Don’t keep other people’s medicines in it.
- Don’t forget the most useful tool of all: knowing what to do and calling 112 straight away.
The animated video (in Italian) comes out on 22 December.
Learn with your own hands
These pages are general information and are no substitute for a course. You only really learn the techniques by practising, with an instructor beside you: we run first-aid, BLSD and paediatric BLSD courses open to everyone, including companies, schools and associations (courses are held in Italian).
Sources: 2025 CPR guidelines, Italian Resuscitation Council (chapter 4 “Adult BLS” and chapter 12 “First aid”) and European Resuscitation Council, 2025 guidelines (paediatric life support and first aid). Content by the Misericordia di Ariccia.
