LifeHacker: ​8 Basic Life-Saving Skills Everyone Should Know

The 4 life saving steps are:

Stop the bleeding
Start the breathing
Protect the wound
Treat for shock

Nine times out of ten, you'll use a tourniquet to stop any major bleeding. So, wear a belt just in case. Then apply a shirt or bandage as protection to prevent infection.

When you go to start the breathing you "Look Listen Feel" to assess the casualty and that's where the stuff in the video kicks in. Just remember to keep the blood circulating so when EMTs start re engaging the lungs the blood won't get bogged down and the brain is semi-oxygenated.

Shock is pretty easy. Always tell then that they're ok and everything will be fine.

And as Jestor said, get emergence services on the line ASAP.

Hope my input actually mattered and or helped

Interesting how these steps change order so often...and from country to country.

First I learned ABC'S - Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Serious Bleeding - Or what they meant was to check for consciousness and breathing before you attended to bleeding.

Now, in my last class they changed it to CABS - Circulation, Airway, Breathing, Serious Bleeding - and if you see someone who is unconscious and looks to not be breathing they want you to start chest compressions first instead of spending a lot of time checking for breathing. They also wanted faster chest compressions. Ooof!

For bleeding, I was told not to use a tourniquet, and just to apply continuous pressure.

For shock, you keep the person sheltered and comfortable in the recovery position. Do not give them food or water, because when they're in shock the stomach usually ends up rejecting it. Shock can be as dangerous as anything else, and if left unchecked you could be starting the CABS process all over again.

I wonder what the next acronym will be? And wonder when they'll figure out what works most effectively?

Most of what I listed off came from the Marine Corps Combat Lifesaver Program. The reason they always said use a tourniquet is that it's an extremely expedient way to sinch off most serious injuries to the extremities. Then again that's for bullet wounds and such. The argument for stopping the bleeding first is so that you can stabilize the person and then proceed to save his life. But that's once again probably a more "combat mindset" thing