Practical Skills: Quick Tips
- Get involved in your community as a member of your local Medical Reserve Corps Unit or Community Emergency Response Team to learn emergency preparedness and response skills.
- Know how to recognize and respond to a suspected opioid overdose. People with a prescription for a naloxone injection kit, automatic injection device, or nasal spray should train on how to administer it properly.
- Learn and teach basic swimming skills. Taking part in formal swimming lessons reduces the risk of drowning among children aged 1 to 4 years.
- Learn how to use and read a thermometer.
- Learn how to proofread your important paperwork, including medical records, for mistakes and incomplete and missing information.
- Learn and teach others how to read food labels if you or your child has a food allergy. If in doubt about the meaning of a warning label or the identity of a listed ingredient, don’t consume the item and/or contact the manufacturer for clarification.
- Learn how to perform Seizure First Aid to help a person with epilepsy until the seizure stops.
- Learn how to make water contaminated with germs safe to drink and where to find alternate sources of water. Bottled water is the safest choice for drinking and all other uses in an emergency.
- Learn how to give back blows to an infant, and how to perform abdominal thrusts on yourself and others in a choking emergency.
- Self-care during an emergency will help your long-term healing. Learn how to cope with a disaster or traumatic event without the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.
- Learn how to use a fire extinguisher. Replace your single-use extinguisher after use or every 10–12 years, unless the manufacturer notes an earlier expiration date.
- Learn how to manually open your garage door in case of a power outage.
- Learn how to use an inhaler if you, a family member, or a coworker lives with asthma.
- Learn how to use an epinephrine auto-injector if you, a family member, or a coworker is at risk for anaphylaxis.
- Learn how to spot a concussion.
- Learn to recognize the five (5) major symptoms of a heart attack.
- Learn to react F.A.S.T. if you think someone may be having a stroke. The stroke treatments that work best are available only if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within 3 hours of the first symptoms.
- Learn how to Drop (or Lock if you use a wheelchair), Cover, and Hold On to protect yourself in an earthquake. Great ShakeOut earthquake drills offer an opportunity to practice
- Parents: Learn to feed your young child safely in an emergency. If you are breastfeeding, continue to do so. Breastfeeding remains the best infant feeding option in a disaster. If you are formula feeding, learn how to safely provide formula to your child.
- Parents: Learn how to diaper a baby safely in an emergency to reduce the spread of germs.
- People living with diabetes: Learn how to manage and store insulin in a disaster.
- Learn how to safely cleanup mold after a flood.
- Learn how to prevent mosquito bites to avoid getting sick with viruses, such as West Nile.
Page last reviewed: July 12, 2022, 03:35 PM
Content source: Office of Readiness and Response