When the power goes out, a medical emergency becomes more serious. This course shares essential, life-saving skills you can use. Stop bleeding, treat burns, and recognize signs of electric shock.
1. You'll Learn About
Emergency First Aid Basics
Treat bleeding, burns, and cuts when medical help isn't available.
Critical Warning Signs
Identify symptoms of electric and medical shock and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Outage Health Risks
Know how extreme temperatures, stress, and missed medications become life threatening.
The Time to Get Help
Learn vital assessment skills to decide between home care and a trip to the hospital.
2. Save Lives During Outages
When a blackout strikes, medical emergencies usually follow. But with the right knowledge and a few everyday items, you can take control instead of panicking.
This course could be the most important thing you watch all year. Before we go any further, if you are experiencing a real emergency right now, stop watching and call 911 or your local emergency services.
This course is for educational purposes only, it is not a substitute for professional medical help. When you're on your own with no power and no hospital nearby, the right knowledge can make all the difference.
Today you'll learn how to stop bleeding with a T-shirt or belt, treat burns from stoves or candles, safely clean and cover cuts from broken glass, spot the signs of electric shock, manage pain and prevent infection, and most importantly, decide when to treat at home and when to seek help. No power, no hospital nearby, just you and what's around you.
Let's dive right in.
2.1. Cuts Glass Lacerations And Wound Care
During blackouts, people get cut while cleaning up glass, stepping on debris or falling on sharp edges.
Clean your hands first with soap, sanitizer or alcohol wipes. Rinse the wound with clean water. Avoid using hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol, they can slow healing by damaging healthy tissue.
If you can see glass or debris in the cut, use clean tweezers to remove it gently. If it's embedded deeply or you're unsure, don't dig around. Cover the wound and seek medical help.
If bleeding has stopped and the wound looks clean, apply antibiotic ointment and cover it with gauze or a clean cloth.
If you don't have gauze, a folded paper towel, bandage or T-shirt will work in a pinch. Change the bandage daily and monitor for signs of infection like redness, swelling, warmth, puss, or odor.
If the wound is deep caused by rust or dirty metal or still bleeds after 10 minutes, you need medical help.
If the wound is gaping open, it may need glue sutures, butterfly closures, or another wound closure technique.
2.2. Bleeding Control And Improvised Tourniquets
When someone is bleeding, you need to act quickly. In an emergency, blood loss can become fatal within minutes. Start with direct pressure. Use a clean towel shirt or even a sock and press firmly on the wound. Don't lift it to check it, just keep applying pressure.
If blood soaks through, add more layers on top and press harder directly over the wound.
If pressure isn't enough and the bleeding is severe, you may need to make a tourniquet. If you don't already have one in your home first aid kit, use a belt, scarf, or strip of cloth and something stiff like a pen or spoon. Tie it tightly above the wound, closer to the body and twist until the bleeding slows, then secured in place and right down the time you applied it.
A tourniquet should not be left on for more than two hours. The shorter the better. Beyond that, there is a risk of permanent tissue damage, nerve injury, or even limb loss due to lack of blood flow. Only use tourniquets for serious bleeding from arms or legs.
Get to a hospital as soon as possible to receive definitive care. Tourniquets often make the difference between life and death, when help is delayed.
2.3. Burn Treatment During Blackouts
Candles, portable stoves and grills can all cause burns when the lights go out. Burn injuries are among the most common emergencies after storms or power failures.
If someone is burned, run cool, not icy, water over the area for 10 to 20 minutes, no sink, use a soaked towel. Do not use ice, butter, egg, toothpaste, oil, or any other home remedy. These tricks often make things worse by trapping heat and damaging skin.
Once cooled with water loosely cover the burn with a clean cloth or sterile wrap. Burns bigger than your palm or burns on the face, hands, feet, or groin, need professional care.
Burns can also lead to shock, especially in children. Keep the person calm, warm and hydrated. An Donfang power station can help run fans, cool the room or keep lights on so you're not treating injuries in total darkness.
Never use grills, portable stoves or gas power generators indoors or in enclosed spaces like garages. These can release carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly within minutes. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, and fainting. Multiple people feel sick at once, get outside immediately and call for help. A battery powered carbon monoxide detector is a small tool that can save your life.
2.4. Responding To Electric Shock
Do not touch the person if they're still in contact with electricity. Use a dry non-metal object like a broom handle to disconnect the power source or move wires away.
Never enter a room with standing water if there are plugged in devices, water increases the risk of electrocution.
If the person is awake and breathing, monitor them closely. Watch for numbness, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeats, confusion or visible burns.
Electrical injuries can cause serious internal damage even if the skin looks normal. Avoid moving the person unless absolutely necessary.
If they lose consciousness, stop breathing, or complain of chest pain, call for help immediately and begin CPR if you are trained. Use power strips with built-in GFCI, ground fault circuit interrupters when generators or backup devices indoors.
During storms, avoid using wired electronics or standing near plumbing. Lightning can travel through both. A portable power station can recharge phones, run small medical devices or keep a pulse oximeter or defibrillator powered during an emergency.
2.5. How To Recognize And Manage Medical Shock
Shock is not emotional, it is physical and deadly if ignored. Shock happens when the body doesn't get enough blood or oxygen. Can result from heavy bleeding, burns or trauma.
Look for signs like cold or clammy skin, pale or bluish lips, fast breathing, dizziness or confusion. If someone seems faint, suddenly quiet or panicked after an injury, they may be going into shock.
Lay the person flat. If there's no back or neck injury, elevate their legs. Keep them warm with a blanket or jacket.
Loosen any tight clothing and stay by their side.
Do not give food or water.
If they lose consciousness or stop breathing, start CPR and call for emergency help immediately.
I've seen patients arrive too late simply because someone didn't recognize the signs. Don't wait, trust your gut and act quickly.
2.6. Temperature, Stress And Neurological Emergencies
Without power, homes can become dangerously hot or cold. Heat stroke, hypothermia and dehydration can escalate within hours, especially for children, older adults or people with chronic illnesses.
Watch for signs like confusion, dizziness, shivering, flush skin or fatigue.
Cool the body with wet towels and airflow or warm it with dry layers and insulation. Donfang power stations can help run fans, space heaters or temperature monitors to stabilize the environment.
High stress, heat, or missing even one dose of blood pressure medication can increase the risk of stroke.
Look for sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech or confusion. Act quickly. Even if symptoms go away, seek care immediately.
Backup power helps keep blood pressure monitors, pill organizers and communication devices working.
Missed medications, sleep deprivation or lighting changes can trigger seizures in vulnerable individuals. If someone starts seizing, clear the area, protect their head and do not restrain them.
After the episode, turn them on their side and stay close.
If the seizure lasts longer than five minutes or they don't regain awareness, call for help.
Maintaining soft lighting and proper routines can help prevent these emergencies.
These are real cases I've seen again and again, and they are preventable.
2.7. Pain Management Without a Doctor
Pain is a signal. It can interfere with recovery and raise stress. When medical help is far away, you need to manage it.
Use over the counter medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Apply cool compresses to reduce swelling or bruising.
Keep injured limbs elevated and still.
Talk gently to children.
Use music, breathing exercises or soft lighting.
Stress makes pain worse. With backup power, you can run fans, play white noise or create a calm environment to help someone feel safe until help arrives.
2.8. Power-Dependent Medical Needs
Some emergencies don't come from injury or illness, they come from losing access to the machines or medications that keep you alive.
If someone in your home uses devices like a CPAP machine, oxygen concentrator, nebulizer, or ventilator, losing power is a crisis. Even short interruptions can make it difficult to breathe or sleep safely.
Exposure to dust, mold or wildfire smoke can worsen respiratory conditions without air filters or humidifiers. Certain medications like insulin, growth hormones, biologics, and some antibiotics need refrigeration. Without backup power, they can lose potency or become unsafe.
Portable fridges, insulated coolers or a mini power station like Donfang can keep medications safe until help arrives.
2.9. When To Treat At Home And When To Get Help
If symptoms are stable, monitor for 24 to 48 hours. If they get worse, don't wait. Seek care if bleeding doesn't stop with pressure, the wound is deep, dirty, or won't close.
Signs of infection appear, redness, swelling, pus, fever, the person becomes confused, faints, vomits or worsens in any way, and for those with chronic conditions, timing is even more important.
Diabetics may experience dangerous highs or lows without food, insulin, or refrigeration. Seizure patients without access to medications may be at risk for more seizures.
Those with heart disease or blood pressure issues may destabilize in the heat or under stress.
Asthma or COPD patients may struggle without inhalers or fans.
Anyone who relies on daily meds, refrigerated drugs like insulin or electric powered equipment, such as CPAP machines or oxygen concentrators should have a backup plan or evacuate if needed.
Trust your instincts. It is better to overreact than miss a serious problem. Power doesn't just help you treat emergencies, it helps you prevent them.
2.10. Your Emergency Blackout First Aid Kit
Here's what I keep at home and what I recommend for you.
Gauze, medical tape and antiseptic wipes, latex or nitrile gloves, burn gel or cool packs, tweezers and scissors, a thermometer, pain relievers like ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, electrolyte packets or oral rehydration salts, flashlights or headlamps, emergency blanket, water purification tabs or filter straw, waterproof bag or container, printed emergency contacts, and a reliable Donfang power station to keep your phone, lights and medical gear powered.
Power outages are unpredictable.
Your response doesn't have to be.
You now know how to stop bleeding, treat burns, recognize electric shock, manage pain, and respond to medical emergencies when the hospital isn't an option.
Stay calm, stay prepared, stay powered, and stay healthy, my friends.
3. Wrap up What You've Learned
Here are the key takeaways of the course in a quick, practical, and ready-to-use outline.
3.1. Treating Wounds Without a First Aid Kit
Wash hands and rinse wounds with clean water or saline.
Avoid using hydrogen peroxide or alcohol.
Use a T-shirt, bandana, or paper towel if you don’t have gauze.
Watch for infection and seek help if wounds are deep or won't stop bleeding.
3.2. Stopping Severe Bleeding
Apply firm, direct pressure without lifting.
If pressure fails, make a tourniquet from a belt, scarf, or cloth and a stick or pen.
Wrap the tourniquet above the wound and note the time.
Only use tourniquets on limbs and seek emergency care ASAP.
3.3. Caring for Burns
Cool burns with clean and cool (not cold) water for 10-20 minutes.
Loosely cover with a clean cloth.
Seek medical help for burns larger than your palm or those on the face, hands, or groin.
3.4. Recognizing Carbon Monoxide and Electric Shock
Lay the person flat, elevate their legs, and keep them warm.
Watch for headaches, dizziness, confusion—get outside immediately.
Use non-metal objects to move wires. Never enter wet areas with plugged-in devices.
3.5. Responding to Medical Shock
Lay the person flat, elevate their legs, and keep them warm.
Don't give them food or water.
Avoid ethanol fuel when possible, which can degrade generator performance.
Begin CPR if needed and call for help immediately.
3.6. Handling Temperature and Stress Emergencies
Monitor for early symptoms like dizziness, flushed skin, or shivering.
Maintain body temperature with airflow or insulation.
Stick to routines and keep necessary medications accessible.
Know when to stabilize at home and when to get emergency help.