The Truth About Online ACLS Certification

For those looking to get their certification for Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), online certification programs offers a level of convenience and flexibility that’s hard to beat as it can easily fit within anyone’s busy schedule. However, online ACLS certification programs do have a few downsides that can catch you off guard if you don’t know what to look for. To make sure that you know everything that you need to know before you invest your time and money in taking an online ACLS certification course, your local Orange County safety training experts here at OC Safety have put together this helpful guide. Check out the information below to learn more!

The Validity Of Online ACLS Programs

Unfortunately, even if you complete an online ACLS certification program, it does not mean that your certification is valid, as there are different types of programs that can give you varying levels of ACLS training. Since most people who will be getting certified for ACLS are professionals that need to be certified for their job, the validity of the certification is ultimately up to their employer. The requirements for accepted ACLS certification will vary from company to company, and since online programs provide you with a limited form of training, some employers may not accept the online certification.

No Endorsement From The American Heart Association (AHA)

Online ACLS certification programs are not endorsed or accredited by the American Heart Association, meaning that completing that kind of training will not get you an AHA ACLS certification card, which is often required by employers. The reason that online programs are not approved by the AHA is because if the course is completed completely online, it only requires a cognitive assessment and no in-person skills assessment. For AHA ACLS certification, passing an in-person skills assessment is necessary, which means that you would need to take a course at an AHA authorized training facility such as OC Safety here in Orange County, CA.

Are Online ACLS Certification Courses Bad?

Even though online ACLS certification programs do not provide you with a complete AHA ACLS certification, it does not mean that they are bad. Simply put, they are just not a good match for professional who need a full certification in ACLS, as it would take extra time and resources to go through another program in addition to the online course in order to complete their skills assessment. However, for those whose employers only require a basic level of certification for ACLS, online programs are convenient, flexible, and cost effective. All you have to do is check with your employer to see what kind of certification you need.

Get ACLS Certified From An AHA Authorized Training Center

If you’re looking for a full AHA ACLS certification, register for a certification program at our AHA authorized training facility here at OC Safety. With our local training center here in Orange, CA, we offer on-site ACLS skills training and assessments, led by industry professionals including firefighters, registered nurses, and paramedics. To sign up for your program, just view our calendar, find the next available date for ACLS training, click on it, and fill out the form with your information. If you have any questions about our ACLS program, or any of our other first aid and CPR classes, just contact us and a member of our staff will be more than happy to provide you with all the information you need.

CPR Tips & Tricks

CPR is a vital life saving tool that can be used in a wide range of emergencies such as heart attacks are cases of near-drowning, helping restore a person’s heartbeat and breathing if they lose consciousness. The process of providing CPR is fairly simple, but even those who have undergone training and have become certified to provide CPR, emergency situations can still catch you off guard, making it difficult to think clearly and act quickly when necessary. To make things easier, your trusted provider for first aid and CPR training, OC Safety, is here with some helpful CPR tips and tricks that can help you when you’re facing a sudden, emergency scenario.

Always Call For Help First

While CPR can help save someone’s life in the moment, they may still need additional medical treatment, which is why it’s only meant to be used as a tool to keep someone in a stable condition until medical professionals arrive. The most important thing to do before you start administering CPR to someone is to first call 911, or get someone else on the scene to call 911 so professional medical assistance will arrive to help as soon as possible.

Hands-Only CPR

If you’re the only person in a position to help someone in need, but you're not certified to give CPR or even if your certification is expired, there is still something you can do to potentially save that person’s life. Hands-only CPR involved doing chest compressions until medical help arrives.

To perform Hand-only CPR, position yourself over the person’s chest and place the heel of one of your hands (the part closest to your wrist) at the center of the person’s chest with your fingers stretched out. Take your other hand and place it top of your other hand, gripping between the fingers of your first hand. Then, start pressing down hard and fast against the person’s chest, keeping your arms straight.

Syncing Up A Favorite Song To Compressions

The ideal rate for chest compressions is about 100 beats per minute (BPM), but being able to consistently get that rate exactly right when you’re providing CPR can be difficult. However, there are plenty of songs out there that have a similar BPM, which means that all it takes to get the perfect rate of chest compressions is to hum one of those songs. Some examples include “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Crazy In Love” by Beyonce and Jay Z, and "Something Just Like This" by the Chainsmokers and Coldplay. Just do a quick search online to find one of your favorite songs that is close to 100 BPM and you can always remember it as your CPR song.

Spell “CAB”

In the moment, it can be easy to get mixed up and panicked when trying to deliver CPR. If you ever have trouble remember the order of steps you need to follow for CPR, The American Heart Association has a simple tip that can help. Just spell “C-A-B” which stands for “compressions, airway, breathing”.

Get CPR Certified With OC Safety!

Getting CPR certified is quick, easy, and will give you the tools that you need to act fast in emergency situations and provide loved ones, family members, or strangers with care that can save their life. All you need to do is book your CPR certification courses with OC Safety, your local provider for CPR and first aid training in Orange, CA. If you have any questions about getting CPR certified, or would like to know more about our other first aid training courses, just contact us and we’ll be happy to provide you with all the information you need.

CPR, First Aid, and BLS: Are They All The Same?

OC Safety is proud to provide comprehensive safety training classes to the residents of Orange County, CA. Our mission is to promote personal and public health by equipping individuals, from parents and teachers to healthcare professions, with the skills to protect lives. ln all of our premier safety training courses, you will be taught how to recognize and respond to various emergency situations.

The aim of CPR/AED Certification, BLS certification, and First Aid training classes is simple: to prepare you to save lives. But what are the differences between these three life-saving methods? Continue reading below to learn more, and register to receive your CPR & First Aid Certification or BLS Certification today!

What is CPR?

CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. When somebody’s heart stops functioning effectively and/or they stop breathing, CPR is used to continue getting healthy, oxygenated blood to the body’s vital organs in order to keep that person alive. Providing CPR generally involves performing chest compressions to circulate blood throughout the body, as well as administering mouth-to-mouth breaths to oxygenate that blood.

What is First Aid?

First aid is a set of skills that, when put into practice, can help immediately stabilize and treat an individual who is injured or ill until more comprehensive medical resources and/or professionals become available. The main aims of first aid are to preserve life and prevent conditions from worsening. First aid can be used to deal with a wide range of scenarios, from broken bones to insect bites/stings to cardiac arrest.

What is BLS?

The acronym BLS stands for Basic Life Support. Most often used on individuals who are experiencing cardiac arrest or respiratory distress, BLS requires the knowledge of CPR, as well as the ability to operate an automated external defibrillator (AED). 

Get Your CPR AED Certification, First Aid Certification, or BLS Certification Today!

As you can see, all three of these main certifications - CPR, First Aid, and BLS - have individual nuances, but they are all designed to help you know how to recognize and respond to emergency medical situations until medical professionals arrive or a patient can be taken to a hospital.

We’re proud to help the residents of Orange County develop the skills to save lives. If you’d like to sign up for any of the classes that we offer, you can contact us online or call us at (714) 960-1911. We look forward to working with you!

Knowing how the body reacts in extreme temperatures essential to keep yourself and others safe when if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation. When it comes to extremely cold temperatures, one if the immediate dangers that people face is frostbite, which can cause even more damage to the body if not treated properly. Today, the first aid and safety experts here at OC Safety will be breaking down what frostbite is, they symptoms to look out for, and how to treat it effectively and efficiently.

Understanding Frostbite

Frostbite is a condition when the skin and the tissue underneath freezes, and often happens in temperatures that are below freezing. The most common areas of the body that become afflicted by frostbite are any skin that is exposed, such as the nose, cheeks, ears, and chin. Those with poor circulations to certain extremities like their toes and fingers also have a higher risk of getting frostbite in those areas. When the skin and the tissue freezes, the body reacts by constricting blood vessels in the frozen areas in an effort to keep your overall core temperature stable and prevent the onset of hypothermia.  The most common causes of frostbite are exposure the extremely cold weather, or direct skin contact with ice or other materials that are at a temperature below freezing.

What Are The Symptoms Of Frostbite?

While many people may imagine a body part turning black as the obvious sign of frostbite, it is actually only the last and most severe stage of frostbite. In total, there are about 4 different degrees of frostbite, each with different symptoms based on the extent that the tissue has frozen. The degrees and their symptoms are as follows:

1st Degree Frostbite - Often referred to as “frostnip”, the skin begins to turn pale or red in color. The skin is also cold to the touch, giving off very little warmth as the upper layers of the tissue have begun to freeze. Frostnip often gives a sensation of itching, tingling, or feeling slightly numb.

2nd Degree Frostbite - the skin begins to turn a pale yellow color that resembles wax, and some ice crystal may be apparent on the outside layers of skin. The affected area will often become swollen and create a painful burning sensation. 

3rd/4th Degree Frostbite - at later stages, every layer of the skin down to the nerves and blood vessels have been frozen over. The most common symptoms and signs of this stage are complete numbness of the area, lack of ability to move, black coloration, and the tissue is hard to the touch.  It is difficult to know the severity of the damage at this stage, and is often only discernible after some time.

How To Treat Frostbite

There are two main methods of treating frostbite which involve thawing the frozen skin, but before we go over those, we need to talk about timing and preparation for treatment. If you don’t have access to a warmer environment for long while, it is recommended that you don’t attempt to treat the frostbite. This is because if the tissue is thawed and then refrozen, it can actually cause more harm to the body. If this is the case, it is recommended that you simply wrap the affected area and limit movement as much as possible, since the ice crystals under the skin can also cause damage when moving. Now onto the types of frostbite treatment.

Passive Rewarming - This method uses the person’s own body heat, or a heated environment, to thaw the frozen tissues and bring it back to a stable temperature.

Active Rewarming -  Active rewarming entails the application of heat directly onto the affected tissue, such as dipping a frostbitten hand into extremely hot water. This method is commonly used in conjunction with passive rewarming.

Both of these methods carry some risk, since the rapid return of blood flow to the frostbitten area can cause a sharp drop in the body’s core temperature and result in an irregular heartbeat. That is why treatment for frostbite is most often performed in a hospital with the assistance of a medical professional.

Contact OC Safety For More Helpful Information!

If you have any questions about how to deal with frostbite or identify early signs, contact the first aid and safety experts here at OC Safety. We offer first aid certification, HIPAA training, and CPR classes in Orange County, so you can be prepared with the vital skills to help you and your loved ones in times of need. Just contact us for more information on our classes, or book your courses by checking our calendar, which is updated regularly.

As your providers of CPR training, ACLS certification, and BLS certification in Corona, we at OC Safety want to give you the training needed to save a life if someone’s in danger. Through our CPR training courses, you’ll have the capability of helping someone who’s suffered from cardiac arrest. While we’re proud to provide proper training and information, there are unfortunately some myths and misconceptions about CPR lingering around that may have altered the views of people who are interested in CPR training. There’s certainly an absolute sea of misconceptions about CPR, but there are five specific ones that stick out in our minds.

You Can Be Sued If You Perform Bystander CPR

This one is by far the most common myth we hear about! Thankfully, if you provide emergency medical assistance to someone with First Aid or CPR, Good Samaritan laws will protect you, just as long as you’ve acted reasonably and prudently. However, if you were negligent in providing care, were reckless, or abandoned the victim after providing your initial care, the Good Samaritan law may not apply.

You Can Contract HIV from CPR

Some people are actually reluctant to perform CPR because they’re worried that they’ll contract HIV through it. This risk is absolutely minimal though as the person giving CPR would have to come into contact with the victim’s blood, semen, or vaginal fluid to have it transmitted. If necessary though, there are even barrier devices that can be used if you need to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation Is Always Necessary

Continuing on with the previous point, you can always even skip mouth-to-mouth resuscitation anyway. The truth is that chest compression is the most effective way of giving someone CPR – not mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In fact, CPR that only includes chest compressions can typically be just as successful as standard CPR. Since 2008, the American Heart Association has even recommended using only chest compression for adults.

Incorrect CPR Can Kill a Person

Many people are actually afraid to perform CPR because they’re worried that their actions can kill the person that they’re just trying to help. The truth is that CPR can only help someone, even if it’s not performed perfectly. The point of CPR is just to prolong someone’s life until paramedics can reach the victim. When CPR is performed, a person is already clinically dead as his or her heart has stopped beating. By performing chest compressions, you’re keeping oxygen going to the person’s brain. The heart can be restarted, but when oxygen stops flowing to the brain, the brain will die off and there’ll be no chance of reviving the person.

CPR Always Works

Unfortunately, this isn’t the truth either. While Hollywood may make it seem like everyone is always miraculously revived through CPR, it’s sadly not the case. First, as we just mentioned, CPR alone won’t save someone; it’s just to keep a patient alive until a medical professional arrives with a defibrillator. Also, the survival rate of patients suffering cardiac arrest out of the hospital is at anywhere from two to 15 percent. However, if CPR is administered immediately and an AED is used, the survival rate can go up to 30 percent. While it’s better than nothing, the odds still aren’t in the victim’s favor.

Contact Your Corona BLS Certification and ACLS Certification Providers!

If you’re in search of CPR training, ACLS certification, or BLS certification in Corona, you’ve come to the right place! Feel free to give us a call at (714) 960-1911 if you’d like to sign up for any of our classes. Also, please don’t ever hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We can’t wait to hear from you!