First aid is the provision of initial care for an injury or illness.

The three key aims of first aid are to

(1) preserve life,
(2) prevent the condition from worsening and
(3) promote recovery.

Since emergency-response skills deteriorate with time, retraining is required every two years to maintain BLS: CPR and First Aid provider certification. In addition, regular is practice encouraged, when possible, to retain skill proficiency. All skills performed in an emergency should be within the scope of one’s training.