First Aid Guide Malaysia: What to Do in an Emergency Before Help Arrives

In any medical emergency, what you do in the first 10 minutes before professional help arrives can mean the difference between life, death, or permanent disability. The basic emergency response sequence is: D-R-A-B-C. D — Danger: ensure the scene is safe for you and the victim before approaching. A burning car, live electrical wire, or toxic gas can make you a second victim. R — Response: check if the person is conscious. Shout their name, shake their shoulders. A — Alert: call 999 (Malaysia emergency number) immediately or direct someone specific to do it. Give the location, nature of emergency, and number of casualties. B — Breathing: check if the person is breathing normally. Look for chest rise, listen, feel for breath on your cheek. C — CPR: if not breathing, begin CPR immediately (see next section). Do not move the person unnecessarily if spinal injury is suspected (fall from height, road accident, diving injury) unless they are in immediate danger. Keep the person warm, calm, and reassured until professional help arrives. Malaysian emergency services: 999 (police, fire, ambulance), 991 (fire), 994 (ambulance). Hospital Sultanah Aminah JB emergency: +60 7-224 1615.

Choking (obstruction of airway): if the person can cough, encourage them to cough forcefully. If they cannot breathe, speak, or cough: perform 5 back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, then 5 abdominal thrusts (Heimlich manoeuvre) — stand behind the person, place a fist just above the navel, cover with the other hand, pull sharply inward and upward. Alternate 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled or the person loses consciousness. For infants (under 1 year): use 5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts (do not use abdominal thrusts). Burns: cool the burn immediately with cool running water for at least 20 minutes — do not use ice, butter, or toothpaste. Cover loosely with a clean dry bandage. Do not pop blisters. Seek medical attention for burns larger than the palm of the hand, burns on the face, hands, feet, or genitals, or chemical burns. Cuts and bleeding: apply firm pressure with a clean cloth for at least 10 minutes without releasing. Elevate the injured limb. Seek medical attention for deep wounds, wounds that will not stop bleeding after 15 minutes, or animal or human bites. At Klinik Muhibbah, wound management and suturing are available as walk-in services during all operating hours.

Not every emergency requires a hospital. Klinik Muhibbah can handle many urgent but non-life-threatening situations during operating hours (Mon–Thu and Sat 9AM–9PM, Fri 9AM–3PM, Sun 9AM–1PM). Come to Klinik Muhibbah for: wound care and suturing, fever, infection, moderate burns (hand-sized or smaller, not on face or hands), fracture assessment and X-Ray for limb fractures, severe allergic reactions without airway involvement (give antihistamine and manage), asthma attacks responding to bronchodilators, and abscesses requiring drainage. Go to hospital emergency department for: chest pain or suspected heart attack, stroke symptoms (face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty), severe difficulty breathing, major trauma (road accident, fall from height), suspected spinal injury, unconsciousness, ongoing uncontrolled bleeding, suspected drug overdose, snake bite, drowning, heat stroke, and anything that feels truly life-threatening. In genuine emergencies, call 999. For after-hours clinic urgency in the Masai area, call Klinik Muhibbah at +60 7-251 1162 / +60 7-252 1162 to check if we are still open.