Article: Basic First Aid
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This is an interesting article. First aid is a primary skill that everyone should learn. These skills can make a huge difference to a situation whether in remote places or at work or school.
In the outdoors for me, First Aid and Navigation are almost non negotiable base line skills.
In the outdoors for me, First Aid and Navigation are almost non negotiable base line skills.
A very useful article.
I am one of those who think that 1st Aid should be part of the core curriculum at school - it is an essential Life Skill!
With my work in the Outdoors and now in the Care Sector a 1st Aid cert is and always has been essential and I try to update every year as you forget skills at a fast rate.
I hope that if I am ever in an accident the first person on scene has had good and recent training!
I am one of those who think that 1st Aid should be part of the core curriculum at school - it is an essential Life Skill!
With my work in the Outdoors and now in the Care Sector a 1st Aid cert is and always has been essential and I try to update every year as you forget skills at a fast rate.
I hope that if I am ever in an accident the first person on scene has had good and recent training!
Couldn't agree more that First Aid should be part of the school curriculum.
I'm not a parent but find it hard to understand how anyone would want to take a newborn baby home from hospital without having completed a basic first aid course. This was a constant source of argument between me and an old mate who was a teacher (and therefore acting in loco parentis albeit in a classroom rather than outdoors environment) who after many years of trying and several rounds of IVF managed to become the proud father of twins. His atitude was that there is always an ambulance available on the end of the phone and better leave it to the professionals.
His conversion came, not on the road to Damascus but half way up Kidsty Pike in the Lakes an area (at the time) devoid of mobile coverage when we came across an oldish guy face down on the ground who appeared to be having an epileptic fit. Two of our party headed off to raise the alarm and overtook his wife who returned to the casualty where we were trying to make him comfortable and treat as if he was having an epileptic fit. It turned out he had a history of strokes and had gone walking that day without taking his medication and was now unconscious and fitting about 50% of the time.
I had completed a wilderness first aid refresher the previous week but clearly a stroke victim needs urgent evacuation to a specialist hospital but that is not always a straightforward process. I can't remember the precise time scales but it probably took at least 30 mins for the lads to reach a phone. Sometime later a policeman arrived and took down some names but did nothing else. Quite a while later an ambulance arrived but the amply proportioned female paramedics were disinclined to cross the small stream near the car park without being carried by my other two mates and were not at all happy at the prospect of climbing a steep hill. Before they got to the casualty, they were overtaken by the MRT and when they arrived we decided that we were serving no further useful purpose and left. The drama was not over because the RAF helicopter covering the Lakes was grounded for maintenance/refuelling having just completed another rescue and they had to wait for a helicopter from the North East.
Apart from raising the alarm, managing the scene and reassuring the wife, there is not much we could do (or indeed anyone could have done) but surprisingly since it must have been well over two hours before the casualty got to hospital, we heard from his wife that he had made a good recovery.
Needless to say, having seen how easy it is to find yourself in a situation where the ability to administer basic first aid before the professionals arrive could mean the difference between life or death for yourself, a loved one or a complete stranger, my mate immediately signed up for a course.
This thread has been a timely "bump" that I need a refresher course - that's the first New Year's resolution sorted.
As an aside, I provide health and safety advice to a local charity which among other things involves making sure that their first aid kits are complete and in date. I get really cross to find that some manufacturers are putting use by (and by implication discard by) dates on sealed packs of triangular bandages!
I'm not a parent but find it hard to understand how anyone would want to take a newborn baby home from hospital without having completed a basic first aid course. This was a constant source of argument between me and an old mate who was a teacher (and therefore acting in loco parentis albeit in a classroom rather than outdoors environment) who after many years of trying and several rounds of IVF managed to become the proud father of twins. His atitude was that there is always an ambulance available on the end of the phone and better leave it to the professionals.
His conversion came, not on the road to Damascus but half way up Kidsty Pike in the Lakes an area (at the time) devoid of mobile coverage when we came across an oldish guy face down on the ground who appeared to be having an epileptic fit. Two of our party headed off to raise the alarm and overtook his wife who returned to the casualty where we were trying to make him comfortable and treat as if he was having an epileptic fit. It turned out he had a history of strokes and had gone walking that day without taking his medication and was now unconscious and fitting about 50% of the time.
I had completed a wilderness first aid refresher the previous week but clearly a stroke victim needs urgent evacuation to a specialist hospital but that is not always a straightforward process. I can't remember the precise time scales but it probably took at least 30 mins for the lads to reach a phone. Sometime later a policeman arrived and took down some names but did nothing else. Quite a while later an ambulance arrived but the amply proportioned female paramedics were disinclined to cross the small stream near the car park without being carried by my other two mates and were not at all happy at the prospect of climbing a steep hill. Before they got to the casualty, they were overtaken by the MRT and when they arrived we decided that we were serving no further useful purpose and left. The drama was not over because the RAF helicopter covering the Lakes was grounded for maintenance/refuelling having just completed another rescue and they had to wait for a helicopter from the North East.
Apart from raising the alarm, managing the scene and reassuring the wife, there is not much we could do (or indeed anyone could have done) but surprisingly since it must have been well over two hours before the casualty got to hospital, we heard from his wife that he had made a good recovery.
Needless to say, having seen how easy it is to find yourself in a situation where the ability to administer basic first aid before the professionals arrive could mean the difference between life or death for yourself, a loved one or a complete stranger, my mate immediately signed up for a course.
This thread has been a timely "bump" that I need a refresher course - that's the first New Year's resolution sorted.
As an aside, I provide health and safety advice to a local charity which among other things involves making sure that their first aid kits are complete and in date. I get really cross to find that some manufacturers are putting use by (and by implication discard by) dates on sealed packs of triangular bandages!
I live 220km by mountain highway from the city.
Am I prepared to assist anyone in a vehicle that's spun off the icey road, hardly.
Am I skilled enough to offer first-responder assistance? No.
I travel with some 10 minute pyro railroad flares to attract other travellers who may be
better prepared than I.
The deer, moose and elk use the highways in the winter. Easier than chest deep in snow.
Am I prepared to assist anyone in a vehicle that's spun off the icey road, hardly.
Am I skilled enough to offer first-responder assistance? No.
I travel with some 10 minute pyro railroad flares to attract other travellers who may be
better prepared than I.
The deer, moose and elk use the highways in the winter. Easier than chest deep in snow.
Even with just simple 1st Aid skills (CPR) I got a casualty from "flat line" back to "spontaneous output" - ie brought him back from the dead - when he had a seizure in our church.
Sadly the underlying issue was too serious and he only survived a week after the incident - but it shows that even basic skills can have dramatic effect!
Sadly the underlying issue was too serious and he only survived a week after the incident - but it shows that even basic skills can have dramatic effect!
If nothing else, this thread has reminded me to check through my first aid kits for out of date meds. For the life of me I can't see why some of these manufacturers put expiry dates on crepe and triangular bandages.
A puzzling attitude, if I've read your post correctly? You live in a remote area but don't think it worthwhile acquiring basic first aid skills either for your own safety or to assist friends, family or strangers whose life may depend on your reactions in the first few minutes after an accident or being taken ill?
Clearly there are scenarios (such as extracting a casualty trapped in a wrecked vehicle) which may be beyond he capabilities of someone with only basic first aid skills and kit, but there are plenty of situations (cuts, burns, hyper/hypothermia, stings, bites, electrocution, choking, heart attack, hypoglycaemia etc. etc.) where prompt and effective intervention using basic skills can save a life or ensure a rapid recovery and better quality of life for the victim. Raising the alarm is an important part of the first response process but personally I'd feel a bit grim if my flares burnt out and no one with first aid skills had arrived and I just had to watch someone die for the sake of doing a basic course or watching a few online videos.
Apologies if this sounds like a lecture but this is something I feel very strongly about, I've lived, travelled and worked in remote parts of the world where medical support was several hours away and of dubious quality and I've always taken the trouble to ensure that I have the basic skills to look after my companions if something goes wrong and always feel more comfortable if at least one of them has done likewise.
As for rescuing other vehicles, I drive a Land Rover and have therefore endured a fair bit of (usually good natured) abuse from people in the sunnier former colonies who prefer "more powerful", "more reliable", "unstoppable" far eastern 4x4s so (whenever its safe to do so), its always a pleasure to get the bragging rights (and karma points!) by dragging them out of whichever part of the scenery that have got stuck in!
Fortunately my preferred method of attaching dressings - duct tape, doesn't have an expiry date!
With respect to the quality of water you treat a burn with. I had a friend who got the burning skipping rope wrapped round his arm at the Thai full moon party. He got serious burns, his friends basically threw him in some very questionable water.
back in Sydney he was treatedby the top burn dr. He told him he was very lucky they did. The need to cool the burn overrides the risk of infection. I think he said something along the lines of infections we can deal with.
obviously drinking quality water is preferable but you might not have 20 minutes worth
back in Sydney he was treatedby the top burn dr. He told him he was very lucky they did. The need to cool the burn overrides the risk of infection. I think he said something along the lines of infections we can deal with.
obviously drinking quality water is preferable but you might not have 20 minutes worth
For those whose New Year's resolutions (or budgets) don't run to a proper course (and regular refreshers) there are plenty of apps for smartphones from the Red Cross and others which may be helpful in an emergency.
http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/First-aid/Mobile-app
http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/First-aid/Mobile-app
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