This weekend, I went with a 17 year old lad that I am friendly with up into the Black Mountains in south Wales. We share an interest in wildlife photography. We had no particular plan, and on the spur of the moment decided after a bit of pottering about that since the weather was nice we would walk the 2 miles up the old railway track to the dam at the top, and get some photographs there.
This is an easy walk, requiring no great effort or stamina (it is a railway track, so is smooth, and although uphill the gradient is shallow). I had all the kit that might have been deemed necessary for this walk, and there was plenty of daylight. I've done this walk many many times.
The only snag was that where we were at the time of the decision was below the line of the railway track, so we had the option of a longish walk back the way we had come (downhill) to reach the start of the track, and then go up again, or to cut the corner and do a short but steep walk directly up the slope to meet the track above us. there was a rough track that we could follow to do this. We chose the steep slope.
At the top I noticed that the lad, Michael, was breathing a bit harder than I might have expected. He isn't an athletic lad, but I've been out with him before and know what his stamina is like. Accordingly, I decided this would be a good time to give him the "we are in the mountains so lets be sensible and if you feel ill, tired or unwell, I need to know and we will go back" safety talk, so he could get his breath back whilst I was doing it.
At the end of this he looked at where we were going and said "I can't make that. In fact I feel dizzy. I need to sit down" and then more or less fell in a heap. He did not pass out.
Now, I am used to my wife fainting (vertigo, low blood pressure and ME) so this was familiar ground to me. I got out a tarp from my pack and placed it so he could sit on it instead of the wet leaves he had landed on, and made reassuring noises about how there was no need to panic etc. I asked him to describe his symptoms, which amounted to feeling unexpectedly weak, dizzy, and slightly nauseous. A few questions elicited the fact that he pretty much hadn't eaten in the previous 24 hours, and it became obvious that he was having a low blood sugar collapse. I got him to eat a biscuit and stay put.
I was fairly relaxed because even in winter this track is well frequented by walkers, sot here would be help along soon if I needed it (there was, and I didn't), and I was only a short distance from the car anyway. I also was pretty confident that it was nothing especially serious, and just allowing some time to pass would help him to recover.
This proved to be the case. Eating the biscuit took effect, he started to feel better, and was able to walk down the hill to a point where I could safely leave him for the few minutes that I needed to get the car and bring it to him. We then parked up, ate our packed lunches, and he was right as rain within an hour.
In his defence, I will say that he hadn't known that we would end up trying to hillwalk that day, and as the experienced member of the group I should have asked beforehand.
Anyway, the point was that his first comment on feeling better and being able to stand up was "Know I know why they teach us first aid in my wildlife group" (he and I attend the same group), and his second was "Thanks for your help". Now, I really didn't do anything. I asked some questions and suggested that he eat the biscuit, but really all I did was talk to him and remain calm and confident-sounding that everything was going to be fine. Easy for me, because I've been in the situation before, and I knew everything was going to be fine, but sometimes just doing those things and giving reassurance is all that you can do, and all that is needed. The affected person is less likely to panic, and that makes it easier to control the situation so that people can recover or help can be obtained.
I just felt that the whole thing brought that home to me really well, and thought I should share.
This is an easy walk, requiring no great effort or stamina (it is a railway track, so is smooth, and although uphill the gradient is shallow). I had all the kit that might have been deemed necessary for this walk, and there was plenty of daylight. I've done this walk many many times.
The only snag was that where we were at the time of the decision was below the line of the railway track, so we had the option of a longish walk back the way we had come (downhill) to reach the start of the track, and then go up again, or to cut the corner and do a short but steep walk directly up the slope to meet the track above us. there was a rough track that we could follow to do this. We chose the steep slope.
At the top I noticed that the lad, Michael, was breathing a bit harder than I might have expected. He isn't an athletic lad, but I've been out with him before and know what his stamina is like. Accordingly, I decided this would be a good time to give him the "we are in the mountains so lets be sensible and if you feel ill, tired or unwell, I need to know and we will go back" safety talk, so he could get his breath back whilst I was doing it.
At the end of this he looked at where we were going and said "I can't make that. In fact I feel dizzy. I need to sit down" and then more or less fell in a heap. He did not pass out.
Now, I am used to my wife fainting (vertigo, low blood pressure and ME) so this was familiar ground to me. I got out a tarp from my pack and placed it so he could sit on it instead of the wet leaves he had landed on, and made reassuring noises about how there was no need to panic etc. I asked him to describe his symptoms, which amounted to feeling unexpectedly weak, dizzy, and slightly nauseous. A few questions elicited the fact that he pretty much hadn't eaten in the previous 24 hours, and it became obvious that he was having a low blood sugar collapse. I got him to eat a biscuit and stay put.
I was fairly relaxed because even in winter this track is well frequented by walkers, sot here would be help along soon if I needed it (there was, and I didn't), and I was only a short distance from the car anyway. I also was pretty confident that it was nothing especially serious, and just allowing some time to pass would help him to recover.
This proved to be the case. Eating the biscuit took effect, he started to feel better, and was able to walk down the hill to a point where I could safely leave him for the few minutes that I needed to get the car and bring it to him. We then parked up, ate our packed lunches, and he was right as rain within an hour.
In his defence, I will say that he hadn't known that we would end up trying to hillwalk that day, and as the experienced member of the group I should have asked beforehand.
Anyway, the point was that his first comment on feeling better and being able to stand up was "Know I know why they teach us first aid in my wildlife group" (he and I attend the same group), and his second was "Thanks for your help". Now, I really didn't do anything. I asked some questions and suggested that he eat the biscuit, but really all I did was talk to him and remain calm and confident-sounding that everything was going to be fine. Easy for me, because I've been in the situation before, and I knew everything was going to be fine, but sometimes just doing those things and giving reassurance is all that you can do, and all that is needed. The affected person is less likely to panic, and that makes it easier to control the situation so that people can recover or help can be obtained.
I just felt that the whole thing brought that home to me really well, and thought I should share.
Read the signs and acted perfectly. As said, keeping calm makes a great difference to his recovery, and your ability to react effectively
