Water Safety do you know what to do if anything goes wrong?

[jdlenton]

Recently after a few years break I have started swimming regularly again (every day) and this got me thinking about the time when I was a member of a lifesaving club and used to be a lifeguard to earn some extra pennies. My thoughts then wandered back to bushcraft as they often do and I had a little think about all the talk of first aid on BCUK, the ideas sort of mixed and question arose.

I wonder how many bushcrafters know what to do if someone’s in trouble in the water?

Personally I’ve been involved in several rescues a number in a pool situation (one a spinal injury!) some of these incidents aren’t really relevant to bushcraft and a others on rivers, lakes, in canals and on the sea that will stay with me forever as a reminder that being careful around water when outdoors is just not enough you need to know what to do if things go wrong.

When we’re in the great outdoors we may need to cross running water as we travel, we will need to gather water from rivers lakes and streams to drink and cook, some of us like to fish from shore or boat, others like to forage besides all types of water and it appears a large number of us either own or enjoy paddling canoes and kayaks.

So who’s got a current lifesaving qualification? Who’s done any training and thinks they know what to do? Who’s actually had to rescue a swimmer tow them to a boat or shore and perform CPR and/or EAR in or out of the water? Is this relevant knowledge in a bushcraft situation are have a just been thinking too much again?


James

 

[shaggystu]

i was wondering if there's any possibility of adding another option to your poll, i did lifesaving with scouts, did a one day course when i worked for princess trust, and did another one day course with a surfing club in south wales, but i have no formal qualification. i'm guessing that there could well be others in a similar situation to me. maybe an option of some experiance but no qualification? just a suggestion.

cheers

stuart

 

[andyn]

I started doing my swimming badges at an early age and finished them when i was about 12 which included personal lifesaving. Eg Making floatation aids out of tops, keeping warm in the warm and preserving energy etc.

Then when i was at college I did the bronze medallion which was more focused on actual rescuing. But these have both expired now.

I think one of the more important aspects of doing these courses is that you learn not to fear the water but also understand its dangers. Something that seems not to be educated to far too many people.

 

[jdlenton]

shaggstu thats what i sort of meant with the "I used to have a qualification" but i will have a think about a reword and ask one of the mods to change it for me as i don't think i can edit polls myself

 

[HuBBa]

well.. being a former scuba instructor (not active anymore) this is one thing i've had to do both in reality and also had to teach others to do =)

As for reality i've been fairly blessed with only "minimal" situations. Worst being a student who threw up and panicked at 7 meters depth (while i was a divemaster and not an instructor). She bolted to the surface (with me attached to control her ascent) and was going down again when she broke the surface so a quick tow to the boat & crew was needed. She survived fine and actually went on and finished her scuba certificate a few weeks after the incident.

As for teaching trust me when i say that doing a Rescue course in Malta with 28C in the water and minimal gear is quite different from doing it in Sweden with 12C in the water and high seas =)

The general rules here are KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Prioritize breathing, forget CPR in water unless you have an absolutely no other alternative. Segment your movements (especially when stripping an unconscious non-breathing diver of his/her equipment in cold water and again, prioritze breathing.

Lets not forget that performing in-water rescucitation is extremely hard nearing on impossible so you do want to get OUT of the water as soon as possible. If you can get the victim up on a stone or on a beach or even something floating it increases your effectiveness in reviving the person a lot.

Also remember that very few people get revived by normal CPR (since the heart often go into fibrillation) but it will keep the brain with a supply of oxygen which might keep the victim alive until rescue personel with defibrillation equipment arrives. This provided you or someone called them

In the end though, the only wrong thing you can do is not doing anything. The person is already considered dead (if non-breathing anyway). They can't exactly get any worse

 

[arctic hobo]

Yes; have had some very hairy situations on yachts and small craft in the Atlantic and Irish sea... not to mention things closer inshore. You have to have extensive qualifications if you're teaching in those conditions

 

[andyn]

well.. being a former scuba instructor (not active anymore) this is one thing i've had to do both in reality and also had to teach others to do =)

Worst being a student who threw up and panicked at 7 meters depth

HuBBa, when i was doing my padi exams i remember being sick at about 18m as I had been suffering from a bout of stomach upsets that week.

thankfully i remembered what my instructor had said about the regulators and that you can spit, cough, or be sick through them (and breather) without taking them out of your mouth. I somehow managed not to panic too much otherwise I think I may well have been in the same situation.

 

[HuBBa]

Yepp. that student did well to remember that same lesson actually =) She never took the mouthpeace out so she got air. She did panic and bolt to the surface however but that is understandable.

 

[Brian]

Hi,

I swim like a stone so its best that I stay away from water that I can't stand in or it will be me that needs rescuing.

Brian

 

[jdlenton]

Brian thats ok one of us will pull you out

 

[Longstrider]

I also used to be a lifeguard. I held RLSS Bronze Medallion, Pool Bronze, Silver Cross (Open Water) and qualified for Surf Rescue as well. Whilst all my qualifications are long expired I'm still a strong swimmer and the knowledge of effective re-sus techniques is never lost. Having successfully "saved" numerous folks from the water as well as a heart attack victim on dry land certainly makes me think that it is long past time when CPR and EAR are taught to all as part of the National Curriculum.