First Aid And You

First Aid And You by Gary Benton
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As I looked down at the young man lying on the forest floor, I could see the pain in his dark eyes. His skin color was pale, his words were a mixture of fear and anxiety, and his breathing was rapid. I quickly looked around the area and determined his injury, a possible fracture of the right leg, was the result of falling from a ledge approximately six feet above us. I knew from the symptoms, he was suffering from shock.

Shock is a condition that results when the circulation of blood is inadequate for the oxygen needs of the body’s tissues. What this means in a nutshell is a lack of oxygen to cells, which may result in cell death, and eventually it could lead to the death of the casualty.

Knowing the importance of reassuring the victim, I kneeled and spoke in a firm but kind voice. I kept talking to him as I determined his right leg appeared to be broken. I joked with him a little as I started treating his injury. I assured him that help was on the way, asked him about his pain, and eventually got him to talking about his new child. My goals of take charge, assess, and assure, had been met. Three days later I past him in the building we worked in. He had survived.

One aspect of the outdoors most of us pay little attention to is first aid. Why? I suggest that most of us think injuries will happen to you, but not us. In psychology we call that attitude denial. It is an “it will never happen to me” attitude, and it is a very dangerous stance to have in the woods. See, all of us will sustain some type of injury eventually if we spend much time out of doors. It just happens.

Now, most of our injuries will be scrapes, shallow cuts, a fishhook in a thumb, or perhaps a small burn. These are easy to take care of and they usually never lead to larger problems. However, it is important to remember that the key in any emergency treatment is a two-step process (injury treatment and shock treatment).

First, you must determine the extent of the injuries and ask yourself if you are qualified to treat them? Obviously, if someone is seriously injured or near death, you may be out of your level of treatment. Nonetheless, in any situation you can do some things to assist the victim until help arrives. In a remote location during a survival situation you may be all the help that will be available for some time. No, you should never attempt any medical treatment you are not qualified to do, nor should you sit on your duff and cry the “poor me” song out over and over. Do something!

Your first step should be to assess the injury or illness. Take charge. But, keep in mind the most qualified individual should be in control. If someone on the scene is more qualified than you, let that person control the situation.

If you are the one, control the emergency, ask yourself the following questions;

First, is there still a danger in the area? Look around and ask yourself, what caused the injury and is it still able to hurt someone? This is important if the injury is the result of an electrical source, wild animal, human assault, weather, or other situations. I cannot cover all possible situations, but evaluate the cause first. You do not want to become the second or third victim of a mishap.

Second, is the injury life threatening? If not, it is a very simple process to treat the injured person. You can determine if the injury is serious by checking for breathing and pulse. Even if the victim is conscious, be cautious. Some injuries will not show all of their symptoms until later. Treat all victims for shock, which is covered further along in this article.

When you approach a casualty look to see if they are breathing or choking. If breathing is not a problem, check to determine if there might be neck or spinal injuries. Is the body bent at an awkward angle? Is there a loss of feeling in the spine or neck area? Is there intense pain in one or both of those areas? Do not lift or move the victim until you are able to determine the extent of injuries. If you remotely suspect a neck or spinal injury, do not move the casualty. Make them comfortable in place, if it is not life threatening to do so. At any rate, always remember your a, b, c’s…. Check the airway, the breathing, and the circulation (abc).

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