First Aid
When was the last time you checked your first aid kit?
When was the last time you practiced treating a deep wound or burn?
I’m currently typing this with a bandaged up finger because of a wood shop injury. It could have been worse but fortunately, I had a good first aid kit and knew how to stop the bleeding, evaluate how bad the wound was, and treat the area.
This experience made me realize that most of the people I know probably don’t have a real first aid kit [or for my prepper friends have one cobbled together with battlefield care items they have no idea how to use].
Here’s the deal folks, while you’re spurting blood is the wrong time to learn how to use a first aid kit. You need to practice before an injury when you’re calm. Can you open the packages with one hand? Can you hold the wound closed while trying to apply a butterfly bandage? Oh, ya? How about while your eyes are all teared up, your heart is racing, your hands are shaking and blood is dripping all over?
Here is what I learned today.
1) There is too much stuff in my first aid kit.
2) It is NOT laid out for quickly locating the most important items.
3) You can not rip fabric tape with one hand.
4) You can’t fix a problem in a panic.
#1 & 2) I plan to split my first aid kits into 2 units. Major wounds and treatable wounds.
- Major wounds is for treating an impaling or protruding fracture (big stuff that I need a trained professional to treat, I’m only trying to stop the bleeding until the EMS gets there).
- Treatable wounds, like burns, dog bites, deep cuts, etc. will be moved into a roll-up of some sort so everything is laid out in plain sight. This addresses 1 and 2.
#3) Seems straightforward (order some pre-cut strips) but its a symptom of a bigger problem: I didn’t practice this injury or I would have known there was a problem and already had it handled. Can I apply a splint to my forearm (one-handed), can I apply an Israeli compression bandage to a gut wound, two questions I will find out the answer to by practicing.
#4) Seeing blood squirting out of your body is very unnerving and it quickly put me into a state of confusion and panic. I can’t evaluate the wound while my heart is racing, pushing more blood out. I had to sit quietly for a moment to regain composure. I was lucky that this was, all in all, very minor. I knew from classes I have taken, the very first thing they told me to do was stop, take a deep breath, and only then assess the problem. Again, regular practice would have helped quite a bit.
So before anyone asks, I’m fine, feeling kind of dumb, but fine.
But the question is will you be? Well that kind of depends on what you do right now.
Go check your kit!
Make a list of the types of injuries you may actually encounter and set times to practice them.
Remember you may be all alone, so don’t expect that someone will be there to rip the tape.