Tag Archives: injury

Knowing Your First-Aid Kit & How To Use It

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“I’ll Figure It Out”

Your loved one is hurt. Blood is flowing, you can’t even tell from where. It’s too dark to see well. It’s cold. You’re alone. They’re scared. You’re scared.

We all know it’s important to have a good first aid kit (FAK*). But even more important is basic, solid first aid knowledge. It’s easy to buy a super-duper, has everything–including field surgery equipment–FAK and think that you are covered when it comes to any first-aid scenario. But buying stuff is easy, you must learn the skills–especially when it comes to first aid.

Fortunately learning basic first aid skills is pretty easy: opening the airway, stopping bleeding, protecting the injury, treating for shock, cleaning wounds, etc. Unfortunately developing the proficiency to be able to quickly react and appropriately deal with these emergencies is much harder. Medical knowledge isn’t like riding a bike, it’s perishable – if you don’t use it, you do forget. That’s why medical professionals, at all levels, are constantly taking continuing education classes, re-certifying, and teaching others. I can show you how to put on a pressure dressing and you can practice a time or two – but a year later, when blood is flowing and must be stopped, you may not remember. You must develop the basic skills needed and then regularly practice them.

Back to the pre-packaged super FAK. Do you even know what’s in that kit? By knowing, I mean, can you identify each item, explain why it’s there, and do you have experience using it? My problem with pre-packaged kits is that everything comes in a nice pretty package, neatly stored in it’s own container, perfectly fit in it’s proper spot. Most of us prepper types–whether we want to admit it or not–are a bit OCD; we like things organized, and neatly put in their proper locations. So when it comes to that pre-packaged kit we do not want to open up all the little packages and see what’s in them, or move them around; we want them left alone, neatly packaged away, for a time we might need it.

But when we do need“it” too many people have the mindset: I’ll figure it out if/when I need to. That thought process implies that you’ll very quickly–under a stress-filled, potentially life-threatening situation–figure out what equipment you have on hand (and what you don’t) and how to skillfully apply it. That’s not the way things work; we don’t rise to the occasion like that. Instead we revert to the level of training we’ve developed proficiency at.

What I recommend, when it comes to your FAK, is to build your own (I differ from some other medical people on this). There are medical people who say that FAKs aren’t like putting together a fire building kit or a BOB; that people don’t really understand what is needed in a medical kit. My response to that is if they don’t understand it, it shouldn’t be in their kits. If it is important to you to have a good FAK, then it’s important to take the time to assemble it and know what each item is and why it is in there.

Also, the side benefit of making your own kit is that you will save money. Anything that is labeled for medical purposes and/or individually packaged costs more. Once you understand what an item is you may not have to buy the medical version of it, ie. a cravat bandage and a bandana are about the same thing. And it’s always cheaper to buy items in bulk.

On Wednesday I’ll write about the FAK my family members carry on a regular basis. What we put in them and why. It’ll be sort of anticlimactic because it’s really just a simple kit. But each of them know where their FAK is, what it contains, and how to use each item in it.

(Wednesday: Quick Grab The First-Aid Kit!)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

Something To Lean On

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Reasons to Add Crutches, Canes, and Wheelchairs To Our Preps
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No one plans to trip and fall–especially not to fall and get hurt–but we do. It happens faster than we can say “oops”. Most of the time we quickly (or slowly) get back up, check to ensure all our parts still work, and somewhat sheepishly go on. But sometimes you either can’t get up, or it really hurts when you do.

A little while back I was thinking how difficult it would be to get around in a collapse situation with a leg injury. Trying to improvise crutches or a cane, though doable, wouldn’t be ideal. So we decided to purchase (from a thrift store) a set of crutches, a cane, and a wheelchair. So far we’ve got the crutches and a cane, hanging neatly in a corner of the garage. We haven’t found a decent wheelchair for good price yet, but when we do it’ll be folded down and hung with the others.

When an injury first happens, especially if it looks serious, everyone available helps and cares for the injured. But in the days afterward, the injury is mostly forgotten by everyone except the injured. He (or she) now has to get around and function as best they can. Injuries such as sprains and strains* are rarely crippling, but they make even minimal walking painful and difficult. Having that set of crutches or a cane (though a cane is easier to improvise, storing one takes almost no space) allows a patient to be ambulatory and more independent. In addition a wheelchair, for someone who can’t even get around on crutches, would be invaluable. Remember we’re discussing a situation where there is no other medical assistance available; a situation where you only have what you have.

This doesn’t have to be just a collapse situation. What about an injury during an ice or snow storm where it’s difficult to get out, or to have an ambulance respond? How much easier would it be if you had what was needed to allow your patient to be ambulatory? Then, when care is available, hang it back up until it’s needed again – they’re reusable.

Ryan is currently healing from an injury of his own. His involves the collar-bone and shoulder region (bike crash), so it doesn’t limit him walking around. But I was reminded how long those type of injuries take to heal, the pain associated with them, and the inconveniences they cause doing simple day-to-day activities.

The other thing I plan to add to our medical preps is a folding military-style stretcher. I thought about this again when I read Dr. Bones’ post, Thoughts on Patient Transport. A stretcher is in a somewhat different category since it’s used to carry an injured person, and may not be as necessary because it can be improvised. But we know that people are going to get hurt and that they are going to need to be moved; so we may as well prepare for it.

I know this isn’t brain surgery, but frequently we don’t think about preparing for medical injuries beyond having a first aid kit. As I’ve stressed before, in a collapse situation people who aren’t used to physical exertion will be forced to be much more active and injuries will happen – and they will happen more frequently.

(Friday: What I Did This Week To Prep)

*A sprain is an injury to a ligament (in a joint), i.e. sprained ankle; a strain (aka as ‘pulled’) is an injury to a tendon or muscle, i.e. strained, or pulled, hamstring). For first aid treatment, remember the mnemonic: P.R.I.C.E. – protect, rest, ice, compress, elevate. Crutches, a cane, or a wheelchair will help protect the injured extremity by not putting weight on it, and allow it to rest by using it as little as possible.