New-to-me First Aid Info

[Erica]

The online wilderness first aid course I am taking is excellent. You can see it at survivalmedonline.com. It is also cheap.

There are a few things that I have never heard before and thought I would pass on. At least these are the two I can think of at this time.

1. You can use HONEY as a wound dressing if you don't have neosporin, etc. Apparently honey is just as good as the antibiotic ointments.

2. If you are wearing a pack and have an aggressive Grizzly bear approaching you, do NOT put the pack down, even if it has food in it. The rationale: When you go into your protective position, you put the pack over your head. Apparently this extra layer of protection can reduce the injuries from a bear attack.

3. The course clearly presented the differences between Grizzly and Black bears and the protective actions are different for each bear. Apparently Grizzlies are not predatory and attack humans who appear threatening to them, so rolling up into the protective stance is effective. Black bears, on the other hand, are predatory and lying on the ground just gives them the opportunity to consume you. A lot of good information more that I can't well articulate summarily. I'm looking forward to hearing about others' experiences with one or the other.

4. Should a tourniquet be necessary, it is no longer recommended to loosen it every hour to restore blood flow. Current recommendations are to leave the tourniquet tight until medical help is available. After 4-6 hours, you may suffer nerve damage or lose the limb, but that is better than bleeding to death.

Here is to staying safe in the wilderness!

 

[UCanoe_2]

I took the SurvivalMed online course earlier this year. I thought it was pretty good, especially for the price, but there was room for improvement. The demonstrations and hands-on practice were very helpful. I particularly enjoyed putting my wife in a hypothermia wrap. I have been collecting honey packets from restaurants.

I questioned some of the survival recommendations. Having had a car that burst into flames in my driveway, I was skeptical about sheltering from a forest fire inside a vehicle. The audio-only podcasts that are part of the 16 hour class I found tedious. I was reminded of the experiential education mantra:

I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

After completing the SurvivalMed course, I found out about the School of First Aid https://schooloffirstaid.com/
They have a $59 course and a $29 course. They have "interactive virtual reality scenarios," and I have seen video samples of these.

School of First Aid has a PDF SOAP note that anyone can download. You can save this document on your smart phone and then text it to emergency services. https://schooloffirstaid.com/wilderness-first-aid-soap-notes/

Any of these courses would be well worth taking as an alternative to an expensive in-person course.

BTW, hands-only CPR is now being promoted to reduce transmission of respiratory infections. My wife (retired RN and former CPR instructor) reminds us that, since we are engaged in water based sports, drowning is a respiratory emergency. We have to breathe for a drowning patient, and hands-only CPR will not do the job.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Wonder what happened to the ABC's. Airway first. If broken fix it, Breathing second. Broken fix it.. CIrculation third. If the first is broken or the second the third step is meaningless.

I haven't carried honey in a long time but Balsam sap is an coagulant and antiseptic. Its found in the blisters on the trunk of the balsam tree.

 

[UCanoe_2]

The new acronym in the SurvivalMed WFA course is MARCH.

M Massive hemorrhage
A Airway (with C-spine precautions)
R Respiration
C Circulation
H Hypothermia/Hyperthermia
or Hike vs. Helicopter (for evacuation)

 

[Erica]

^ Yes, exactly. You can bleed out in seconds, you can do without air for a few minutes.

The course says that for outdoor sports, severe wounds and broken bones are most common.

That said, most examples were hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Encouraging that folks are taking first aid courses.

I must say that I've never taken honey on a canoe trip or even thought of doing so. Besides, don't bears love honey?

 

[UCanoe_2]

Glenn, you must have read Winnie the Pooh when you were a kid.

Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity​

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/

 

[PacketFiend]

If you're in Ontario, I highly recommend Steve Tripp's courses. I've taken both his basic and advanced wilderness courses.

He does them in person, usually at a group campsite of some kind. Frontenac Park is commonly used. They'll last over a long weekend, typically in the fall. He's very good at modifying his content specifically for the group he's catering to at each individual course. For example, when I first took his basic course, my brother had recently become a type I diabetic, and Steve was enthusiastic about including course material specifically to address that.

Really, I can't recommend him enough.

Wilderness Tripping

Canoe Instruction and First Aid Instruction

wildernesstripping.ca

 

[yknpdlr]

Of course every instructor tells you to do CPR to the music beat of Bee Gees song "Stayin Alive". But when I mention and hum along the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust", which is at the same beat, most instructors don't like it very much.

 

[UCanoe_2]

.... even though the latter song is closer to the truth. If you do not already have an advance directive or DNR order, think about getting one soon.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...-may-be-preferable-for-many-than-enduring-cpr

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/me...t-could-be-worse-than-death-study/vi-AA1bU9wT

 

[PacketFiend]

Of course every instructor tells you to do CPR to the music beat of Bee Gees song "Stayin Alive". But when I mention and hum along the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust", which is at the same beat, most instructors don't like it very much.

Mine told me to do it to the sound of breaking and then squishy ribs. One of these days I'll have to ask a professional paramedic.