Wilderness First Aid...

[Weatherby 300]

What are you prepared for and how?

sprains, cuts, breaks, how about gunshot or a major slip of a knife???

Have you gone as far as any training or would you just "wing it"....

....or do you just rely on cell service??

Sheep season is coming and I was going through my gear....got me thinking that I've probably leaned more towards luck than preparation so far, and I am probably more prepared than most....(I seem to be carrying the most around the mountain )

I guess I'm looking to verify whether I am paranoid or smart more than anything, but I'd like to hear how much thought others put into these things

[BIG AL]

Took Basic St. John's. Haven't had to use it since I took it. The worse accident the last few years was one of the guys cutting a chunch off the tip of his thumb by the fan on his truck. Years ago we flipped an argo going up a hill. Dad was hurt bad. Smashed the hell out of his face Lost an eye. Air ambulance came in from Calgary to haul him out.

[raised by wolves]

Aside from some idiot shooting me, the worst I have seen on the trail were some deep cuts, either self inflicted through clumsiness or from the rib cage when splitting a carcass. A fair bit of heat exhaustion, dehydration, altitude sickness, and really bad blisters on some of my less experienced buddies.

One of my buddies turned into a complete idiot from dehydration. I missed the symptoms completely. He became unbelievably argumentative and belligerent. Really uncooperative and kept throwing hissy fits on the side of a mountain. I was getting near throwing him off a ledge but figured he must have had some psychological disorder that he had hidden from us and missed his meds. The behaviour was so eratic, but it turned out to be a touch of exhaustion coupled with severe dehydration.

We found one guy up in 400 (I think), curled up on the side of the trail, suffering from mild hypothermia. The idiot was out by himelf.

The big damage I have experienced was coming home on a dark highway in the winter. Too many idiots going too fast for the road conditions. I have stopped at quite a few rollovers, collisions and ditch plowers.

[gonefishin]

I get certified First Aid/ CPR every year through work. I've never had to use it on a hunting trip but a couple of years ago we were out quadding and my brother in law rolled his quad and ended up with a compound fracture in his arm, several broekn ribs and then shock set in. It sure helped to knowing what to do and how to help him before the ambulance could get to him.

[bagwan]

My son and I just did a rescue about 3 KM from Peppers Lake on the week end and I would strongly recommend to any parents of youngsters riding quads or motor bikes to get Basic first aid for them. These fellows didn't know how to help their buddy and one actually went back to their camp to get a truck to haul him out. ( one Hour) He stopped at our camp on the way back in and my son went with him. Son has had courses etc almost to EMT level so that helped. I followed them approx ten minutes later as I was away from the trailers when he came. Anyway, he had a badly broken femur just below the hip and a seperated shoulder. Put his foot down when he jumped a gully and that broke the leg high up. We wrapped him up and ensured he was stable and immobilized. No cell phone coverage was availabe so back to camp and good old OnStar in my truck worked to a T. Ambulance out of Rocky and the Paramedic immediately called for a chopper. It's ironic but I yodelled at them to send a chopper long before and it turns out we can't order one because it was abused too much. I used my 4x4 to haul the medical people in from the Ambulance. We did move him via truck to the Chopper after the Paramedic strapped him to a packboard. My son actually held onto his leg for over an hour during the whole procedure to ensure it did not move. The boy (20) was damn tough and never went out or into shock. Anyone going into the backwoods should look at Stinky's advice on locator devices. Crap happens.

[TheClash]

have my wilderness first responder, advanced wilderness first aid and my EMR.


and there have been a few times i have had to use my training...beyond bumps, scrapes and bruises.

[roger]

hey clash, what is EMR??
ive heard of EMT and EMT-A


I do beleive that first aid is based on common sense and creativity...if it leaks apply pressure and elevation, if it hurts to move it: immobilize it...
making something that you need out of something else..carry electrical tape, a couple of hd zip ties to make a crutch out of two sticks, a rifle sling modified into a arm sling, etc.
i have a client who is certified to train cpr, first aid etc (oilfeild, private companies,etc) in these procedures in private classes.

if there is enough interest, maybe something could be orginized by someone somewhere...the wife and I woiuld be interested to do
'wilderness based problem solving course'

[altaberg]

I also try to keep a Wilderness First Aid certification of some kind valid.

Not the same as standard FA. Standard will tell you what to do expecting an ambulance to be there within minutes and advanced life support with 15-30 minutes. The game changes quite a bit when the best you can hope for is a helicopter within an hour.

These course, if they are good, also tell you what to carry in a useful first aid kit. You can't necessarily buy that at London Drugs and carrying a lot of stuff is not necessarily the same as carrying the right stuff.

I tend to spend a lot of time in places (climbing mountains, paddling whitewater, skiing glaciers) where the ambulance is not going to show up any time soon. Training is important for me, so is carrying the right stuff.
I have used my training and I have used my gear.

I have also called in choppers. Which brings up another topic.
You should plan for emergency communications too. Have a cell phone or if out of range a VHF radio or a Sat phone. Also pays to know the right frequencies and phone numbers for the area you're in.

These days professional mountain guides carry either a VHF radio or a Sat phone; it has become almost a legal requirement as "standard of care" for a professional, as is wilderness first aid. Not sure what is the common industry standard in the hunting world.

"Common sense" will only get you so far. Unless you know how to, stopping bleeding isn't always that easy unless you have been trained, red frosty foam out of an open chest wound can be a bit tricky (duct tape won't stick).
In case of shock, frost bit or hypothermia "common sense" may well lead you to do the exactly wrong thing.

I have some good leads on where to get Wliderness FA training if anybody is intrerested. PM me.

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by roger

hey clash, what is EMR??
ive heard of EMT and EMT-A


I do beleive that first aid is based on common sense and creativity...if it leaks apply pressure and elevation, if it hurts to move it: immobilize it...
making something that you need out of something else..carry electrical tape, a couple of hd zip ties to make a crutch out of two sticks, a rifle sling modified into a arm sling, etc.
i have a client who is certified to train cpr, first aid etc (oilfeild, private companies,etc) in these procedures in private classes.

if there is enough interest, maybe something could be orginized by someone somewhere...the wife and I woiuld be interested to do
'wilderness based problem solving course'

emr is emergency medical responder...pre emt...sometimes (in the states) called and EMT B.....biggest difference is that i cannot give sharps or start IV's....although my wife can....nurse.


one of the best first aid tools i ow carry on almost all of my back country trips is a telescoping trekking pole...or two.... not only do they make hiking more enjoyable....but they make fantastic splints....very strong, ridging, light and can adjust to almost any length....invaluable as a tool.

[roger]

Clash, Thanks,

Originally Posted by altaberg

"Common sense" will only get you so far. Unless you know how to, stopping bleeding isn't always that easy unless you have been trained, red frosty foam out of an open chest wound can be a bit tricky (duct tape won't stick).
In case of shock, frost bit or hypothermia "common sense" may well lead you to do the exactly wrong thing.

you bet...
a sucking chest wound or multiple compound fracture or needing to use your caping knife to do a trachy on the cutline is that 'whole next level of response' and require a more comprehensive knowledge base.
First aid, for the purposes here, IMO, encapusalates breaks, bump, bruises and applying cpr.
ya cannot have to much learnin
cheers

[TheClash]

i love the advanced wilderness first aid classes that have a 12 hour scenario as the final.....usually cold, wet, hungry and full of adrenaline!!!!