In conjunction with one of my previous articles about antibiotics, it is imperative for you to learn all you can about how to render first aid to your family members, friends and yourself. If your home life consists of being a one-man/woman band like mine does, knowing some basic first aid principles and techniques can mean the difference between injury and serious injury, and quite possibly also the difference between life and death.
Understanding basic first aid and how your body operates goes a long-ways towards figuring out what to do under real world emergency situations. In the middle of nowhere, I have had to set one of my own broken bones, stitch up a few large wounds on friends, as well as perform CPR on someone who had suffered a heart attack until EMS arrived, and I am proud to report the victim survived.
The five main aims of first aid are preserving life, preventing injury or illness from getting worse, relieving pain, aiding recovery and protecting the unconscious. The primary aim is to of course save lives.
Common first aid procedures for life-threatening emergencies can include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the Heimlich maneuver and tourniquet application. All of these treatments require training to ensure maximum chance of effectiveness, and ideally should only be performed by a certified person; however, having the basic knowledge of what to do can greatly increase your chances of saving a loved one.
In treating a patient, it is important to tell the prospective patient who you are and what you are doing if they are conscious and rational. You should do this out of respect and to help calm the patient with a gentle caring voice. The patient is generally the best historian available on their current medical conditions, medication allergies, prior medical history. Patients who are injured are almost assuredly going to go into shock at some point so you need to take those precautions immediately once you have stopped any bleeding. Carrying a couple of tourniquets in your day pack as well as a good quality first aid kit are very important. I never leave home without having a first aid kid in my pack just in case, especially since I have had to use it on myself more than once or twice, LOL!
The average temperature for humans is 98.6 so keep this in mind. Someone who is shivering is either losing blood or core temperature and needs to be wrapped in something warm. An emergency foil space blanket doesn't take up much space and works very well. Keep in mind that patients who have lost a lot of blood may not be able to generate any heat on their own to warm a space blanket and will likely need an alternative source to help warm them back up.
Keep the patent warm and dry and elevate their feet off of flat surfaces about 6 inches in order to keep most of their blood warming their vital organs. It is important to learn how to take someone's pulse by taking hold of their wrist with your hand and maneuvering your fingers until you feel their pulse beat. Pretty simple to do with a little bit of practice, you count for 15 seconds then multiply by 4 for their pulse per minute. The good news is it is easy to practice on yourself. I just checked mine while writing this article and my pulse is 60 per minute currently.
The normal resting heart rate for adults over the age of 10 years, including older adults, is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). Highly trained athletes may have a resting heart rate below 60 bpm, sometimes reaching 40 bpm. If you have a patient who is bleeding, obviously stopping this is critical to their survival. Several great products exist that work very well such as one of the blood clotting agents that are light and easy to carry. Combined with a wound sponge and ace bandage, you can temporarily seal all sorts of wounds including sucking chest wounds. When possible, send someone for help or transport the patient to an emergency room after you have stopped the bleeding.
If there is no way to transport patient either because of geography or SHTF, you should also have a detailed medical treatment book in your first aid kit. Sounds ominous I know, but I have been involved in helping to deliver twins in the back of a 1977 Sedan Deville with some woman I didn't even know on the side of the highway. The mother Victoria, sends me a birthday card every single year still!
(The author, Mark Bunch owns and operates his own class 3 gun stores, NRA certified Firearms training centers and his own 1 ft to over 1 mile gun range with his business partners, RGGC VP John Hudson, Lead Instructor Sam Tittes, and Tactical Instructor John Pruden or JP.)