First aid — emergency care

Coronavirus has made us painfully aware that accidents, illness and crises can happen to us too. Still, I believe this awareness can lead to something positive: in the immediate term, following the instructions we receive from public authorities and others, and hopefully preparing a little more so that future challenges are easier to handle. I put knowledge and skills first. We can take them with us even if we have to leave wherever we are very quickly. It is striking how few belongings people caught in a crisis often manage to take — sometimes just a couple of plastic bags. Replacing knowledge with possessions can create a false sense of security. Nor can we become good at everything: we simply do not have the time, and sometimes not the aptitude. That means we need to help one another when things get difficult. If you are going to stockpile anything, stockpile social connections.

Of course, some things make life easier and can be difficult to replace with things from nature. Below is my suggestion for a small first-aid kit, which can be supplemented with, for example, a CAT tourniquet. I have not included medicines; those are an individual choice. Remember something such as Dimor for diarrhoea.

As I said, knowledge matters most. If you do not know how to use the equipment, having it makes no difference. It is also important to practise and use it in everyday life.

This is the kit I give participants on “Basic 3 — Emergency Care in the Field”, where they learn to treat and prevent common injuries. We also cover some less common but dangerous injuries, such as severe bleeding.

The first-aid kit contains:
Everything is packed in a red waterproof bag marked First Aid.

Steri-Strips — for closing larger, deeper or gaping wounds
Two Compeed blister plasters
Elastic support bandage — for uses ranging from support to controlling severe bleeding
First-aid dressing

Hand sanitiser — for cleaning hands and equipment
Leukoplast, 5 cm — for making dressings, preventing blisters, securing blister plasters and more
Plaster pack — 10 wound-cleaning wipes and 20 plasters

Five sterile compresses — for wound care and making dressings
Nail scissors — for wound care and cutting nails and materials
Pointed tweezers — for wound care, splinters and more
Tick 2 tick remover — to make removing ticks from yourself and others easier

Oral rehydration

Oral rehydration is the single treatment that has saved the most lives in the world. On several occasions, I have found that commercial products, such as effervescent tablets, can be too harsh on the stomach when the person is really exhausted. Try measuring the quantities at home, for example in your palm, to see what half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of baking powder and a tablespoon of sugar look like, so you can mix it without measuring spoons.

1 litre of water
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of sugar

You can find the upcoming emergency-care course here. Members of Bushcraft Sverige receive a 50% discount.

Basic 3 — First Aid in the Field