# 3340
Given that summer is here, and many of us will be traveling and spending more of our time enjoying the great outdoors, the odds of having an accident, or of needing first aid, are higher this time of the year.
Since the primary focus of this blog is preparedness, this is a good time to remind my readers about the importance of having – and knowing how to use – a good first aid kit.
We are talking about being able to deal with more than just an errant splinter or a paper cut.
One of my pet peeves is that for some reason we seem intent on denying our children really useful information while they attend school.
Why a good first aid (or even EMT) & CPR course isn’t a requirement before graduating high school is a mystery to me.
* * * *
When I was 17, and still in High School, I took a 3-night American Red Cross first aid course. At the time, I had no idea that a year later I'd be working on an ambulance.
It just seemed like a good idea.
Since I was approaching my 18th birthday, and would soon be out on my own, it seemed like the responsible thing to do. No one told me I should, my parents certainly didn't suggest it.
I just decided that there was useful knowledge there that I should know.
So I went.
I spent 3 nights listening to the local fire chief teach us about first aid. I watched the films (mostly civil defense films from the 1950's, btw), practiced bandaging the guy next to me, and I made my own first aid kit.
Since that day, I've never been without a serious first aid kit. In my car, and in my home.
Little did I know how soon I would end up using it.
* * * *
Two weeks after I graduated from High School, during the summer of 1972, Hurricane Agnes clipped the west coast of Florida. It wasn't much as hurricanes go, but it sent tropical storm force winds, torrential rain, and some small tornadoes through our area.
Hurricane Agnes approaching Florida
My brother and I both ended up as part of the rescue effort that night, pulling the trapped and injured from collapsed trailers, and setting up an ad hoc emergency first aid center in an old post office.
We used the supplies from the first-aid kits we kept in the trunks of our cars to care for the injured.
For several hours, we were the only aid available to more than a half-dozen injured people. For a kid fresh out of high school, it was a long night.
It also spurred me on to a career in emergency medicine. First as an EMT, then as a Paramedic EMT-II.
* * * *
The point is, emergencies happen all the time.
We are already two weeks into the Atlantic Hurricane season and the tropics could easily brew up a dangerous storm and send it towards the mainland any time over the next few months.
I can't think of a day in the past 38 years when I haven't had at least one first aid kit constantly within reach. I keep a nice one in my car, and another, even better equipped one in my home. If I take a trip in someone else's car, I transfer my kit to their trunk.
Yes, I suppose it's a bit obsessive, but over the years it has come in very handy on more than one occasion.
Every home, and every vehicle, should have a proper first aid kit. Not one of those dime store Band-Aid boxes that they sell for too much money, but a real first aid kit.
A couple of year ago a grassroots, volunteer organization called the National Citizens Pandemic Alliance (NCPA) launched a new website called GET PANDEMIC READY, filled with dozens of downloadable files on how to prepare for a pandemic or other emergency.
Here is just an excerpt from their first aid section.
Why This is Important
In a pandemic, health care services may be overwhelmed, or you may not wish to leave home and risk exposure to the flu virus. You may be required to administer more advanced medical care to yourself or others than you have in the past. If communications with a healthcare provider is available, you will need supplies and knowledge to be able to follow their directions. If no medical care is available, you might find yourself the sole provider of care for those around you. You will need supplies and skills.
Supplies
Essential supplies include a first aid kit and emergency dental kit. These come in all sizes and can be tailored to fit your situation. Remember to include medical supplies for children and pets, who may require different sizes of supplies or strengths of medications. An example first aid kit is described at Ready America and includes the following items:
- sterile gloves (latex, or nitrile if you are allergic to latex)
- sterile dressings to stop bleeding and to protect wounds
- cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
- antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
- burn ointment to prevent infection
- adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
- eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant
- thermometer
- prescription medications you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine, and asthma inhalers. You should periodically rotate medicines to account for expiration dates
- prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies
Other important things to have:
- Cell Phone
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant
Non-prescription drugs:
- Pain relievers (such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen)
- Anti-diarrhea medication
- Antacid (for upset stomach)
- Laxative
And everyone should know how to use one. If you haven't taken a first aid course, now is the time to do so. Check with your local Red Cross or Fire Department to find out where they are being given in your community.
In addition to a first aid kit, every home should have lanterns, flashlights, or other light sources. Candles are NOT recommended, as every year they are responsible for house fires.
Pictured below is an inexpensive LED lantern. It will burn on 4 AA batteries for about 40 hours. It is bright, gives off no heat, and poses no fire danger. I have a dozen of them.
And of course you need a battery operated radio, one which receives the weather bands, and preferably has a NOAA Alert.
There's more, of course. But these few steps are a good beginning.
To them you should add an emergency pantry with at least 2-weeks worth of food and water, some safe method of emergency cooking, and depending on the climate where you live, an emergency heat source.
For detailed information on how to prepare, I can think of no better resource than GET PANDEMIC READY. For first aid and CPR training, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross, or local fire department or EMS.
They should be able to direct you to a class.
If you haven't been to the Federal Governments pandemic information site, go to www.pandemicflu.gov and plan to spend a good deal of time.
This fall and winter, we are likely to see a much greater demand placed on emergency departments, and first responders, due to the novel H1N1 virus. The wait to get an ambulance, or to be seen in the emergency room, could prove even longer than in years past.
Which would seem more than enough reason to be prepared to deal with medical emergencies.
It doesn't take a pandemic to ruin your whole day. Disasters happen here in the US dozens of times each year. Around the world, that number climbs into the hundreds.
Add in minor (and not so minor) accidents, and that number climbs to the millions.
It pays to be prepared.
