Backpacking First Aid
Tutorial
Having some basic first aid knowledge is
a skill every backpacker needs. Being outside and in the
wilderness environment requires the need for basic first aid
skills because anything can happen. You will likely be
miles away from any help and need to be able to handle
emergencies when they arrive on your own.
You need to assemble a first aid kit. You'll pack this
as part of your essential gear. It should prepare you for
almost any situation and allow you to handle emergencies until
help arrives. Here is what should be in it:
- Band aids of different shapes and sizes
- Antibiotic ointment
- Hydrocortisone cream
- Moleskin
- Alcohol pads
- Ace bandages
- Hand sanitizer
- Gauze pads
- First aid tape
- Cold pack
- Powered energy drink (If you were to get stranded
it can be used to help keep your energy up)
Here are some basic points of first aid that you should
familiarize yourself with:
- Prevention. You should understand what
you can do to prevent accidents. This will go a long way
to helping keep you safe on the trail. You should always
make sure your equipment is in good shape. You also need
to wear protective gear. Have a good plan for your
backpacking trip and tell someone about it so they can be aware
if you should become missing. You should learn about
poisonous plants so you know what to avoid. You should
also learn about basic survival skills.
- Keep all supplies sanitary. This
includes trying to clean hands as best as possible before
treating a wound or injury. Bacteria grows quickly and
once it is introduced to an injury things can get worse
quickly.
- Use only what you need and refill your kit before
every trip. You do not want to use all the
bandages on a small cut that doesn't really need them and then
later when you really need one they are gone.
Additionally, you do not want to let your kit run low on
supplies. Not having what you need is almost as bad as
not having a kit at all.
While getting your kit in order and reading over the above
advice is a good start, you should also take a first aid course
to brush up on the basics, so if you should ever need them you
know them.
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