FREE digital first aid manual for Páramo people

Provided by First Aid Training Co-operative

Cory Jones has worked in the outdoors for nearly 30 years and has become something of an expert on dealing with emergencies in remote environments. He has worked as an ecologist studying Fruit Bats in rainforest habitats, run a field centre at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales, led treks and expeditions all over the world – including a 25 day sledging adventure to cross the Patagonian ice cap – and runs an award winning kayaking centre in the north-west Highlands of Scotland.

Cory is also the Director of the First Aid Training Co-operative and runs outdoor first aid courses all over the world from his base in Scotland.

“I started running first aid courses in 2001 for the Red Cross and over the years, with colleagues, have devised outdoor first aid courses for those who travel in remote places or who are involved in adventure activities.” Cory Jones

Here, Cory tells us how to deal with a medical emergency in a remote environment and you can also download a FREE digital first aid manual to help keep you safe on your next Páramo adventure…

Most first aid is carried out using an alphabetical system, which is easy to remember under pressure:

• Assess: Assessing the situation for danger – who is at risk? For example, if the tide is coming in the first priority may be to carefully move the casualty to safety. If the accident scene has blood, then consider wearing vinyl gloves.

• Alert response: Check the casualty for response by asking questions such as ‘How are you feeling?’ If the casualty answers, you know they are breathing and have a heartbeat. The next thing to check for is bleeding. However, if the casualty is not responding and is unconscious there is more cause for concern – check their airway and breathing.

• Airway: If the casualty is on their back then carefully tilting his or her head and lifting their chin will establish an open airway, giving them the opportunity to breathe. If this does not restore an open airway, check for obstructions and remove anything you find. Opening an airway is probably the most important thing one can do for a casualty.

• Breathing: Once the airway is open, check for exhaling breath (breathing) by looking for chest rise and fall, and feeling for air leaving the mouth or nose. Lack of breathing is likely to indicate cardiac arrest or some form of asphyxiation, which will necessitate CPR and the summoning of urgent medical help.

• Circulation: The next priority for the casualty is managing any blood loss, which can be stopped using pads, pressure and elevation. Large dressings, sanitary dressings, jumpers and fleeces are all useful. Large bleeds often lead to shock, with symptoms including rapid shallow breathing, the casualty becoming cold, pale and clammy, and behaving anxiously. The treatment for shock is to keep the casualty warm, raise their legs and seek medical help as soon as possible.

• Discover damage: Is there any other damage to the casualty, such as broken bones? For potential fractures try to immobilise them as best you can.

• Recovery position: If the casualty is conscious, make them as comfortable as possible – extra clothing and group shelter are ideal for this. If the casualty is not conscious, move them carefully into the recovery position. If you suspect any injuries you should minimise movement of the body and keep nose, belly button and toes in a straight line. You should also insulate the casualty from the elements before seeking help. To watch a video of how to execute the recovery position, click here.

Now the casualty is stable, check that you are OK yourself (are you warm and hydrated?) before raising the alarm.

Although very few incidents are life threatening it is essential to be prepared, which is why First Aid Training Co-operative have developed a FREE digital first aid manual that can be downloaded to your phone and accessed quickly when needed in remote locations.

Top Tip
Did you know that you can set up your emergency contact information on iPhone for someone else to access should you be incapacitated?

It used to be the case that we were encouraged to add ‘In Case of Emergency Contact Information’ (ICE) to our phone contacts, i.e. the person to call if we were found unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.

However, as smart phones have taken over they are usually only accessible with a passcode, fingerprint or similar, which renders your saved ICE number useless.

As paramedics and other rescue professionals are increasingly referring to a casualty’s phone in emergencies, it is prudent to know how to set up your ICE information accessibly.

For full instructions on how to set up accessible ICE information on iOS click here and on Android click here.

paramoclothing.com

firstaidtrainingcooperative.co.uk

Download your FREE first aid manual