Secluded Habitat

Have you ever seen someone get injured? More importantly have you had the knowledge of how to competently assist them?

I would like to touch on what first aid is, what you can learn and provide an example of one situation I was caught in, in the hope that I can tweak your curiosity enough to perhaps do a course to gain these skills for yourself.

There are two parts to this, the first is an overview of First Aid and the second will be a look at some First Aid Kits. (PLEASE NOTE: This is an informational post only, this information should not be used to treat an injury. As is stated by StJohn’s Ambulance Australia, there is *NO* substitute for a First Aid Course)!

First Aid:

The Idea behind first aid is often misconstrued. The role of a first aid officer (for example where a critical injury has occurred) is to provide immediate emergency assistance until ambulance officers can arrive.

The last time I was at my renewal course for my First Aid certification the trainer informed us that (as an average) it will take 17 minutes for an ambulance to reach callouts in Sydney. The point I am trying to enforce here is that the role of a First Aider is not to heal a person and send them on their way… it is to keep a person alive until more assistance can arrive.

Of course there are other situations where you may need to just clean a cut and the like, above I am really referring to a worst case scenario.

Examples of Topics Covered:

• Basic Life Support (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - CPR)
• Wounds and Bleeding
• Fractures and Dislocations
• Sprains and Strains
• Chest, Head, Neck, Spinal and Abdominal injuries
• Eye Injuries
• Medical Emergencies
• (Among many many others)

Example Situation:

I was on a bus on my way to work last year. As we rounded a corner away from my house, I (as did many on the bus) heard a crash occur. Being trained in First Aid I requested that the driver let me off so that I could see if I could render assistance.

Upon arriving the situation was better than I expected. There was only a single casualty. At first I thought he had a simple cut on his hand so I went to a local cafe to get a First Aid kit (as I did not have one with me). When I returned he was cradling his head telling me that his head was hurting (something he neglected to mention earlier).

When he pulled his hand away I found the blood was not from a cut on his hand but a cut to the head.

Once an ambulance was called I attempted to stop the bleeding (luckily he was more in shock than anything else). And tidy up the wound as best as possible.

I have to say that the skills I learned in my first aid course gave me the confidence to walk into the situation, assess the environment and provide assistance where possible.

I am lucky that this is the worst I have ever had to deal with to date. But knowing that I have these skills if I need them is great to say the least.

Where to from here?

Now I am hoping I have tweaked your interest enough so far to look into getting some first aid certification under your belt. Some things that you can do:

1. Check with your workplace if they are in need of an additional First Aid Officer, they will often pay for training and provide the time off to do so.
2. Ask around your friends if they do First Aid, you will find that we are more common than we seem.
3. Visit your local First Aid training Centre. In Australia this would be St John Ambulance Australia.

Gallery Photos of a First Aid Kit:

As I am going on a lot of rides at the moment I needed to get a couple more first aid kits that would be more appropriate for the rides that I have been doing. I thought I would photograph them so you know what to expect in a standard first aid kit. If you would like to more photos than the ones below visit my: First Aid Kit Photos Gallery for the full set.