First Aid Required.

This rages on everytime it comes up.

From previous threads/posts our belief that safety/ first aid issues should receive more thought has been demonstrated. From our side of the equation - equally demonstrated very, very few people are actually interested in spending on quality kit or attending training. Thats just what we've found - no rancour etc intended.

With both shooting training and the first aid side, there seems a constant draw toward combat/military oriented situations. Aside from possible cammo clothing, being outside and a generic use of a firearm there are far more differences than parallels. The military have a very different base criteria than the civilian individual. Though have had the occassional client so obsessed that - had the occasion arisen - they would have 'fought through to objective' and only then returned to deal with an injured companion! :D

Medical studies take a long time - its not all drinking and parties. Obviously Vet training is much simpler.... ( just kidding Apache ;) ). As in life, things are simultaneously very simple and hugely complex. Hence much of the apparent conflicting advice on the first aid front and bleeding in particular. Most often a position isnt wholly right or wrong - it derives from a large number of elements.

What anyone, commenting upon any issue on a forum such as this should keep in mind is that some reader may take what they say as gospel. Whilst there may be no clear legal route to come back and sue, one hopes that conscience comes into play.

Lots of kit has a place, some more specialised than others. Some has pro's and cons - occassionally quite fundamental ones! Each individual should be at liberty to make up their own mind as to what they wish to do/carry for themselves. I would add that any difference between what you'd do to yourself and to someone else a. known and b. unknown to you needs thought.

But for each and every item, I would respectfully urge the following self test -

1. Whats it for
2. Do I know how to use it
3. Do I know when to use it
4. Do I know the pro's and cons
5. Do I know why I 'm carrying it
6. Am I prepared to take responsibility for my choice.

To answer those questions needs some solid research. It could be online or via a course. Good practise suggests using several different sources to avoid bias. That done, if you cannot clearly and positively cover every question, leave it out.

I believe everytime such topics are raised is useful - because it generates debate and focus.

Again without rancour, our stance is that actual incidents represent a very good learning opportunity. However, they happen to real people and deep affect those connected with them. Great care is required and other than immediately pressing safety issues - eg a fault with a jet plane engine - within days or a few weeks of the incident is too early. Regardless the matter should not be raised on any kind of speculative basis. Its the facts that are relevant, until those fully emerge it is irrelevant, insensitive and ill-timed to raise such things.

Cant readily find it, but Bogtrotter did an excellent post sometime back regards what was actually most likely to happen injury wise on the hill. It was ( as ever ) very well put. Yet we never seem to debate 'unsexy' kit like survival blankets with the same passion! ;)
 
Maybe there 's room for a specialised form of training that addresses potential injuries we might encounter in the field.
The basic first aid training is just that, basic but how many lives have been saved through rudimentary knowledge of CPR.
I am comfortable with doing what i can with what i have to hand to dress/pack , tourniquet, splint as i think maybe neccissary to get myself or someone i'm responsible for to the nearest point of safety and professional care . regarless whether the current fashion is 15 /2 or 30 /1 , tourniqet or compression, splint or no splint.
I think that is infinitely preferrable than to do nothing . And yes it may be that with the best intentions your actions actually harm rather than help but if the option is to do nothing and be bringing a body off the hill is it really a choice. Thankfully the instances of major trauma are relativley rare and the main killer on the hills is still hypothermia , where in bad weather even a badly sprained ankle could be life threatening.
That warm cosy seductive feeling of just having a little rest here in the snow , just for a minute and then i'll carry on down the hill.
 
Years ago I was asked to run a few first aid courses for estate workers, including keepers, and we always discussed ballistic mishaps, splinting and serious bleeding in a remote setting. The first aid courses delivered these days assume the arrival of an ambulance within 10 minutes, and no techniques are taught which will cope with arterial bleeding sustained by a lone stalker, who may have to walk himself out a mobile phone signal.
Wise indeed to mention hypothermia and foil blankets: cold casualties don't do well...
 
Trying to stop arterial bleeding with direct pressure and elevation on your own would be as much use as plugging the hole in the Titanic with your arse!:lol:
MS

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: you just bust me gut.

Jimbo
 
on a fem arch wound you will never stop it with dp unless you can clamp it off the leg will just fill up its bit hard to apply DP when you "r" on own as pain overcomes the need so will blood loss i know touriquet are no longer as said part of the training but as long as you pulse the strap ie tight then slightly off then tight some blood may still get to parts that can still be reached, you also will have that hand free to call for help , a sucking wound to the chest stuff ya coat in, if you have a plastic bag/glove put your coat in bag 1st or wet mud in glove as this finds the shape of hole and help seal that bugger good if you carry electric tape strap it down tight then pray your phone works! if not tex your last wishes :roll:. no one has been done yet for trying to save a life, but ? :doh: would be better to try than doing nowt like a chicking runing around thing :scared:

just done my offshore first aid refresher and was advised that applying a tourniquet is no longer recognized and shouldn't be done! only direct pressure and/or elevation this has changed since my last refresher 3 years ago when it was still used! but apparently they are reviewing the first aid procedures again and are on about re-introducing it! so i would suggest anybody thinking about doing first aid should do a course and learn the limitations of first aid because even saving someones life at the cost of a limb could end you up getting a no win no fee case against you!!
 
If you give yourself a scenario (knife, antler, gunshot wound or even broken leg/disablement from falling off the high seat - more likely) and a location it has affected you may then be better able to decide what you would do about it.
Most stalkers are out alone, so one thing they can share with military personnel is their 'actions on'; you have them for what you'll do when ramblers appear, or the armed response team etc.
Understanding your actions on will then help you determine just what you will do when/if something happens, this saves you time trying to think about it when you may not have much time to act (such as an arterial bleed) before losing consciousness.

It also pays to check where you have mobile reception out on your permission, and that where voice doesn't work sometimes text (narrow band) does. So prepare the text to send to someone (family) and save it in draft, so you can be clear when under stress
eg "I'm at my X permission, I have injured myself badly and need help please call the police and ambulance, they may need air search to find me."

As for tourniquets and dressings, both have their place, but you need to be trained and daresay practiced at applying it.
I have direct experience of everything said above, and that a man trained to apply a tourniquet himself (left arm) can do so if he has no help.
Thinking through these actions may help the stalker prevent (de-risk) and avoid such scenarios altogether, but accidents do happen.

A wounded soldier will be helped (eventually) by a trained medic and before that a bunch of mates who'll do everything they can to save life. The lone stalker has no such immediate support, therefore thinking through scenarios and rehearsing what you will do can only help you if ever the unfortunate injury occurs.
Safe times and happy shooting.
 
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on a fem arch wound you will never stop it with dp unless you can clamp it off the leg will just fill up its bit hard to apply DP when you "r" on own

Honestly - it is very easy to do, a suitable method and I have used the technique a number of times with 100% success.

If you apply a tourniquet you CANNOT walk. You need blood to get through to your muscles. Think guys.
 
Think DP is exactly right, but options are no bad thing.
Would ask, Apache, how often (in your number of times) you have tried to DP a human leg with a femoral artery bleed?
No offence but immobilising that leg and raising it are your best chances and it is hellish difficult to apply the pressure on your own to that area. Not sure where 'walking out' of there comes into it with a femoral bleed, accepting that this will very much depend on the size and location of the wound (imagine your average 6.5x55 BST round is going to make a very big hole a knife point less so); accepting that tourniquets are potentially as dangerous as they are good, and again training is everything.
Out of interest, just what are the injury/fatality stats in stalking?
 
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you are correct thats why i said use like a pulse. strapping should never be left tight for long. so even on you can still move. i too have used this far from any medi-vac all be it not on myself! i was a section medic in the 70'80's
time and training moves on thank god.but even the old ways saved lives.


Honestly - it is very easy to do, a suitable method and I have used the technique a number of times with 100% success.

If you apply a tourniquet you CANNOT walk. You need blood to get through to your muscles. Think guys.
 
Ha ha Paul O' you poor sod, a canvas bag of field dressings and some ibuprofen! That tin hat would have hurt too!
 
a tad more than that but yup we did have a crap kit injurys the same ! i nicked a lot off the yanks and mum who was a nurse LOL So NHS got a sharfting too! No jollygreens on tap for us :cry: glad the lads get it now poor buggers at least we sorter new our foe ;). now as for body armour ours was a poncho and as you say a neck bashing ww2 throw back tin hat never used it useless thing left that back at shed , just me old floppy hat and that was just as good. the only water proof kit was a bin bag under ya combats ! :rofl: kin'el i am old :old:

Ha ha Paul O' you poor sod, a canvas bag of field dressings and some ibuprofen! That tin hat would have hurt too!
 
Nice dressing, thank you for the link, have mil style dressings in my kit but looks a good alternative with the elastic to assist.
No offence to your profession, but a femoral bleed is a femoral bleed - knife or GSW, it's serious.
A knife wound likely to have neat edges and less likely to coagulate and bind from the sort of rupture/rag you see from a GSW.

Personally, I would not want to move too far with a femoral bleed; walking upright and applying direct pressure with hands not being complimentary, unless I was absolutely sure I was yards away from assistance or was putting myself in a place where I could be seen clearly. Crawling, sliding, dragging maybe and you can maintain some elevation and reduce BP to lower limbs; the thigh is massive and very difficult to apply pressure to.

So.....knives on your belt, sheathed, near your 'rse, short blades, a text message in your phone, trauma pad, maybe a tourniquet (I have a 3ft length, 1.5" wide strip of double backed velcro rolls up real neat) an idea of what you're going to do if the worse case happens, and ideally the common sense to ensure that you never have to practice it for real!
For everyone else the Darwin awards beckon.
 
...now I've looked at the rest of that link. There are some good mil dressings there with velcro wraps, which is basically what I have already. These are cheap though, for under a tenner you have two trauma dressings and means of applying pressure. Neat for those that want to kit up with such items.
 
I was assuming a stab with a knife to the femoral artery. A GSW would be much more serious and very unlikely you'd get yourself out. I'd say knife injuries thousands of times more likely to stalkers than GSWs.

Have a cheap decent dressing very handy. The bandage is elasticated and maintains the pressure well.

TraumaFix Dressing (15 x 18cm Pad) - Delivered FREE for ONLY 2.89 from Bound Tree Medical Europe Ltd.

You dont have to go that far, Sphagnum moss is far more absorbent and it is free, it has been used for wound dressings throughout the world for years ,it also has antiseptic properties due to its acidic makeup which can help stop necrosis of the wound area .
 
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