Do you spend time in the outdoors? Are you a keen hill walker or mountain climber? Or just an enthusiastic amateur? It doesn’t matter what your experience level is, if you enjoy exploring the outdoors, then outdoor first aid skills are essential.
What is Outdoor First Aid?
First aid saves lives, and knowing what to do in an outdoor emergency situation will make a significant difference when helping someone who is sick or injured. There are many environmental factors to consider in an outdoor setting and you’ll need a different set of skills to administer first aid effectively where it may prove challenging for the emergency services to reach you in a short period of time.
Outdoor first aid procedures may be needed for activities such as hiking, running, camping, cycling, climbing or any activity that takes place outside in the open air, that is distant from the emergency services.
First aid is the initial treatment given to someone who is injured or sick, prior to professional medical assistance arriving and taking over from you. As a first aider, your priorities for the casualty are to:
- PRESERVE life
- ALLEVIATE suffering
- PREVENT further illness or injury
- PROMOTE recovery
For example, if your casualty has fallen onto a jagged rock and cuts their arm, you can preserve life by offering treatment immediately and not waiting for professional help to sort it out for you. If you do nothing, your casualty could bleed to death, We can alleviate suffering by making the casualty more comfortable, keeping them warm and offering lots of care and attention. We can prevent further illness or injury by applying a secure sterile dressing over the wound in order to control the blood loss and prevent risk of infection. Finally, we can promote recovery by treating the casualty for shock and summoning for professional medial assistance as soon as possible.
Why is outdoor first aid different to regular first aid?
This is a great question! Even if you’ve done a first aid course in the past, OUTDOOR first aid is very different for a number of reasons. In an urban setting, we rely heavily on medical professionals to provide assistance when someone falls sick or becomes injured. In most cases, help arrives very quickly, equipped with the necessary resources to aid the casualty and to keep them alive and well. Although the protocols and procedures are comparable to that of First Aid at Work, Outdoor First Aid has a more distinct focus, because:
- Illnesses and injuries occur outdoors, often in adverse conditions that affect both the casualty and the rescuer
- Professional medical assistance may be delayed for extended periods of time due to difficult locations, severe weather conditions and a lack of communication and transportation
- Certain injuries and illnesses are far more common in remote locations (sprains and strains, frostbite, insect stings, blisters, hypothermia)
- First aid supplies and equipment may be limited
- Important decisions must be made such as deciding whether to move and evacuate your casualty
This text has been adapted from the book Outdoor First Aid, A Complete Guide to Outdoor First Aid which you’ll receive for FREE on our popular Outdoor First Aid courses in Eryri/Snowdonia! Learn essential outdoor first aid skills over two days on what’s sure to be the most interesting (and fun!) first aid course you’ll ever do.
