First Aid Kit

[Siggi Churchill]

Almost forgot

for that scenario, here's my take. Since you know the status of each I'm assuming you've already gotten all 3 on board. #1 Call for help. Have leg bleeder hold pressure on his own leg. Unconscious breather put in recovery position, have leg bleeder watch him. Unconscious not bleeder, check for pulse.

Now it depends on situation.

How far away is help. How is leg bleeder doing - level of conciousness, able to slow blood loss, estimated blood loss already? You need to determine if you can stay and do CPR/rescue breathing on non-breather or if you need to drive towards help. You may need to leave non-breather. If he has no pulse, he's dead, head into shore unless help is real close and you're sure the other two are stablish. If he has a pulse, I'd have a hard time not staying to do rescue breathing, but remember you have two other patients.

If leg bleeder can't control own bleeding pack dressings on and tie off tight. If the bleeding can't be stopped consider a tourniquet. Beyond that this guy is mostly getting left alone.

Keep checking other unconscious guy. If he stops breathing too, the one of the two non-breathers with a pulse gets attention. If neither, pick the one who looks most likely to buy you a beer at the end i guess.....and feel sure that you've gotten all your bad luck for the day out of the way....

Most important though is getting more resources too you. VHF 16 is the best way...anyone nearby can hear you. Even getting another guy to drive the boat for you would be super-helpful.

[welder]

Boating accident ? I assume we are now in the water , right.

CPR in the water , not a good call , the compressions would be a bummer and I'm by my self, if I start CPR I can't stop . I would try to stabilize the breathing ones 1st then look at the non breathing ones .

All scenes are different so it's really hard to keep guessing what would be done, like if there scattered out , I'm not passing one to find one .

The first thing I would do in any situation is call for help 1st [ Radio, EPIRB ] then go to work on the victims .

[seahawg]

I like to have at least 3 Army style field dressings. Most first aid kits lack a very useful bandage for a large bleeding wound. The Army style dressings can be tied in various different ways.

US Army Field Dressing

http://www.ahsrescue.com/p-1038-military-field-dressing.aspx

And a CPR pouch hanging on my PFD:

http://www.amazon.com/MASK-SHIELD-BARRIER-...8010080-9270834

Two good to have items. You can always do mouth to mouth and use t-shirts/towels in a pinch.

Ludy, that ahsrescue is a sweet site. Thanks for sharing it.

[wreckman]

1, 2 (conscious but bleeding), 3. The best first aid kit in the world won't help unless you know how to perform 1st aid/CPR. I'm no EMT but could give a situation like the one above my best shot...even with no first aid kit. A t-shirt or towel would work in a pinch. The second patient may be able to apply direct pressure himself while you treat #1 (open the airway and get him breathing).

Sorry you are both wrong, call 911 first then proceed administering first aid. No matter how much first aid training you have without help responding the victim(s) will not survive. It is very difficult to perform CPR alone for any long length of time. Good trick question though.

[csaulnie]

I recommend cutters that will easily cut through the largest hook you have on board.

Mine are called "The Maronies". Named after the guy who usually gets a hook in his palm.

[BrokenWrench]

What a great discussion, if this is the kind of high quality topics that will be discussed on REELBOATING.com, all I can say is BRAVO!

This place has already proven that it's members are mature, intelligent people who take boating and fishing very seriously. We are all "Stewards of the Sea" and it is important that we all respond to any emergency on the water. Regardless of our training simply calling for help and getting people out of the water and out of harms way is a good start. In every emergency that I have responded to out there, there is always somebody around who has the training to take charge (Doctor, EMT, Fireman, etc) and direct others. If not the 911 operator or the Coast Gaurd radio operator will give you all the direction you need if you stay calm and give them good site intel.

So the answer to the question is : CALL FOR HELP and follow instructions of the 911 operator or USCG.

Let's all be safe out there and avoid accidents when possible!

BrokenWrench

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[professor]

Most first aid kits are inadequate. Knowing what to do is the big problem. Go take a course and get certified:

American Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/men...nextfmt=default

Emergency First Repsonse

http://www.emergencyfirstresponse.com/english/

Let's say you come across a boating accident, 1st person is not-breathing, unconscious and no other visible injuries, the 2nd got thrown out and has a prop hit to the leg-massive bleeding, the 3rd is unconscious but breathing and several small lacerations. Which one do you (your alone) give first aid to first???

Heave a ring buoy with a line - should have one always ready, to the guy cut with the prop. Once aboard you can instruct him how to manage the bleeding.

Attend to the the unconscious nonbreathing individual with a breath every 5 to 7 seconds, can instruct the other injuried individuals on how to take care of their wounds. If non breathing person starts breathing take care of bleeding by prop cut and then the small lacerations and make it to port. Hopefully you called coast guard once the non breather started breathing or the one with the small lacerations could make the call.

Most importantly have the the rescue equipment ready and available, wear your pfd's and be certified or qualified in CPR, first aid. Your the capt. make sure the newbies to the boat know where everything is located and how everything operates, radio, man over board buttons, steering, turning motor on and off, how to throttle up and down - the basics ----- would only take 5 minutes. Do it everytime with newbies on the boat.

[Parker21]

adding some benadryl to my kit

[Fishinspot]

Outstanding thread! Thanks

[jsmith89]

I'm going to guess at the most likely emergencies to have on the water are:

1. Heart Attack: CPR along with aspirin can help but without AED and definitive medical care odds are against you.

2. Dehydration/Heat Exhaustion/Heat Stroke: Easier to prevent than treat, stay hydrated avoid over exertion on hot days.

3. Burns: Treat with cold water and cover get to medical attention.

4. Hemorrhage: Control bleeding as best as possible get medical care.

5. Drowning: Pretty much the same as the first, without an AED all you can do is CPR and try and get to medical attention.

6. Allergic Reaction/Anaphylaxis: Epinephrine, antihistamines

Basically what you will really need in a first aid kit besides the normal Band-Aids and such is:

A good pocket mask for effective CPR

Aspirin for stopping a heart attack

Bottled Water/Electrolytes

Bandages for stopping bleeding covering burns etc.

Benedryl

Oral Glucose

If you can get your hands on it and epi-pen or 2 wouldn't be bad to have aboard especially if you have known allergic reactions

AED: This may be your best chance at getting you home alive, CPR is effective but an AED can get your heart beating again. If you are say 3 hours from the nearest hospital and you don't have an AED, when you have a heart attack you probably won't make it home even with the best CPR in the world. I would argue and AED is a better investment than an EPIRB on a boat. The odds of capsizing or sinking are far less than the odds of either you or someone else aboard having a heart attack.

Even the best first aid kit isn't worth a damn if you don't know what to do. The american heart association and american red cross both offer great cpr and first aid courses. They are well worth the 3 or 4 nights.