| |
| 05 May 2008 10:09:55 |
| Duncan Heenan |
| First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? -- Duncan Heenan (Speaking personally) |
| 05 May 2008 11:00:58 |
| Ronald Raygun |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
Duncan Heenan wrote: > I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' > offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have > never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it > may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? It might contain various pills. Apart from that, I suppose sticky tape could gum up, or there might be some worry that sterile packaging could have become compromised with age. Open it up, take out anything dangerous, and give it to the grandkids so they can play doctors and nurses. And treat yourself to a new one. |
| 05 May 2008 13:08:26 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:58 GMT, Ronald Raygun <no.spam@localhost.localdomain > wrote: >Duncan Heenan wrote: > >> I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' >> offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have >> never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it >> may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? > >It might contain various pills. Apart from that, I suppose sticky tape >could gum up, or there might be some worry that sterile packaging >could have become compromised with age. > >Open it up, take out anything dangerous, and give it to the grandkids >so they can play doctors and nurses. And treat yourself to a new one. I recall a recommendation to refill by purchasing items separately using a list made by a doctor. -- Martin |
| 05 May 2008 14:10:27 |
| TonyB |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
"Martin" <me@address.invalid > wrote in message news:3iqt141809vtp0h099h3upham102ndomid@4ax.com... > On Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:58 GMT, Ronald Raygun > <no.spam@localhost.localdomain> > wrote: > >>Duncan Heenan wrote: >> >>> I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' >>> offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have >>> never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in >>> it >>> may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? >> >>It might contain various pills. Apart from that, I suppose sticky tape >>could gum up, or there might be some worry that sterile packaging >>could have become compromised with age. >> >>Open it up, take out anything dangerous, and give it to the grandkids >>so they can play doctors and nurses. And treat yourself to a new one. > > I recall a recommendation to refill by purchasing items separately using a > list > made by a doctor. > -- > There's very little that you need in a first aid kit anyway. A lot of useful stuff is already knocking around the boat, like a bit of wood to make a splint for a broken bone and some rope to tie it up with. A few pads to press on very nasty bleeding could be useful and the usual plasters but other than that seasick pills are probably the best thing to keep in the box! I might include some eyewash for foreign bodies in eyes and maybe some aspirin in case someone has a heart attack. If you're well offshore a small first aid book might be handy too. Oh, and burns dressings perhaps. True life saving first aid can pretty much be done with your hands unless you're a doctor with a medical pack aboard. In mine I ought to put some airways and IV cannulae, but that's only because I can use 'em, although anyone can swot up on airways and have a go - if the patient is going to die anyway you can't do much harm. The super-yotties amongst UKRS might include a defibrillator too! TonyB |
| 05 May 2008 14:24:11 |
| Ronald Raygun |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
TonyB wrote: > True life saving first aid can pretty much be done with your hands unless > you're a doctor with a medical pack aboard. In mine I ought to put some > airways > and IV cannulae, but that's only because I can use 'em, although anyone > can swot up on airways and have a go - if the patient is going to > die anyway you can't do much harm. I suppose that's true, but our have-a-go hero might have mis-assessed whether the patient really was going to "die anyway". For all we know he might have recovered unaided, had he not died from the consequences of being stabbed in the throat with a biro. |
| 05 May 2008 17:01:21 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 5 May 2008 14:10:27 +0100, "TonyB" <hatt.j.bennett@tesco.net > wrote: > >"Martin" <me@address.invalid> wrote in message >news:3iqt141809vtp0h099h3upham102ndomid@4ax.com... >> On Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:58 GMT, Ronald Raygun >> <no.spam@localhost.localdomain> >> wrote: >> >>>Duncan Heenan wrote: >>> >>>> I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' >>>> offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have >>>> never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in >>>> it >>>> may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? >>> >>>It might contain various pills. Apart from that, I suppose sticky tape >>>could gum up, or there might be some worry that sterile packaging >>>could have become compromised with age. >>> >>>Open it up, take out anything dangerous, and give it to the grandkids >>>so they can play doctors and nurses. And treat yourself to a new one. >> >> I recall a recommendation to refill by purchasing items separately using a >> list >> made by a doctor. >> -- >> >There's very little that you need in a first aid kit anyway. A lot of useful >stuff is already knocking around the boat, >like a bit of wood to make a splint for a broken bone and some rope to tie >it up with. A few pads to >press on very nasty bleeding could be useful and the usual plasters but >other than that seasick pills are probably >the best thing to keep in the box! I might include some eyewash for foreign >bodies in eyes and maybe some aspirin >in case someone has a heart attack. If you're well offshore a small first >aid book might be handy too. Oh, and burns dressings perhaps. > >True life saving first aid can pretty much be done with your hands unless >you're a doctor with a medical pack aboard. In mine I ought to put some >airways >and IV cannulae, but that's only because I can use 'em, although anyone can >swot up on airways and have a go - if the patient is going to >die anyway you can't do much harm. The super-yotties amongst UKRS might >include a defibrillator too! The craptain always carries a vibrator. -- Martin |
| 05 May 2008 17:04:16 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 05 May 2008 14:24:11 GMT, Ronald Raygun <no.spam@localhost.localdomain > wrote: >TonyB wrote: > >> True life saving first aid can pretty much be done with your hands unless >> you're a doctor with a medical pack aboard. In mine I ought to put some >> airways >> and IV cannulae, but that's only because I can use 'em, although anyone >> can swot up on airways and have a go - if the patient is going to >> die anyway you can't do much harm. > >I suppose that's true, but our have-a-go hero might have mis-assessed >whether the patient really was going to "die anyway". For all we know >he might have recovered unaided, had he not died from the consequences >of being stabbed in the throat with a biro. An 87 year old woman told us that when she was in a Dutch hospital recently with some sort of respiratory infection , the doctor asked her " Would you like us to reanimate you if the need arises?". -- Martin |
| 05 May 2008 16:17:37 |
| Tony of Judicious |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
Duncan Heenan wrote: > I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' > offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have > never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it > may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? I find these ready made kits are a generally a bit inadequate. Elasotplasts are useful (they do go out of date IME) but some nice big bandages, such as meolin and the tape to go with them, don't go amiss. The blister packaging on seasickness tablets seems to age as well. |
| 05 May 2008 17:44:47 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 05 May 2008 16:17:37 +0100, Tony of Judicious <tony@deletethis.thoward.plus.com > wrote: >Duncan Heenan wrote: > >> I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' >> offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have >> never used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it >> may have gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? > >I find these ready made kits are a generally a bit inadequate. > >Elasotplasts are useful (they do go out of date IME) but some nice big >bandages, such as meolin and the tape to go with them, don't go amiss. > >The blister packaging on seasickness tablets seems to age as well. You should remove it firsts before ingesting :) -- Martin |
| 05 May 2008 21:40:56 |
| TonyB |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
> > An 87 year old woman told us that when she was in a Dutch hospital > recently with > some sort of respiratory infection , the doctor asked her " Would you like > us to > reanimate you if the need arises?". :-) One of mine told me she's had an autopsy the week before, and more recently one told me she'd been given some flammable tablets by her doctor. I just about managed to keep a straight face. TonyB |
| 05 May 2008 21:46:31 |
| TonyB |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
> I suppose that's true, but our have-a-go hero might have mis-assessed > whether the patient really was going to "die anyway". For all we know > he might have recovered unaided, had he not died from the consequences > of being stabbed in the throat with a biro. Good God, I didn't mean a tracheostomy. I meant a Guedel airway that can be placed through the mouth to stop people choking. They're safe enough. My patient would have to be pretty blue before I'd try a trachy. TonyB > |
| 05 May 2008 23:04:37 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 5 May 2008 21:40:56 +0100, "TonyB" <hatt.j.bennett@tesco.net > wrote: >> >> An 87 year old woman told us that when she was in a Dutch hospital >> recently with >> some sort of respiratory infection , the doctor asked her " Would you like >> us to >> reanimate you if the need arises?". > > >:-) One of mine told me she's had an autopsy the week before, and >more recently one told me she'd been given some flammable tablets by her >doctor. >I just about managed to keep a straight face. LOL Our 87 year old is bright and far from senile. -- Martin |
| 06 May 2008 01:19:33 |
| AF |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
Tony of Judicious <tony@deletethis.thoward.plus.com > wrote: > I find these ready made kits are a generally a bit inadequate. I'm sure it was one of Libby's articles that suggested splitting "First Aid" kits into three: (1) Not really first aid - stugeron, nurofen, plasters, suncream, bug-bite zapper, blister plasters etc - used & replenished often. (2) Normal "First Aid" kit for slightly more serious ailments. (3) The serious stuff, involving prescription droogs & Ships Captains Medical Guide for childbirth and death at sea.... rgds, Alan -- 99 Ducati 748BP, 95 Ducati 600SS, 81 Guzzi Monza, 74 MV Agusta 350 "Ride to Work, Work to Ride" SI# 7.067 DoD#1930 PGP Key 0xBDED56C5 |
| 06 May 2008 02:34:05 |
| Nick Temple-Fry |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Mon, 5 May 2008 10:09:55 +0100, "Duncan Heenan" <duncanheenan@tiscali.co.uk > wrote: >I have a First Aid kit on board, bought 7 years ago as an 'approved' >offshore kit (though I can't remember under what regulations). I have never >used anything from it and I was wondering what sort of things in it may have >gone off and need replacing. can anyone help? Why do you think anything has gone off? These kits contain inadequate bandages in sealed plastic packages. Sterilised water in a sealed container or plastic sachets Metal tweezers - probably still in a plastic package and blunt scissors (ditto) Plus perhaps a general purpose cream which has 'supposedly' some capacity against infection. Assumming the whole lot has been kept in a sealed dry container then nothing will have come to harm, the plastics will have been kept from uv degradation and the whole lot will have been shielded from light and damp. Given you will not be doing surgery and opening great wholes in a body already weakened by disease what more will you need? Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), a few sterile wound pads (ask your pharmasist, they sell an awful lot on prescription to cope with the damage left by mrsa infections) in a variety of sizes (buy them larger than you expect), and some tape to hold the pads in place. Oh and a few plastic disposable gloves, just in case you've been picking your nose or unblocking the loo. Use by dates are largely there to limit litigation - they relate to the the testing the manufacturer chose to do - not the life of the product. First aid is after all - remove foreign bodies - wash clean - cover - get to professional advice. This is usenet advice - with all its inherent caveats |
| 06 May 2008 05:24:45 |
| Martyn H |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On May 5, 10:04=A0pm, Martin <m...@address.invalid > wrote: > On Mon, 5 May 2008 21:40:56 +0100, "TonyB" <hatt.j.benn...@tesco.net> wrot= e: > > >> An 87 year old woman told us that when she was in a Dutch hospital > >> recently with > >> some sort of respiratory infection , the doctor asked her " Would you l= ike > >> us to > >> reanimate you if the need arises?". > > >:-) =A0One of mine told me she's had an autopsy the week before, and > >more recently one told me she'd been given some flammable tablets by her > >doctor. > >I just about managed to keep a straight face. > > LOL > > Our 87 year old is bright and far from senile. > -- > > Martin a mis translation as 'reanimation' is the term in use in other languages for cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| 06 May 2008 05:29:50 |
| Martyn H |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On May 6, 2:34=A0am, Nick Temple-Fry <N...@Temple- Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown > wrote: <snip > > Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), wound closure is a 'surgical' procedure to be undertaken by trained , registered Health Professionals not the average yottie in Uk coastal waters >a few > sterile wound pads (ask your pharmasist, they sell an awful lot on > prescription to cope with the damage left by mrsa infections) in a > variety of sizes (buy them larger than you expect), and some tape to > hold the pads in place. you appear to have little or no understanding of first aid treatment i suggest you retract your inaccurate statements and go and get some training >Oh and a few plastic disposable gloves, just > in case you've been picking your nose or unblocking the loo. > > Use by dates are largely there to limit litigation - they relate to > the the testing the manufacturer chose to do - not the life of the > product. > > First aid is after all - remove foreign bodies - wash clean - cover - > get to professional advice. DO NOT REMOVE A FOREIGN BODY FROM A WOUND > > This is usenet advice - with all its inherent caveats that it's dangerous, inacurrate and suggests some incredibly stupid things |
| 06 May 2008 13:51:40 |
| Pete |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------000807080409040609090302 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Martyn H wrote: >On May 6, 2:34 am, Nick Temple-Fry <N...@Temple- >Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown> wrote: ><snip> > > >>Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), >> >> > >wound closure is a 'surgical' procedure to be undertaken by trained , >registered Health Professionals not the average yottie in Uk coastal >waters > > > >>a few >>sterile wound pads (ask your pharmasist, they sell an awful lot on >>prescription to cope with the damage left by mrsa infections) in a >>variety of sizes (buy them larger than you expect), and some tape to >>hold the pads in place. >> >> > >you appear to have little or no understanding of first aid treatment i >suggest you retract your inaccurate statements and go and get some >training > > > >>Oh and a few plastic disposable gloves, just >>in case you've been picking your nose or unblocking the loo. >> >>Use by dates are largely there to limit litigation - they relate to >>the the testing the manufacturer chose to do - not the life of the >>product. >> >>First aid is after all - remove foreign bodies - wash clean - cover - >>get to professional advice. >> >> > >DO NOT REMOVE A FOREIGN BODY FROM A WOUND > > >>This is usenet advice - with all its inherent caveats >> >> > > that it's dangerous, inacurrate and suggests some incredibly stupid >things > Perhaps you would care to enlighten us about your qualifications to advise here. --------------000807080409040609090302 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" > <html > <head > <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" > <title ></title> </head > <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff" > <br > <br > Martyn H wrote:<br > <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid91f2358b-dccf-4930-8cee-6d21efc45d1c@34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com" > <pre wrap="" >On May 6, 2:34 am, Nick Temple-Fry <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:N...@Temple-Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown"><N...@Temple- Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown ></a> wrote: <snip > </pre > <blockquote type="cite" > <pre wrap="" >Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), </pre > </blockquote > <pre wrap="" ><!----> wound closure is a 'surgical' procedure to be undertaken by trained , registered Health Professionals not the average yottie in Uk coastal waters </pre > <blockquote type="cite" > <pre wrap="" >a few sterile wound pads (ask your pharmasist, they sell an awful lot on prescription to cope with the damage left by mrsa infections) in a variety of sizes (buy them larger than you expect), and some tape to hold the pads in place. </pre > </blockquote > <pre wrap="" ><!----> you appear to have little or no understanding of first aid treatment i suggest you retract your inaccurate statements and go and get some training </pre > <blockquote type="cite" > <pre wrap="" >Oh and a few plastic disposable gloves, just in case you've been picking your nose or unblocking the loo. Use by dates are largely there to limit litigation - they relate to the the testing the manufacturer chose to do - not the life of the product. First aid is after all - remove foreign bodies - wash clean - cover - get to professional advice. </pre > </blockquote > <pre wrap="" ><!----> DO NOT REMOVE A FOREIGN BODY FROM A WOUND </pre > <blockquote type="cite" > <pre wrap="" >This is usenet advice - with all its inherent caveats </pre > </blockquote > <pre wrap="" ><!----> that it's dangerous, inacurrate and suggests some incredibly stupid things</pre > </blockquote > Perhaps you would care to enlighten us about your qualifications to advise here. <br > <br > </body > </html > --------------000807080409040609090302-- |
| 06 May 2008 17:33:53 |
| JohnW |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
Martyn H, in article <91f2358b-dccf-4930-8cee-6d21efc45d1c@ 34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com >, says... > >DO NOT REMOVE A FOREIGN BODY FROM A WOUND That's what I was taught many years ago in my first-aid course. The first instinct should be to never remove anything from a wound, since it might be the object that is stopping a real nasty blood-flow. If you must apply a dressing, use a ring bandage (made from a sling to look like a doughnut) and apply it round the wound to it presses the flesh towards the object if anything. Of course, if it is a splinter of something of similar size, then it is unlikely to cause further problems removing the object. If the object is preventing movement of the casualty, like it's part of the boat, then you should look at cutting the boat away from the person, leaving what is plugging the wound to continue to do its job. One shortage in the average First-aid kit is plenty of bandages of sling-size. These can be used for all smaller tasks whereas a small bandage, typical of kits, can never be made larger -- JohnW. Replace the obvious with co.uk in 2 places to mail me. |
| 06 May 2008 19:48:17 |
| Nick Temple-Fry |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Tue, 06 May 2008 02:34:05 +0100, Nick Temple-Fry <Nick@Temple-Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown > wrote: Oh dear - what a lot of antagonistic fuss a simple post has produced. Look at the contents of a typical 'first aid' kit rated as offshore:- 1 First aid guidance leaflet 1 Blanket silver foil 1 Lip moisturiser 1 Eye bath plastic 1 Thermometer clinical 1 Fingerstall 1 Saline eye wash solutions pad 10 Dioralyte sachets 2 Triangular bandage 40 Assorted plasters 1 Leukostrip (packet 4) 1 Safety pins (packet 12) 2 Paraffin gauze dressing 1 Pair disposable gloves 2 Large sized dressing 2 Medium sized dressing 1 Extra Large dressing 1 Bandage conforming 10 cm 1 Bandage conforming 7.5cm 1 Bandage conforming 5cm 1 Bandage crepe 7.5cm 1 Waterproof strapping 1 Eye pad with bandage 10 Alcohol free moist wipes 2 Gauze swabs (packet 5) 1 Pair scissors 1 Forceps, splinter with the exception of the dioralyte sachets (for help with rehydration in the event of prolonged sickness etc) (and which may have a meaningful life expectancy), the contents are mostly stable non-volatile products which if kept sealed/dry are unlikely to decay over time. Now consider what these contents are actually mainly suited to treating - that's right, minor cuts/abrasions/bleeding and, loose material irritation on the surface of the eye. And the means of treating it provides is by cleaning out contamination, closing if possible (eg a slice wound using the Leukostrip) and covering/protecting. How about reading this link http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/first-aid-advice/wounds-and-bleeding/bleeding.aspx Of course you are right to say you should not remove an 'embedded' object of any size/depth, but that is different from saying you should not attempt to remove loose/small foreign contamination. So let's take it easy and not panic. Nick |
| 06 May 2008 13:26:31 |
| Ian |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On 5 May, 12:08, Martin <m...@address.invalid > wrote: > I recall a recommendation to refill by purchasing items separately using a list > made by a doctor. That'll be two bottles of aspirin and a pad of sicknotes, then. Ian |
| 06 May 2008 13:31:21 |
| Ian |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On 6 May, 13:29, Martyn H <Martyn.Hod...@googlemail.com > wrote: > On May 6, 2:34 am, Nick Temple-Fry <N...@Temple-Fry.COmpletely.UnKnown> wrote: > > <snip> > > > Well I'd suggest a bit of wound glue (first aid in any boots), > > wound closure is a 'surgical' procedure to be undertaken by trained , > registered Health Professionals not the average yottie in Uk coastal > waters Why do Boots sell it, then? And what difference does registration make? Ian |
| 06 May 2008 23:29:26 |
| Martin |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Tue, 6 May 2008 05:24:45 -0700 (PDT), Martyn H <Martyn.Hodson@googlemail.com > wrote: >On May 5, 10:04 pm, Martin <m...@address.invalid> wrote: >> On Mon, 5 May 2008 21:40:56 +0100, "TonyB" <hatt.j.benn...@tesco.net> wrote: >> >> >> An 87 year old woman told us that when she was in a Dutch hospital >> >> recently with >> >> some sort of respiratory infection , the doctor asked her " Would you like >> >> us to >> >> reanimate you if the need arises?". >> >> >:-) One of mine told me she's had an autopsy the week before, and >> >more recently one told me she'd been given some flammable tablets by her >> >doctor. >> >I just about managed to keep a straight face. >> >> LOL >> >> Our 87 year old is bright and far from senile. >> -- >> >> Martin > >a mis translation as 'reanimation' is the term in use in other >languages for cardiopulmonary resuscitation So should she have said no? -- Martin |
| 06 May 2008 22:04:29 |
| Paul Cooper |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Tue, 06 May 2008 23:29:26 +0200, Martin <me@address.invalid > wrote: > > >So should she have said no? Well, it's a good question! CPR has a low likelihood of success (much less than 50%) despite TV programmes like Casualty, the person on whom it has done is likely to suffer serious injury (broken bones), and will STILL be direly ill with a low probability of long term survival. There are circumstances where I'd say "no" if I were asked, and I hoipe my nearest and dearest would have the sense to say "no" for me if I couldn't. And I have been in a real situation with a close relative, where the doctors advised that CPR wasn't a sensible possibilty; the person concerned was too weak and too ill to have a significant chance of survival even if CPR was (by a remote chance) successful. Paul |
| 06 May 2008 22:31:59 |
| Paul Cooper |
| Re: First Aid kit - expiration of items? |
On Tue, 6 May 2008 01:19:33 +0100, alan.frame@acm.org (AF) wrote: > >(3) The serious stuff, involving prescription droogs & Ships Captains >Medical Guide for childbirth and death at sea.... > >rgds, Alan Well, I have been on a First Aid course that assumed that you might be days away from a doctor in the worst case, though probably able to get medical advice via a radio. The First Aid manual includes little matters like how and when to decide someone had died, and what to do with the body! Oh, and like the HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy, the pocket version has "Don't Panic!" on the cover! The first aid kit contained a full three stage pain relief package ( that means everything up to and including morphine), airway tubes (Goedel), and so on and so on, including a lot of items to be used under radio direction from a medic. I really, really hope I never need the knowledge, but it is comforting to have it! The course ended with a long practical session using people who volunteered to be made up as if they had dreadful injuries. Horribly life-like, but very effective - the lady who pretended to have Hypothermia made you really realize how difficult it might be to handle a real case! For those who don't know, hypothermia victims aren't rational, and often feel as if they are too hot, so they fling off clothes. The volunteers were so realistic that it was hard to remember they weren't really injured; I got terribly embarassed after man-handling a young woman who was supposed to have a belly wound! For me, the problem is that I can't GET a first-aid kit that would enable me to use the training I have - too many restricted or prescription only items. |