Wilderness First Aid Basics

Before the bandages, before the dressing, before the splints and sutures, wilderness first aid must address certain basic problems, regardless of the injury or illness, that conventional first-aid courses often omit. When you are miles from help with an injured person depending upon you for his or her life, you’ll probably be forced to leave him or her while you get help. How do you assess an injury and keep that injured person as stable and comfortable as possible while you seek professional assistance? Four conditions must be assessed from the first moment.

Breathing Problems

Many an injured person has died needlessly in the wilderness simply because he was left lying on his back while someone went for help. In most cases, he became unconscious and his relaxed tongue fell back and blocked his air passage. In some cases he vomited, and because he was on his back and unable to help himself, he got some of the vomit into his lungs. The acid in the vomit caused a fast-acting pneumonia, which killed him quickly. In still other cases, blood from his nose or mouth collected in the airway and he asphyxiated.

If his companion had simply placed him on his side and braced him there before going for