3 Wilderness First Aid Tips for Surviving the Wilderness Do you remember the many ways you were taught to remember things? Remember using your knuckles and spaces between your knuckles to rem...

3 Wilderness First Aid Tips for Surviving the Wilderness

Do you remember the many ways you were taught to remember things?

Remember using your knuckles and spaces between your knuckles to remember which months had 30 or 31 days?

Remember “30 days of September; April, June and November – all the rest have 31 except February at 28 and a leap year at 29?”

Remember coming up with a sentence to remember the order of the planets?

My Very Enthusiastic Mother Just Served Us Noodles. Each word in the sentence represents a planet, starting with the one closest to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

These types of reminders are most helpful. And remembering wilderness first aid tips, using the same approach, is also helpful.

Here are three ways to remember important actions before the trip, during the trip and when in an emergency situation.

Before you start:

Complete a SAMPLE review of those travelling with you

–      Situation review – done this before or been here before?

–      Allergies – any allergies?

–      Medications – taking any medications?

–      Past injury or illness injury that could flare up?

–      Last meal – when did they eat last?

–      Effort required for their involvement – are they ready, able and willing?

Along the way:

Organize people from a SAFER perspective 

–      Safety is woven into the prevention and preparation considerations of the trip

–      Awareness of the types of risk before and during an emergency is known by all

–      Finding and using the resources necessary for support is at your fingertips

–      Effort given by everyone aligns with their competence 

–      Recognizing the work underway and the situation in front of you keeps it SAFER

In an emergency:

Stay alert by following STOMA principles

–      Survive to think

–      Think to observe

–      Observe to manage

–      Manage to act

–      Act to survive … and repeat again, and again, and again … just like breathing

Suggested Action:

Write these reminders down on a card and put them in your working journal and outdoor first aid kit/wilderness survival kit. 

Commit them to memory. And in preparing for a trip, along the trip and if an emergency arises, say them aloud and follow your words for surviving the wilderness.

Copyright © Stephen Hobbs

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