Chapter 8: Outdoor Preparedness
Basic First Aid (continued)
Broken Bones
Don’t move someone with a back or neck injury. That should be left to
paramedics or other professionals because permanent damage could result from
improper handling. When a hunter has a broken leg, foot, arm, or hand, you
can perform basic first aid that will allow the individual to be transported
to a medical facility.
- Keep broken bones stable by immobilizing them with splints. Any stiff material
can be used—a bow; sticks; boards; tree limbs; arrows with the points
removed; or even books, newspapers, or thick magazines.
- Use a belt, rope, or strips of torn clothing to bind the splints and broken
bones together; but don’t tie them so tightly that you cut off circulation.
- Move the victim carefully and only as much as necessary to reach professional
medical help.
Falls
You're always at risk of falling when you hunt from a tree stand. Make plans
for a worst-case scenario. Establish a signal that will let your companions
know if you fall. Three blasts on a whistle carry farther than a human
voice, and it’s a recognized call for help.
If you are hunting alone, what you do depends on your injuries.
- If your injuries are immobilizing, you’ll be forced to wait and use
your signal until you’re found. This is a time when a hunting plan
may literally save your life.
- If you can move, consider your location and how close you are to assistance.
Are you mobile enough to make it to help?
- If you have broken bones, sprains, or cuts, use what you have available
for first aid.
- Clothing and large handkerchiefs can be used to stop bleeding and provide
padding.
- Use belts, shoelaces, bowstrings, or haul lines to secure splints.
- Your bow, arrows (without points), branches, or poles can provide rigid
support of broken bones or sprained limbs.
- Know how to use a rope or strap to relieve suspension trauma when hanging from a FAS.
- Take a first-aid course to learn how to effectively treat a victim of suspension trauma.
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