Post by RickS on Aug 19, 2015 18:21:16 GMT -5
Ideas from our fourth meeting
We met at Rural Metro for our fourth meeting, and heard from John Brinkley with Rural Metro who continued our education on Medical Response.
One thing that stood out is how organized John was with his various emergency response packs and kits. I was especially awed by the contents of one of his kits, which I have listed below (I might have forgotten an item or two, so help me out if you remember something I didn't, ok?)
Day Pack Contents
Tampon (for fire starter & wounds)
5 X 9 Dressings
4 X 4 Dressings
Fire Starter
Bandaids
Roll Bandage
Triangular Bandage
Compass
GPS
Toilet Paper
Duct Tape
Rain Jacket
Energy Food
Water Treatment Straws
Sani Wipes
Paracord
Notebook & Pen
Can Opener
Lip Balm
Knife & Whistle
Steel (fire starter)
Water
Tylenol bottle
New-Skin liquid bandage
Finger Splint
Dermaoind skin adhesive (medical super-glue)
Tourniquet
Scissors
All of this was stored in a pack with several openings so that they could be accessed quickly in an emergency.
Many tips were shared with us, including the following:
John showed us how you could poke holes in a water bottle and use it to wash out a wound.
John said you should carry two pairs of gloves (preferably nitrile?), so you could replace them if one got contaminated.
Use a mask and goggles to protect entry points of viruses or bacteria.
He said that Bactrin ointment would work better than the triple antibiotic ointments, due to the proliferation of antibiotics today.
Avoid contact with body fluids, also dried blood can contain viruses.
Use Clorox bleach w/ a mixture of water to clean those. Also, bury human waste or burn with gas or diesel.
Filter water before boiling or sterilizing. Use charcoal or paper. A hand pump water filter leaves viruses. Use purification tablets. In cold water, viruses can't grow, so try and use that. Use a bladder to fill water.
John mentioned the web site at American Red Cross Safe and Well Site which can be used to let family members know your status in a disaster.
3 T's - Triage, Treat and Transport
After John shared this one on what to look for when doing assessments, (DCAP BTLS) I had to look it up.
Acronym - Definition
DCAP-BTLS - Deformities Contusions Abrasions Punctures/Penetrations - Burns Tenderness Lacerations Swelling
When doing patient assessments, go down 1 side at a time.
For AVPU, here is what Wiki says: "The AVPU scale (an acronym from "alert, voice, pain, unresponsive") is a system by which a first aider, ambulance crew or health care professional can measure and record a patient's responsiveness, indicating their level of consciousness."
LOC - level of consciousness
Use the rule of 9 for burn estimates: This site gives a great picture of that.
Rule of Nines
There were many other great tips that we should all go back and review from time to time in our CERT manuals.
We met at Rural Metro for our fourth meeting, and heard from John Brinkley with Rural Metro who continued our education on Medical Response.
One thing that stood out is how organized John was with his various emergency response packs and kits. I was especially awed by the contents of one of his kits, which I have listed below (I might have forgotten an item or two, so help me out if you remember something I didn't, ok?)
Day Pack Contents
Tampon (for fire starter & wounds)
5 X 9 Dressings
4 X 4 Dressings
Fire Starter
Bandaids
Roll Bandage
Triangular Bandage
Compass
GPS
Toilet Paper
Duct Tape
Rain Jacket
Energy Food
Water Treatment Straws
Sani Wipes
Paracord
Notebook & Pen
Can Opener
Lip Balm
Knife & Whistle
Steel (fire starter)
Water
Tylenol bottle
New-Skin liquid bandage
Finger Splint
Dermaoind skin adhesive (medical super-glue)
Tourniquet
Scissors
All of this was stored in a pack with several openings so that they could be accessed quickly in an emergency.
Many tips were shared with us, including the following:
John showed us how you could poke holes in a water bottle and use it to wash out a wound.
John said you should carry two pairs of gloves (preferably nitrile?), so you could replace them if one got contaminated.
Use a mask and goggles to protect entry points of viruses or bacteria.
He said that Bactrin ointment would work better than the triple antibiotic ointments, due to the proliferation of antibiotics today.
Avoid contact with body fluids, also dried blood can contain viruses.
Use Clorox bleach w/ a mixture of water to clean those. Also, bury human waste or burn with gas or diesel.
Filter water before boiling or sterilizing. Use charcoal or paper. A hand pump water filter leaves viruses. Use purification tablets. In cold water, viruses can't grow, so try and use that. Use a bladder to fill water.
John mentioned the web site at American Red Cross Safe and Well Site which can be used to let family members know your status in a disaster.
3 T's - Triage, Treat and Transport
After John shared this one on what to look for when doing assessments, (DCAP BTLS) I had to look it up.
Acronym - Definition
DCAP-BTLS - Deformities Contusions Abrasions Punctures/Penetrations - Burns Tenderness Lacerations Swelling
When doing patient assessments, go down 1 side at a time.
For AVPU, here is what Wiki says: "The AVPU scale (an acronym from "alert, voice, pain, unresponsive") is a system by which a first aider, ambulance crew or health care professional can measure and record a patient's responsiveness, indicating their level of consciousness."
LOC - level of consciousness
Use the rule of 9 for burn estimates: This site gives a great picture of that.
Rule of Nines
There were many other great tips that we should all go back and review from time to time in our CERT manuals.