Camping First Aid

Accidents occur even on the most well planned camping vacations. You need to not only plan to avoid accidents, but you also have to plan on how to handle them if and when they happen while camping. The important thing is to remember to remain calm. The worse thing you can do is get flustered.

You need to keep a clear head and just let your first aid training kick in. If you don't have any first aid training then you should go to some classes before going camping. If you are not calm then you may not administer the correct treatment and this could just make it worse.

Three common ailments that befall campers are dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. To most people these all seem like similar ailments, and they are, but they each need to be treated differently. Confusing which treatment goes with which will not only halt healing, but it could also cause damage. The principal common problem when camping is dehydration. The best thing to do is just to keep yourself well hydrated with water.

You may drink nothing but soda and coffee at home, but if you do that when camping you will quickly find yourself in a hospital room for dehydration. There are several signs of dehydration besides the obvious thirst. Excessive sweating, rapid breathing, clammy skin, and loss of skin elasticity are all signs of dehydration. Children may also have sunken eyes when dehydrated.

If someone becomes dehydrated while you're camping then you want to have them rest in the shade and drink plenty of cold water. You'll also want them to remove any unnecessary clothing. Heat exhaustion is another widespread problem while camping. This is caused by not only too much heat, but can also be caused by too much humidity.

A person with heat exhaustion will have pale, clammy skin, rapid breathing, excessive sweating, thirst and nausea, headache, and exhaustion. Again you'll want the person to take a rest from camping and totally rest with their feet elevated. Cool water and a shady place are a must.

You'll even want to sponge the person with water. The third common camping ailment is heat stroke. Heat stroke is caused by your body not regulating body temperature correctly, causing your body to overheat. Symptoms are flushed, dry skin, a lack of sweat, rapid and weak pulse, irrational behavior, staggering, headache, and nausea.

If not caught early and treated this can also lead to a collapse, a seizure, a coma, and even death. If someone gets heat exhaustion while camping you need to get help straight away and get an ambulance. Have them rest in the shade with their head raised.

Use ice or cold water to cool them down and if they are aware make them drink. These three ailments are common while camping and should be watched for and treated right away.

First aid knowledge is indispensable when camping. Remember that water always helps, so have plenty of it with you at all times. If anything does happen on your camping trip stay calm and remember what you have learned.

If he's red raise his head, if he's pale raise his tail, is a good rhyme to help you remember what to do if something happens while you're camping. Remain cool and hydrated and you should be able to avoid problems like these on your camping expedition.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with wholesale First Aid kits. If you have an interest in First Aid as well come over to our site now at First Aid Courses Online.