There are numerous different forms of injuries that can occur during hunting. Your best line of defense against incapacitating injuries or even fatal incidents is preparation. Both life and limb can be saved by knowing some basic first aid techniques and employing common sense when in the environment.
CPR
Learn CPR if you don’t already know it. To find out when and where a community CPR class is being held, contact your neighborhood hospital, EMS service, or fire department. You never know when you might need to administer CPR to a friend, member of your family, or even a complete stranger. Someday, a few hours of your time could help save a life.
Basic first aid courses are also offered in many CPR courses. Before signing up for a class, inquire with your local provider to determine if this option is offered.
Safety Rules during A Crisis
The first safety precaution in a crisis may seem self-serving, but it’s crucial. First, look for yourself. Inspect the accident scene for dangerous conditions. Ensure your own safety and the safety of onlookers before starting first aid. The justification for this rule is that you are unable to assist anyone else if you are hurt or rendered helpless. If you get hurt, the first responders on the site will have to take care of you in addition to the other victims. In a crisis, seconds count, but take a few moments in advance to make sure you will be able to offer the assistance required.
Basic First Aid
The ABCs of first aid are taught to healthcare professionals: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. The victim of the accident’s airway should be your top priority. Treat this issue first if blood, water, or objects are blocking the mouth or throat. Next, check to discover if the victim is still breathing or in imminent risk of losing it. Without oxygen, the brain and other essential organs cannot survive for long. If required, give rescue breathing.
Then, check for a heart beat and any injuries that may be seeping blood. Apply pressure to any areas that are bleeding with a clean cloth if possible. Don’t be afraid to press hard! If there are others present who are able to assist you, ask for their help in applying pressure to a wound. If the bleeding is profuse and the wound in located on an arm or leg, you can use your belt or a section of rope to wrap around the limb and secure tightly to restrict blood flow to the injured area and slow the bleeding. This is called a tourniquet.
Call for help! After you have controlled breathing and provided an initial round of CPR, call for help and then continue CPR until rescue workers arrive. Performing CPR can be exhausting. If others are available to help, perform two-person CPR or trade off tasks frequently to prevent rescuer exhaustion.
If you or another hunter falls from a tree stand or other elevated area, do NOT move until you are sure there have been no spinal injuries. Moving a person who has spinal injuries can cause shattered bone to cut through the spinal cord and result in paralysis. Ask the fall victim to move their fingers and toes only. If they are unable to, they have injured their spinal column and need special care in moving. If they are breathing and not bleeding profusely, leave them in the position they are in and get help.
If they are able to move fingers and toes, gently turn them over onto their back if they are not already positioned so. Try to turn them as if they were a log; keep the head, legs and torso aligned and stiff as you roll them. This will prevent any compression on the spinal cord should the vertebra protecting the cord be compromised.
Some falls and spinal injuries that affect the neck area can result in a person not being able to breathe on their own. If this happens, you must provide rescue breathing for them until help arrives.
Using firearm safety and common sense like avoiding aggressive animals can go a long way to prevent hunting accidents. Educate yourself, hunt with others, and always tell someone where you will be hunting and when you will return. Keeping safe in the woods is everyone’s responsibility. Be sure to do your part.
Related:
Hunting Turkeys: Advice For Turkey Hunters
Picking the Best Rifle for hunting