First Aid in the wild(erness)

This morning I attended a wilderness first aid workshop conducted by Muggy/Bhaskar - the guy who first showed me the ropes of roped climbing. SIDENOTE- Muggy was trained in both Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Response and chose to conduct this workshop pro-bono. Another climber provided his amazing office space on a Sunday. This was my first time seeing what a software consultant’s life actually looks like.

SIDTODO - share more about the day, the ambience, and the amazing bunch of people. The day started with some amazing thatte idly and bisibelabath - Bengaluru’s pride.

The session covered the different kinds of injuries- scratches, strains, sprains, fractures, bites, and every random scenario one will probably never face out in the wild except when they do. Muggy made an extensive powerpoint presentation pro-bono - this gesture to help and create caring communities continues to drive me in my effective altruistic ways circa 2020s.

I learned how to apply bandages, create tourniquets, make makeshift stretchers out of ropes. We even did mock scenarios on one of our climbing buddies. It is recommended that weekend warrior wilderness folk (SIDENOTE- apparently that’s what semi-adventurous citydwellers are called these days) practice these scenarios very frequently to keep up with the minutiae of these chops. The last thing we want is to make a snake bite worse by restricting bloodflow in the wrong area or drop a fractured friend due to wrong ropework while carrying them back from the crag.

SIDTODO- Look up the notes I made for the day and share them with the world.

Note from the future, circa late 2017- I got to apply the technique I learned to immobilize a possible hairline fracture on one of my goalkeeper friend’s fingers, by using some steri-tape, when the fast and furious football fried his fingers rather than the palm. It was great to conduct a diagnostic test for fractures - knocking gently at the neighbouring joints. It was appalling to see how unaware most of us are until we indulge in these esoteric activies of our ancestors who survived in the wilderness. One friend suggested applying a muscle relaxant cream/spray on the finger. Fortunately, we convinced this well-meaning-but-utterly-disastrous advice remained just that - a conversation piece for nostalgia.

Also another note from 2021- Blood Flow Restriction is not just semi-helpful in snake bites. It is also an effective driver of strength and hypertrophy at relatively low training intensities. This is backed by increasing amounts of evidence. I’ll try applying this for some of my upper body training as I recuperate after a surgery.

Takeaway- always carry a well-stocked wilderness first aid kit (SIDENOTE- here’s how it differs from a superficial first-aid kit), it saves lives!