Home or Patrol/Troop First-Aid Kit

Sprains While Hiking

If someone suffers an ankle sprain during a hike and your group must keep walking, do not remove the hiking boot from the injured foot. The boot will help support the ankle. If you do take the boot off, the injury may swell so much it will not be possible to get the boot back on. Reinforce the ankle by wrapping it, boot and all, with a bandage, neckerchief, or some other strip of cloth.

Broken Bones

A fall, a violent blow, a collision-all these can cause a fracture, or broken bone. When you suspect a fracture, do not move the person. Check for DOTS: Look for an abnormal shape or position of a bone (deformity), and an open wound, tenderness, swelling, or a bluish color at the injured site. Ask the victim these questions: • Did you hear or feel a bone snap? • Do you feel pain when you press on the skin over the suspected fracture? • Are you unable to move the injured limb?

If the victim answers "yes" to these questions, the person likely has a fracture.

Before administering first aid, you should try to obtain the victim's consent. If the victim is unconscious, disoriented, or otherwise appears unable to knowingly grant consent, you can assume it is all right to proceed.

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As soon as you have reached your destination, have the person take off the boot. Treat with cold packs and seek medical care.

Closed (simple) fracture

Closed {Simple) Fracture. A closed fracture (also known as a simple fracture) is a broken bone that does not cut through the skin. For a closed fracture, do the following. • Call 911 or your local emergency-response number. See "Life-

Threatening Emergencies" for

• Treat hurry cases-no signs of life (movement and breathing) procedures to follow in adults; in children and infants, no signs of life and no pulse. in hurry cases. • Protect the spinal column by supporting the victim's head and neck in the position found. • Treat for shock (but avoid raising a leg that might be broken).

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