How to Stabilize Hiking Injuries

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm going to talk to you about stabilizing some various injuries. Now before I begin, I just want to let you know that I am not a certified expert or anything in this area. This is just basic stuff that I think every hiker or outdoors man or anybody even if you don't hike should know. It is important to know in case something happened on the trail. It is just a few common things that could happen and basic ways to treat how to do them but just keep in mind that I am not certified so I am not responsible for anything that you may try. So let's start with the big one. If someone sustains a damage to their head, you are going to need to stabilize them. So they have fallen down, they are down on the ground, what you are going to want to do is you want their head to be in between your legs as strange as it may sound and you want their face up. You can open up their eyes to see how their pupils are dilated. If they are really white, it means there is a serious problem. If they are too small, it also means that there is a serious problem but keep their neck straight as possible and you are going to have to call for help. You are going to have to use your whistle or something. That is if they have damaged their head or anything like that. Now if you hurt yourself, you've got to deal with it. If you hurt your ankle, this is a common one if you've twisted your ankle. Some medical kits supply these. You can also use sticks if you have to but these are a lot more comfortable. The way that you would use these is you can put them on either side of your leg. If you have more, it will work a lot better and you can put them inside of your shoe. Then you would wrap them with medical tape or an Ace Bandage or anything like that. You can also go under the foot and around the ankle. That is if you've sustained damage to the ankle. Those are two very basic things. Again, not a certified expert but it is something you should definitely know in case something happens. If you sustain a bad cut, try to dress it immediately, stay calm, don't do anything irrational. If there is a serious problem, you should immediately seek medical help. Even if it is something that you can deal with, seek medical attention afterwards to be safe. "