med gear

[davo]

If you have wads of money and enjoy paying for re-harness work, sure. Otherwise, how about just undoing the chest and leg straps.

agree with you in the case of limb breaks, collar bones, dislocations....

more severe injuries that involve the head, neck and core of the body, cut that shit. your life saving med treatment is more important than the container that you won't be using for a while anyway.

my friend has cut 3 harnesses off injured skydivers in the last year, and has a system to minimize the damage. cut or undo the chest and leg straps, then cut the lateral strap that connects the container to the harness on one side. the harness will slide off and you preserve the main lift webs on the front. in the time it takes to heal halfway your rig will be good as new from the shop, unlike your busted up gimp ass

[EVAN]

I'll add that you should have a plan for injuries and everyone should know what to do when one happens, like who is carrying the med kit. What's in it? How do we use what's in it? A quick 1 minute brief can save someones life when things go to complete shit. Also we should have:
1. Line of Communication with air or ground Ambu/Medevac (Cell Phone, radio and/or signal device...flare/strobe etc. on you or with the ground crew)
2. A "blow out" kit that you actually have on you during the jump. Dressings, Gauze, Quick clot and TQ. (Its got to be small enough that you will actually carry it regularly. If it gets too big, lets be honest...it will likely get left behind) If you slam into the tallace, your first responder will be yourself if you are concious and are prepared to self aid!
3. Larger kit in the vehicle or at base camp..ie..Splints, backboard, C-spine etc.

The reality is, in my opinion, that most people talk about how important medical training, knowledge and equipment are...but when its go time, very few are actually prepared in any way.
When was the last time you left the exit point with a basic med kit on you? Or staged a med kit at the intended LZ? Be honest!

[guamcurious]

In the military it used to be the same thing. Everyone would talk about how important med training was, and the odvious eventuality of it coming up and then never load-out any med gear. Blow-out kits have saved a shit ton of lives. Evan thats a great post. planning is insanely critical if youre going to beat the "golden hour" in getting someone to a higher level of care.

[doogi]

Just to preface, I am both a NYC and NJ Paramedic/ Firefighter/ EMT instructor... and as Davo said some of you have a clue, but a lot of you don't

the BEST thing you could do, is make yourself informed. I would recommend (depending on the amount of time you are willing to commit) the Wilderness First Aid/ First Responder/ EMT program. This course addresses how to deal with injuries using everyday objects around you. This is what Ski Patrol and other medical professionals who work where carrying a lot of equipment is not possible take. Ex using sticks and tape to make a splint, etc.

Now to address some of the stuff brought up earlier, most of the equipment found on ambulances is big, heavy, and bulky. Additionally, and MUCH MORE importantly, these devices require not only training, but continued training/usage in order to stay proficient. I have seen far too many times, by even EMTs, equipment used incorrectly if they haven't touched it since school, and in most cases equipment applied incorrectly will do MORE harm than good.


1.) Morphine/ Valium/ any benzodiazepines/opiates
-not only are they impossible to obtain, but they are contraindicated for most major traumas. One of the side effects is that they lower the patients Blood Pressure significantly. And if there is any internal bleeding this WILL KILL the person.

2.) Traction Splint
-Yes it is a great device and does alleviate a good amt of pain associated with femoral fractures. BUT, it is one of those things that I have seen applied improperly more than 50% of the times I have seen it in use (by professionals) and is a device that causes more harm than good if not applied correctly. Secondly it carries a whole host of contraindications including Hip Fx, and Bilateral Femur Fx.

3.) Quick Clot
- Again a great product if used correctly, but again also a ton of contraindications. Additionally several Quick Clot products produce heat as it coagulates, and I have personally seen 3rd degree burns as a result of its use. Obviously not for those who have no training with it.

4.) Tourniquets
- Now I do not 100% disagree with this, but it is an extremely touchy subject, especially its use by those who cannot properly asses if a patient is going to bleed to death or not. NOW I know this sounds stupid, if you cant stop the bleeding with direct pressure, elevation, etc use a tourniquet, BUT think about the injuries we experience in a BASE jumping setting. They are mostly blunt (non penetrating) and therefore there is no bleeding outside the body. The way to see if someone is bleeding internally require pulse, blood pressure, and cardiac monitoring (as a visible hematoma is usually a much too late sign)... again in the "make yourself informed" category. I would hate to see someone lose a limb because a tourniquet was applied when it wasn't needed. Now for complete and partial amputations, I absolutely recommend its use, but as I said how often does this happen?

what I do agree with:
Sam/ Air Splints, Kravats, gauze, etc. All the super basic stuff.

Part of making yourself informed is being able to properly asses someone who is injured. Correct information conveyed to a 911 operator can be the most important thing you do in saving someones life. Everything from dispatching the appropriate resources (not every ambulance has the same capabilities), fire, rescue, medevac, etc to having the trauma/surgery team paged and waiting (in some rural areas this is a far too long process... as the physicians come from home) will make a difference.

I ask the other medical professionals who have posted/ are on blinc to shoot me a PM and perhaps we can put together an article regarding best practices when it comes to trauma in a BASE jumping atmosphere.

stay safe kids

[stitch]

[Quote] 3.) Quick Clot
- Again a great product if used correctly, but again also a ton of contraindications. Additionally several Quick Clot products produce heat as it coagulates, and I have personally seen 3rd degree burns as a result of its use. Obviously not for those who have no training with it.[/Quote} The company that manufactures "Quikclot", Z-Medica, addressed the working temperature issue some time ago. So that is no longer an issue.


QuikClot® Sport™ & QuikClot® Sport™ Silver .: QuikClot® adsorbent hemostatic agent speeds coagulation & rapidly stops blood loss .: Z-Medica Corporation

[Frijol Saltando]

I agree wuth WFR recommendation. I've been climbing for years and seen a couple nasty accidents. And in my very short time BASE jumping I've seen a couple good ones as well. . .

I've talked about it for a while but now it's time to get serious. . .Signed up for the Wilderness First Responder course in my area this March. Not as soon as I'd like it but as soon as possible. . .

Shit can turn real bad REAL fast and it would hang in my mind forever if a friend (or just random person in an accident) could've been saved if only I had a clue.

March 20th to 28th CU Boulder whos in from 303??
WFR Schedule

I think the important thing to get from this thread is. . .If you are NOT trained to provide medical assistance DONT fucking try to be a hero. . .Go get help.

SirVato

[nicknitro71]

Weed is a great pain killer w/out the side effects of opiates which shall never be used during the initial trauma, as mentioned before.

Cocaine hydrochloride is also an awesome local anesthetic.

A suture kit is a must but you need to know how to sew, and skin is tough.

Cortisone injections are great in the case of acute inflammations/allergic reactions that might block airways. One must know how to shoot IM and IV.

A couple of hemostats are essentials in case one has to pinch a cut artery or vein but then again bleeding to death is not painful.

In any case, you could have a portable ER with you at all times but if you do not know the basics of human physiology, you might just make the situation much worse or kill the motherfucker altogether.

Back in the dayZ it was learning how to base over the Internet, nowadays there's nothing better than learning ER over the I and then try it out on your dieing base jumping buddies! Awesome!

[seldomseen]

I feel it's easier to learn ER medicine over the internet then BASE jumping.

You pound on the chest to do CPR with a fist right? And keep saying "live you son of a bitch, goddam it live!!!!" And the internet said to pound on the chest 30 times before stopping.

[nicknitro71]

I thought was:

"You fucking die and I'll kill you motherfucker!"

[Frijol Saltando]

So I need to stab her THREE times in the fucking chest??!!

[doogi]

I truly agree that no amount of equipment without the proper knowledge is going to make a significant difference...

Depending on where you work, some companies will not only allow the time off but pay for the training. I have taught tons of cpr, first aid, first responder, emt etc classes to non-medical professionals at the expense of their employers. Run it by your boss and see if you cant get a couple days off to take a free course. Some city statutes are now requiring Defibrillators to be in buildings of a certain occupancy, NYC and JC being a couple. If thats the case for you, just reference that at least someone should know how to use one... If you end up taking WFR or WEMT you're gonna have fun... just look at some of the pictures/ movies Wilderness Medicine Photos & Movies

I honestly do not carry medical equipment on a regular basis. On most of my jumps I am first of all solo, and second of all I have the rare ability to be within spitting distance of a hospital or ambulance. Saturday night I had 2 coworkers as ground crew, both working and sitting in the ambulance in the landing area.

When traveling its just a couple IVs and Liter Bags of Saline... but hey, thats just for hangovers ;-)

[seekfun]

This is a great thread, and I'd like to comment on the contributions made by some of the active paramedics, firefighters, and EMTs. Several of these experienced folks have made the comment that advanced techniques and equipment require proper training and CONTINUED USE/TRAINING to remain safe and effective. TRUE, TRUE, TRUE.

I received a lot of medical training from Uncle Sam so I could keep Marines alive. But I've been removed from that environment for a few years now, and let's face it: my skills are rusty at best. So if it's my buddy busted up below the antenna, I'm sticking with the basics for several reasons:

1. They're easy to do and harder to screw up. (You may think "Ahhhh, I can apply a fancy traction splint". But try doing it when one of your mates is bleeding all over you. It's more stressful, I assure you.)
2. They buy time.
3. They take less of my mental/physical resources, so I can possibly support other tasks, like communication, preparation for transport, and buddy reassurance.
4. The basics require me to carry less stuff, which means I'm more likely to have it on me or nearby.

Learn the basics.
Practice the basics.
Make a plan with your buddies.
Keep gear nearby.
Repeat.

Then, when the emergency arises, you will be less stressed out and much better able to make decisions, carry out actions, and instill confidence in your broken friend (who needs you to at least appear like you have it all together).

Cheers,

Chris

[stitch]

Someone that is on good terms with Pope should contact him about who built the backpack Base-specific trauma kit that Triax was marketing a few years ago. It was a really excellent well set up kit. For some reason they quit marketing them. I regret not buying one when I had the chance.