It's always nice to have plenty of supplies and equipment when you are confronted with a medical emergency, but at Far Out First Aid we believe that your most important resources are your voice and your calmness.  When you arrive at the scene, things are often in a turmoil.  You can make the situation worse or better, depending on how you present yourself.   If you are freaked out and show it, the victim is likely to become  freaked out too.  On the other hand, if you are calm, speak in slow, deliberate sentences, have good eye contact, and even show a little bit of humor, your mood will infect the victim and tend to keep him from panicking.  

    On more than one occasion I have found a highly-excited victim, looking very pale and washed-out, breathing at twice the normal rate (12 to 20 per minute) and presenting with an elevated pulse rate (over 100 beats per minute).  By simply talking calmly to the individual as I assessed her condition, I was able to bring her down to more acceptable levels. 

    So how does one remain calm?  The first rule is to take a deep breath and slow-w-w down.  In emergency medical services we say SLOW IS FAST!  The next time you see fire/rescue or the ambulance come to your neighborhood, watch how the first responders deploy.  It's not likely you will see them running blindly onto the scene.  Their actions will appear to be deliberate.  Many will take a "gutter gaze," in other words a good look around the scene to be sure it is safe before rushing in.   Once the scene is deemed safe, they will calmly unload the appropriate equipment and WALK to the victim.  Rushing into an emergency almost guarantees that you will bring the wrong equipment, go to the wrong location, do the wrong thing or trip over each other.  It's much better to just take a deep breath and begin your protocols.

    Even when you have no equipment or supplies, your voice and your calmness can go long way to stabilizing the victim and leading to a successful rescue.    

    

    

    Nowadays quite a few people are familiar with the basics of CPR:  open the airway by tilting the head back and then start repeated cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths.  Yet many times, trained, would-be rescuers walk away from the victim without doing anything.  Why is this so?

    Research has found that in many cases rescuers are afraid they will become infected by the victim if they do rescue breaths, so they just do nothing.   Being wary of infection makes good sense.   Remember, the first rule of any rescue is, "Is the scene safe for me?"  It's not safe if there is a risk of getting Hepatitis, HIV, or any other infection.   One solution is to carry a CPR mask.  These are available for a few dollars online  and are small enough to fit on your key chain, put in your pocket or purse, or just leave in your glove compartment or pack.

    Still, most people will find themselves at the scene of a cardiac emergency without a CPR mask.  The other alternative is to do chest compressions only.  In other words, omit the rescue breaths entirely.  At first this may not seem to make sense, but there is enough oxygen in a person's blood to keep him or her alive for several minutes, and sometimes that's all it takes for the ambulance to get there if you are in a 911 response area.  Some CPR instructors teach hands-only or compressions-only CPR and don't bring up the subject of rescue breaths at all. 

    In a wilderness or remote setting, however, rescuers are not going to arrive for hours, so you will have to do more.  My advice?  Carry the mask!