The Easter holidays are nearly here, and families are already planning their Easter getaway.

Outdoor family activities include hiking, caravanning or camping around our Great Southeast’s beautiful beaches and bushland, or maybe you’re staying home to catch up on home maintenance.  Whether you plan to head away into the great outdoors, or stay home – accidents do happen. This could be small cuts or scrapes while hiking and camping; fishing hook injuries to hands and fingers; or sunburn and dehydration after a day at the beach or pool. It’s important to treat small injuries properly, before they turn into big problems.

In emergency situations, being equipped with basic First Aid training and knowledge can save a life.

During the relatively short break, accidents can happen so quickly when you, or someone else, is distracted. Every minute counts in a crisis, so ahead of the upcoming School holidays we are urging those living in the Redcliffe area to get trained in First Aid.

Remember that First Aid is intended to be initial care given in an accident or emergency, until qualified medical care is available.

• Heading out on the road? The latest statistics show 85% of road accident fatalities could be avoided by administering basic First Aid before Paramedics arrive. During a cardiac arrest those who receive bystander CPR have a higher survival rate than those who do not receive treatment.
• Staying home over the holidays? Many Queenslanders use the time at home to work on those much overdue DIY tasks. Reflecting the Great Aussie DIY attitude, recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show 6,600 Australians were hospitalised last year after falling from a ladder, and 17,000 were injured after using tools or machinery.
• Planning on Camping, Caravanning, or Bush-Walking? Even in the great outdoors it is so important to be prepared, with 29,900 Australians treated in hospital for bites, stings, and sporting injuries last year alone.
• Swimming in pools or natural water courses? It’s estimated that a majority of drowning incidents are preventable, and that understanding the Drowning Chain of Survival may significantly improve outcomes in case of emergency.

So what can you do to be prepared for any emergency as Easter approaches?

First – make sure you have an appropriate first aid kit on hand. Kits are readily available and can be customised for your individual situation. The kits will also vary in contents and size depending on risks and hazards, potential and likely injuries, and location. First aid kits should include resources for administering first aid for:

• Minor wounds, cuts & grazes
• Control of serious bleeding
• Soft tissue injuries (sprains & strains)
• Eye injuries
• Splinters
• Minor burns

There’s even some unconventional, yet highly useful items you can take with you, which might even save you a trip to hospital.

• Tampons – many women keep these handy, but they can also save the day in some emergencies. You may laugh at this hack, but tampons are very absorbent, and can be used to pack bleeding wounds, or slow severe nosebleeds.
• Large towel – this multipurpose item is great to keep in your car for any emergency. From sudden rain, to motion sickness, to car crashes, a clean towel in your first aid kit will be invaluable if someone has a large injury. Those tiny gauze squares often just aren’t enough to help compress and control bleeding. If the cut is on an extremity, you can wrap the towel around it and apply pressure to the cut. In other cases, you can fold the towel several times and apply direct pressure.
• Portable phone charger –particularly if you’re travelling to a remote area, stashing a portable phone charger allows you to recharge mobile devices if you get stuck without access to electricity. Your mobile device allows you to call for help, or access GPS to find your nearest hospital or doctor.
• Bottled water – No matter how short or long your trip is, make sure you have a few bottles of water in with your medical supplies. Rehydrating is just the beginning—the water can also be used for wound irrigation or making a cool compress for abrasions or small burns. It also serves as an eye flush in case you get dirt, sunscreen, or worse in your eye.

Second, and most importantly – make sure you have the education and skills to use your first aid kit properly.

First Aid Action offers an extensive range of First Aid courses and refreshers, teaching you the skills and techniques to treat shock to stings, and everything in between.

Short of time? No problem! Accredited training takes one day, or just six hours with pre-learning options available. There’s still time before the next school holidays!

We offer training in locations across South East Queensland, from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and most recently in Redcliffe. Click this link to view our public course schedule.