Is your first aid kit ready for summer adventures?

Walking in the mountains of Scotland is a fantastic way to stay fit and healthy, both in body and mind. However, venturing into the mountains also comes with inherent risks. Whether you are a seasoned mountain goat or a hiking newbie, having an appropriate first aid kit is important.

While it isn’t possible to take something for every eventuality, and you won’t be able to fix a broken ankle well enough to enable walk off the hill, the following items are recommended:

• Antiseptic wipes: Useful for cleaning up wounds to stop infection.
• Plasters of varying sizes: For covering up minor cuts, blisters and scrapes.
• Blister foot care pads: More effective than a normal plaster and probably the most useful item for getting yourself off the hill!
• Gauze wipes: For mopping up and cleaning wounds.
• Non-adhesive dressings: Small/medium and a large. Great for those larger and deeper cuts and grazes. They will need to be kept in place with either tape or a bandage.
• Zinc-oxide tape or Gaffer tape: For sticking things in the wet, or to sweaty skin.
• Triangular bandage: Good for a supporting bandage on an arm or shoulder injury.
• Vet Wrap (self-adhering bandage): Really useful for applying pressure to help stop bleeding, covering and protecting a dressing, or giving support to a sore joint.
• Sterile Wound Dressing: small and medium
• Tough-cut scissors/trauma sheers: For cutting dressings, tape and plasters to size.
• Drugs: Personal medication for any existing conditions. But also some over the counter pain relive such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
• Tick remover: Getting ticks out as soon as possible greatly reduces the chance of being infected by Lyme's Disease.
• Nitrile gloves x 2 pairs: Protecting yourself when giving first aid.

Other useful items to add to your kit include:

• Waterproof paper and a pencil: To be able to take a few notes about location, other phone numbers in the group and nature of incident before calling Police on 999 or 112 and asking for Mountain Rescue. Having this written down will take some of the stress away and help with accuracy.
• Whistle: Signalling for help from other hill goers or to help mountain rescue get to your exact location
• Emergency head torch: Easier than needing to change batteries and less likely to forget if it’s part of your first aid kit!

Even a blister on the heal can be debilitating, but with the right items in your first aid kit and a bit of knowledge, many issues can be treated enough to get you off the hill. Regularly review and check the contents to make sure they are in-date and replenished.  Consider adding specific treatments for different activities - for burns if you go camping a lot, for instance.

Upskill on a First Aid Course

Going on a first aid course is a really good way of making sure you have the skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to deal with most general first aid issues. There are a wide range of courses, but doing an outdoor specific one would be the most useful. One of the many benefits of Mountaineering Scotland membership is access to some great discounted first aid courses – check our website for more details.

What about the big problems?

Broken ankles; dislocated kneecaps; big bleeds; serious head injuries. All these, I would argue, are showstoppers for being able to get yourself off the hill because there’s a good chance that you could do more harm than good. Use what you have to slow or stop the problem, then make yourself as comfortable as possible and call for Mountain Rescue.

Call 999 – Ask for Police, then ask for Mountain Rescue

Tell them:

• Location of incident – ideally a six-figure grid reference and a named feature.
• Number of casualties and others in the group.
• What is wrong with the casualty(s)
• What equipment you have in the group.
• Telephone number of the phone you are using, plus any others in the group.

A group shelter and extra layers of warm clothes will make the wait for help much more comfortable…but only if you remember to pack them in in your rucksack!