First Aid: Binder or Book?

So, I have FINALLY started putting together my "Blast's Binder". I have copied all important documents for the household, medical records, etc for each member of the house (including pets).

Now I get to work on the fun stuff. I have printed a water purification guide from the EPA website. I am working on my 72 hours kits. Yay, I feel so productive!

My question is, should I print out some basic first aid instructions to go in my binder, or would I be better off purchasing a book of first aid to keep with my first aid kit? Or both?

I think a book would be best and then dog ear pertinent pages or chapters. May go so far as photo copy some pages for same books for the rest of the family to keep in their BOBs.

First off, good for you for taking some proactive steps to be prepared.

My answer is to have both. You definitely want the book since it will have a full range of injuries/illnesses covered, and that should be with your FAK or home medicine chest.

But some situations may be either more likely or require faster response, and those pages you might want to put in your binder for faster access (I'm assuming that the binder will put someplace easily accessible). Things like the CPR protocol or what to do when your child has a really bad asthma attack, how to recognize and what to do for a suspected heart attack, stroke, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Wilderness-Medicine-Adventure-Medical/dp/0965976807

I keep this one in the kit in my SUV, it actually came with the kit but can be purchased separately. It's by far the best book I've found on emergency medicine. Some of the better outdoors stores also sell the book, so you might find it locally.

Personally I'd want the book or manual with my FAK, as if you have an emergency that involves sickness or injury--you want everything in one place. I actually keep a dog first aid quide, printed from the net, folded and with the above book. Thought I'd toss that in since you too have a pup.

Thanks rebwa! Do you happen to have the link for the dog first aid guide?

If you have the time take a first aid course. Bet the local community college has one - and the lists for what courses are being offered just came out too (no, not psychic, just also in NC and it's a statewide thing). For that matter, see if any are offered on base freebie like.

I agree with all of the above, have both a book and copy pertinent stuff, but it's best having hands-on training and knowing what to do in the short term without having to look it up.

FWIW, when I build a new FAK I include a copy of the Wilderness First Aid book cited above. When out on overnights it makes light reading while there's still a bit of daylight. Never hurts to have a reference - I can imagine if one Scout is down, I can be treating him from memory / training, while another Scout could be looking in the reference book to make sure we don't forget anything. Keep them all busy...

I've been doing the same thing.

1) Get CPR and first aid training from the Red Cross, Heartsaver, or another certified organization. These classes will provide basic manuals with the hand on instructions. These are more of the Check/Call/Care instructions then anything advanced. Take Advanced First Aid, Wilderness First Aid, or First Responder training for the more advanced techniques. The training will provide needed hands on practice, and the certification will also provide some legal protection under the "Good Samaritan" laws in case somebody dies or is injured while you're attending them.

2) Get a first aid book, separate from any printouts in your binder and keep it with the FAK. The Red Cross has a first aid manual. I've got a copy of "Everything first aid", which is written along the same lines. Also, it keeps blood off of your disaster binder (I'm not kidding, I've bloodied up several kits patching myself up).

3) An advanced book (e.g. wilderness first aid). This is strictly a SHTF measure for when ambulance services are not available or severely delayed. It will NOT offer any legal protection, but I think its better than having no idea what to do.

Last and legal note: If you're treating someone you need their consent and they need to be informed that you are, or are not, certified for a particular technique. The last first aid course I took said nothing about the old "unconsciousness = consent" law. So I'm not sure it's still valid.

Mark_R raises a good point that I missed, binder or book, make sure you have first aid training, the more the better. I like the Wilderness First Aid training and am renewing it later this month. But basic First Aid is better than nothing, and no matter what you take, concentrate on stopping bleeding and treating for shock, in *most* (not all) situations, you'll be fine (and you probably won't need a book/binder, as long as you have a suitable FAK). Without some basic first aid training, I don't think the binder or book will do you very much good, and may actually mislead you - the extreme is always the guy who decides to do a tracheotomy on his 12 year old, based on manual instructions, not training - and its worse if you do such a procedure on a non-relative.

I agree with most of what you're saying, but I have to disagree on the first aid book. I remember how to treat shock (legs up, keep warm) and my CPR (30+2), but lesser common injuries (pet bites, insect stings, etc) I need a reference. Your memory is going to be on the fritz in a stressful situation.

Here you go

http://www.k9forensic.org/k9firstaid.html

Depending on how you are using it.

If the Binder is the references and plans, and you have separate volumes for skills, separate. If the Binder is THE BOOK, include. If you have space, both.

Either way, get the training. Faster to remember than to read.

Get the book, they last longer and ride well on a shelf. Take notes as you read it. Reread the notes before you hit the trail and/or at regular intervals. Thumb through the book every year or two and check against your notes. Often the bits I thought were the most important a few years ago are different from what I consider the most important points now.

A working and conceptual understanding of the information is more important than memorizing the text. Don't worry so much about what it says. Focus on as what it means and how the details fit into the larger context.

You could slip an outline copy of the notes into your kit, they can be a useful refresher, but when an emergency rolls around you will be operating entirely off memory.

If you have time to read you're not in an emergency. If you are in an emergency you won't have time to be reading anything. Learn it. Study it. Put a copy on the mirror in the bathroom and another copy on the refrigerator. Make it a rule that you can't use the sink or refrigerator until you read or recite the outline notes. Do what you need to do to get it into your head where it will do you some good. In the end you have to be willing to do the work.

I'd put only emergency phone numbers and the quickest 1-aid-at-a-glance summary in the binder. If you have time to read more than that then you can dig out the book or other 1.aid reference manuals.

As Art said, some things must be resolved RIGHT NOW - which leaves little time for reading, perhaps a 5-bullet point check list. You may have some additional phone numbers at hand for such things as information about poisonous creatures in your area, the local police or similar.

But many injuries or illnesses are not that immediate life threatening. Wrap it up, provide lots of comfort and consolation while at the same time ask as much about the symptoms as you possibly can. Then slip out and re-read whatever manual you have at hand before you decide on further action (treat here, transport elsewhere, need professional assistance).

My thought is to have a small first aid book with the first aid kit. Thinking in a situation that you would have use it you wouldn't want to have to run one way to get the FAK then run another to get the book/papers. Unless you keep both together but then you still run the risk of only having one or the other, say you tell your kids/guest to run and get the FAK and don't think to remind them to get the binder.
I keep my binder in my gun safe, for one thing if we are not at home and the house burns down or someone does break in those documents are safe there. Another situation is if we wake up in the middle of the night to a house on fire and have no time to get the binder and have to jump out the window its safe in the safe too. The actual document I created for it is on my phone which stays beside me when slepping so it goes out the window with me.