Back when I was active however, I looked at what I felt the biggest prep I could do was and settled on medical knowledge. While in my experience those from the medical field will always want to help however they can, you can’t guarantee finding one when needed. By a fortuitous turn of events I switched jobs to the ambulance service and ultimately qualified as a paramedic. Since then I have continued to learn what I can about emergency and urgent healthcare and what the options are when there is nowhere to go next.
I would recommend it to all as a great career though it will damage you physically and mentally. I feel I am now in a position to share the knowledge I have so if you have any questions I shall do my best to answer them.
First recommendation is training. First aid at work is a great start and is likely to be funded by your employer. It is far more likely to be of benefit to you and your family and will still stand you in good stead in the worst times. The FREC courses are also good and well regarded. If you have an interest in working as a first aider they are a good way forward but unlikely to be valued by an employer outside of this. At the very least a 1 day course will get you the basic knowledge to help your family and friends for what I believe is a pretty reasonable cost.
Catastrophic haemorrhage. Big topic which has been constantly evolving through history and even more so since 9/11 and has really accelerated with Ukraine. Tourniquets have a place for sure and tourniquet conversion is now a thing. But good bandaging and wound packing are also important skills. Biggest thing, don’t buy tq off cheap sites like Temu. You might get a good one but you won’t know until you need it which is a pretty crap time to find out it’s junk! Also a bleed control tq is not the same as those used for blood tests or cannulation, they stop venous flow, a ‘proper’ tq has to stop arterial flow which is higher pressure and in stronger pipes so to speak
.Possibly the biggest fallacy I have seen over the years is the need for stocking antibiotics as ‘even a small cut can turn septic and kill you!’ Yes, but… good hygiene and a generally healthy body are far far more important. Think about how many cuts you have had over the years that haven’t killed you and not needed antibiotics… in the worst case scenario hygiene may be more challenging so concentrate on it and stock some soap
So ask away, here, new topic or dm. Can’t guarantee I will have all the answers but I shall try
