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The Blackwater Wilderness Skills Series · Book 12

Wilderness First Aid Guide

The Blackwater Wilderness First Aid Guide is a reference for paddlers and campers that explains scene safety, patient assessment, stopping bleeding, wound care, sprains and fractures, heat and cold, bites and stings, burns, airway, medical emergencies and evacuation. It is not a medical license or a safety credential.

116pages
10chapters
Full colorprinted guide

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What this guide covers

A first aid guidebook for the river and trail: bleeding, wounds, sprains, heat, cold, bites, burns and evacuation. A reference, not a medical license.

Foundations: Safe Approach and Care
ABCDE Patient Assessment
Stopping the Bleed
Wound Care and Infection Prevention
Sprains and Fractures Care
Heat and Cold Hazards
Bites, Stings and Toxins
Burns and Airway Management
Medical Emergencies
Evacuation and Long-Term Care

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Chapter by chapter

Chapter 1

Foundations: Safe Approach and Care

Scene Safety: Make a safe first approach, stay useful under pressure, obtain consent, and organize help for a patient in blackwater.
Calm Response: Use the same short loop each time: check, call, care.
Good Faith: Good Samaritan protections are not a license to act recklessly.
Handoff and Preparedness: Preparedness starts before the launch.
Scene size-up before approach: Look, listen, and smell before you walk in.
Calm check, call, care: Give one clear job to each helper.
Consent and emergency handoff: Speak to a conscious patient before touching them.

Chapter 2

ABCDE Patient Assessment

Scene size up: Stop at a safe observation point and identify hazards, patient count and a safe approach.
Airway and breathing: Speak to the patient, look for blood, vomit, objects and facial trauma, and listen for gurgling, snoring or a high pitched sound.
Circulation and bleeding: Scan the patient, clothing and ground for major bleeding and expose only what is needed to find it.
Disability and exposure: Check response, orientation, speech, movement, sensation and seizure activity without asking a suspected spine injury patient to move.
Start with the scene: Run a calm ABCDE assessment, correct immediate life threats within your training, protect the patient from trauma and weather, and call 911 when a life threat is present.
First aid kit: Ask a partner to call 911, bring the kit and guide rescuers to the landing or trail access.
Airway and breathing: Airway comes first because a blocked airway can kill before a less obvious injury is found.
Circulation and bleeding: Look for blood before you look for small injuries.
Disability and exposure: Fix the life threat you find, then run the letters again.

Chapter 3

Stopping the Bleed

Printed in full here from the book.

Stop the Loss

Recognize life-threatening bleeding, choose direct pressure, a manufactured tourniquet, or wound packing, and hold the intervention until emergency care takes over.

Find a Safe Place Severe bleeding can kill quickly. Before you touch the patient, look for a safe place to work. Move away from a falling tree, boat traffic, live wires, fire, or rising water. Put on gloves or use a clean barrier if you have one. If the bleeding is life-threatening, send someone to call 911 while you start care. If you are alone, call 911 on speaker as soon as you can and keep the phone with you.
Recognize Severe Bleeding Look for blood that is flowing continuously or spurting, a large open wound, an amputation, or a patient who is pale, cold, dizzy, weak, confused, or less responsive. Treat those signs as an emergency. Arterial blood may be bright and pulsing. Venous blood may be dark and steady. Capillary blood usually oozes. Do not wait to name the vessel. Stop any significant loss. Check for more than one wound, but control the life threat first.
Reassure the Patient Use these actions only for an emergency while 911 or local emergency care is being activated. Reassure the patient. Tell them what you are doing and that the pain from a tourniquet is expected when it is saving a life. Keep the patient from getting cold, watch breathing and responsiveness, and be ready to give new information to the dispatcher.

You need: Gloves or Barrier (Nitrile gloves or a clean barrier)

Check it. Pass: you find a safe place, use a barrier, and call 911 while you start care. Fail: you work under a falling limb or in rising water.

Field check

I look for blood flowing continuously or spurting.
I put on gloves or use a clean barrier.
I call 911 while I start care.

Safety. Call 911 for life-threatening bleeding, shock signs, an amputation, or bleeding you cannot control. Do not remove an embedded object.

Choose the Method

For life-threatening bleeding, call 911, choose pressure, packing, or a manufactured tourniquet, and do not stop the intervention until help takes over.

Start With Pressure Direct pressure is the starting move for an exposed wound. Find the source, place gauze or a clean cloth over it, and press hard with a steady hand. Do not lift the dressing to peek. If blood comes through, add one pad on top and press harder; do not stack pads. If a life-threatening bleed is on an arm or leg, use a manufactured tourniquet as soon as it is available. A tourniquet is not a last resort. It is a primary tool for a limb bleed that can kill.
Packing Beyond Reach A tourniquet cannot reach the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin, or back. Pack those junctional or cavity wounds with hemostatic gauze if available, or plain gauze or clean cloth, and then apply direct pressure. Do not pack an eye, chest, or abdomen. Do not pull out an embedded object. Press around it and build dressings around it.
Keep Watching Once a tourniquet controls a life-threatening limb bleed, do not loosen or remove it in the field. Write the application time where rescuers can see it. If the first tourniquet does not stop the bleeding, apply a second manufactured tourniquet above it, closer to the heart, following its instructions. Keep reassessing the patient. A dressing that worked can slip, a tourniquet can need tightening, and shock can worsen.

You need: Gauze or Clean Cloth (Sterile gauze or a clean cloth)

Check it. Pass: you press first and use a tourniquet for a limb bleed that can kill. Fail: you treat a tourniquet as a last resort.

Field check

I place gauze or a clean cloth over the wound.
I keep the first layer in place.
I use a manufactured tourniquet for a life-threatening limb bleed.
I do not pack an eye, chest, or abdomen.

Safety. Use a tourniquet and wound packing within your training. If you are not trained, hold firm direct pressure until help arrives. Do not pull out an embedded object. Press around it and build dressings around it.

Pressure and Tourniquet

Hold without interruption until the bleeding stops, a tourniquet is tight and working, another rescuer takes over, you are too exhausted to continue, or the scene becomes unsafe.

Hold Pressure Use a firm, flat surface under the injured limb when you can do so without moving the patient into danger. Cover the wound with gauze or a clean cloth and press directly over the source. Hold without interruption until the bleeding stops, a tourniquet is tight and working, another rescuer takes over, you are too exhausted to continue, or the scene becomes unsafe. Elevating a limb may be used with pressure, but it never replaces pressure for severe bleeding.
Check Circulation When bleeding stops on a limb without a tourniquet, secure the single dressing with a roller bandage. It must be firm but must not cut off circulation below the injury. Check the skin beyond the dressing for color, temperature, feeling, and numbness or tingling. If bleeding returns, remove the bandage but leave the original dressing in place and press by hand again. For major bleeding, call 911 even if the flow stops. The patient needs emergency evaluation and monitoring for shock.
Tourniquet Use Use a manufactured tourniquet for life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg, a traumatic amputation, several patients needing care, or a scene where pressure cannot be maintained safely. Place it directly on skin two to three inches above the wound, between the wound and the heart. Never put it over a joint or on top of the wound.

Field check

I hold pressure without interruption until help takes over.
I use elevation only with pressure.
I check the skin beyond the dressing for color and feeling.
I place a tourniquet directly on skin 2 to 3 inches above the wound.
I note the time.

Safety. Elevating a limb may be used with pressure, but it never replaces pressure for severe bleeding.

Windlass Device Follow the instructions for the exact device. For a windlass device, pull the strap as tight as possible, secure the buckle, twist the windlass until the bleeding stops, and secure the windlass in its clip. The loss of the distal pulse is a useful training check, but the field goal is control of bleeding.
Second Tourniquet and Time If blood still flows, tighten the device and apply a second manufactured tourniquet above the first. Note the time. Do not cover the tourniquet with a dressing or clothing. Do not loosen it because the patient says it hurts. Call 911 and tell the dispatcher that a tourniquet is in place.

Field check

I hold pressure without interruption until help takes over.
I use elevation only with pressure.
I check the skin beyond the dressing for color and feeling.
I place a tourniquet directly on skin 2 to 3 inches above the wound.
I note the time.

Safety. Elevating a limb may be used with pressure, but it never replaces pressure for severe bleeding.

Packing and Shock

Packing is for a deep, life-threatening wound in the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin, or back, and for a limb bleed when no tourniquet is available or a tourniquet cannot control it.

Packing Beyond Reach Packing is for a deep, life-threatening wound in the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin, or back, and for a limb bleed when no tourniquet is available or a tourniquet cannot control it. If the wound is on the neck, protect the airway and press carefully so you do not block breathing. Call 911.
Pack the Cavity Expose the wound enough to find the cavity. Push the end of hemostatic gauze or plain gauze directly to the deepest part of the bleeding source. Feed the material into the cavity one layer at a time. Pack firmly until the cavity is full. Then place a pad over the packed wound and hold hard, steady pressure without lifting to check. The patient must be watched for changing breathing, responsiveness, skin color, and shock.
Use Clean Material If the kit is empty, a clean shirt, bandanna, or clean cloth can provide pressure or packing. A gloved hand is better than hesitation. Improvised tourniquets are less reliable than manufactured devices and are not the first choice. Never use loose dirt, moss from the bank, or an unclean natural material in an open wound. Keep pressure in place until another rescuer takes over, bleeding stops, you cannot continue, or the scene becomes unsafe.
Signs of Shock Keep the patient warm without overheating. Do not give food or drink to a patient who is confused, vomiting, or likely to need urgent procedures. Stay with the patient and watch breathing and responsiveness. Look for pale, gray, cool, moist skin, a rapid weak heartbeat, rapid breathing, thirst, dizziness, or altered responsiveness. These signs can mean shock. Call 911 or update the dispatcher if they appear or worsen.

Check it. Pass: you pack the deepest point layer by layer and watch for shock. Fail: you pack the chest, abdomen, or eye.

Field check

I pack only a deep wound where a tourniquet cannot reach.
I push gauze to the deepest part and pack firmly.
I use clean cloth, never dirt or moss.
I keep pressure in place until another rescuer takes over.
I watch for pale, gray, cool, moist skin and a rapid weak heartbeat.

Safety. A stopped bleed is not a finished rescue. Never use loose dirt, moss from the bank, or an unclean natural material in an open wound.

Handover and Tourniquet

Tell rescuers what happened, where the wounds are, what you used, whether bleeding stopped, and the exact tourniquet time.

Handover to Rescuers Tell rescuers what happened, where the wounds are, what you used, whether bleeding stopped, and the exact tourniquet time. Keep the original dressing and the tourniquet in place. Make the landing or access area safe if help is coming by boat or aircraft, but do not abandon the patient for a better view. In blackwater country, protect the wound from muddy river water and keep the patient on stable ground above the bank. Stay calm, keep pressure honest, and do not let a quiet-looking patient fool you.
Within Your Training Use a tourniquet and wound packing within your training. If you are not trained, hold firm direct pressure until help arrives.

You need: Windlass Tourniquet (A manufactured windlass tourniquet and its instructions)

Field check

I tell rescuers what happened, where the wounds are, and what I used.
I give the exact tourniquet time.
I protect the wound from muddy river water.
I keep the patient on stable ground above the bank.
I keep the original dressing and the tourniquet in place.

Safety. Keep the patient warm, monitor breathing and responsiveness.

Hemostatic or Plain Gauze Hemostatic gauze or plain gauze for packing
Pressure Bandage and Marker A pressure bandage, tape, and a marker for the application time
Crew Field Check Your three-person canoe crew finds a partner collapsed at a landing after a snag. The phone has no signal. Give each crew member a job and name your first message when signal returns.

Field check

I tell rescuers what happened, where the wounds are, and what I used.
I give the exact tourniquet time.
I protect the wound from muddy river water.
I keep the patient on stable ground above the bank.
I keep the original dressing and the tourniquet in place.

Safety. Keep the patient warm, monitor breathing and responsiveness.

Direct Pressure

Direct pressure is the starting move for an exposed wound.

Call and Expose For life-threatening bleeding, call 911 or direct another person to call while you put on a barrier and expose the source.
Press the Source Place gauze or a clean cloth directly over the wound and press firmly with the patient on a stable surface.
Hold Without Interruption Keep uninterrupted pressure until bleeding stops, a working tourniquet takes over, another rescuer relieves you, you are exhausted, or the scene becomes unsafe.
Add Material If blood shows through, leave the first layer in place, add one pad on top, and press harder instead of lifting to look.
Check Circulation When bleeding is controlled without a tourniquet, secure the single dressing firmly, check circulation beyond it, and keep watching for re-bleeding.

Check it. Pass: pressure stays on the source without peeking, the first dressing remains in place, and the patient is monitored while 911 is activated. Fail: lifting the dressing to check, using elevation alone, or walking away from life-threatening bleeding.

Field check

I call 911 or direct another person to call while I put on a barrier.
I press firmly with the patient on a stable surface.
I keep uninterrupted pressure until bleeding stops.
I leave the first layer in place and add one pad on top.
I check circulation beyond the dressing.

Safety. Elevating a limb may be used with pressure, but it never replaces pressure for severe bleeding.

Windlass Tourniquet

Use a manufactured tourniquet for life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg, a traumatic amputation, several patients needing care, or a scene where pressure cannot be maintained safely.

Choose the Device For life-threatening arm or leg bleeding, traumatic amputation, multiple patients, or an unsafe pressure position, call 911 and choose a manufactured tourniquet.
Place Above Wound Place it directly on skin 2 to 3 inches above the wound, between the wound and the heart, never over a joint or the wound.
Tighten Windlass Pull the strap as tight as possible, secure the buckle, and twist the windlass until bleeding stops.
Secure and Check Secure the windlass, check that bleeding remains controlled, and apply a second manufactured tourniquet above the first if needed.
Write the Time Write the application time where rescuers can see it, leave the tourniquet in place, and tell 911 that it is applied.

Check it. Pass: a manufactured device is tight enough to stop life-threatening bleeding, is not over a joint, the time is marked, and it is not loosened. Fail: loose strap, placement on the wound or joint, hidden time, continued bleeding with no correction, or removal before medical care.

Field check

I place it directly on skin 2 to 3 inches above the wound.
I never put it over a joint or the wound.
I pull the strap as tight as possible.
I apply a second manufactured tourniquet above the first if needed.
I leave the tourniquet in place.

Safety. Do not loosen or remove a tourniquet in the field.

Junctional Wound Packing

Packing is for a deep, life-threatening wound in the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin, or back, and for a limb bleed when no tourniquet is available or a tourniquet cannot control it.

Expose the Cavity For life-threatening bleeding in the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin, or back, call 911 and expose the cavity without removing an embedded object.
Reach the Source Push hemostatic gauze, plain gauze, or clean cloth directly to the deepest part of the wound toward the bleeding source.
Space Feed the material into the cavity layer by layer and pack firmly until the space is full.
Hold the Pad Place a pad over the packed wound and hold steady direct pressure without lifting to inspect it.
Watch the Patient Keep watching breathing, responsiveness, skin condition, and bleeding until another rescuer takes over or emergency care arrives.

Check it. Pass: the material reaches the source, fills the cavity, pressure stays on top, the airway remains open, and 911 is active. Fail: shallow loose packing, blind probing, packing the wrong body area, pulling out an embedded object, or leaving before handover.

Field check

I pack only a deep wound where a tourniquet cannot reach.
I push hemostatic gauze directly to the deepest part of the wound.
I pack firmly until the space is full.
I hold steady direct pressure without lifting to inspect it.
I keep watching breathing, responsiveness, skin condition, and bleeding.

Safety. Do not pack the chest, abdomen, or eye.

Chapter 4

Wound Care and Infection Prevention

Start with the Wound: A wound breaks the skin and gives dirt and germs a path inside.
Clean the Wound: Irrigation is the main cleaning move.
Cover the Wound: A clean wound still needs protection.
The Field Rule: Clean it, close it only when it is clean and minor, cover it, and watch it.
Wound Care Drill: Clean it, close it only when clean and minor, cover it, and watch it.
Classify and Triage: Look at the mechanism and the body part.
Pressure Irrigate: Irrigation is the main cleaning move.
Apply Layered Dressing: A clean wound still needs protection.
Closure or Open Wound: A small, clean, shallow cut with straight edges may be considered for closure strips after thorough cleaning.

Chapter 5

Sprains and Fractures Care

Read The Injury: Assess a musculoskeletal injury, protect the patient, and build a safe splint from trail gear while knowing when to call 911 and evacuate.
Usable Sprain: Use rest, cold, compression, and elevation.
Splint The Part: Splinting holds an injured part still, reduces pain, and protects it while the patient reaches medical care.
Dislocation and Spine: A dislocation often looks wrong, hurts badly, and cannot move normally.
What You Need: Tape, cord, a belt, or cloth strips can secure the support.
Assess and Splint: Protect the patient before you diagnose the injury: do not force movement, splint in the position found, check PMS before and after, and call 911 for life threats or lost circulation.
Look Feel Move: Use Look, Feel, Move.
RICE Support: Put a cold pack inside a thin, dry layer.
Forearm Splint: A forearm injury needs a full-arm support that protects both the wrist and elbow.

Chapter 6

Heat and Cold Hazards

Read the trend: Heat and cold illness can start beside a slow blackwater creek, on a humid paddle, or after rain soaks a camp.
Prevention and Cooling: Prevention is a crew job.
Warm the patient: Hypothermia is not only a winter problem.
Cold injury care: Frostbite begins with pain, tingling, stinging, or numbness.
Cold Water Capsize: Cold water can shock the body even on a warm day.
Screen for Heat Illness: Recognize heat illness, hypothermia, frostbite, and immersion injury, then start safe cooling, warming, and evacuation actions in blackwater country.
Cool and Arrange Care: Stay with the person and arrange medical evaluation.
Hypothermia rewarm: Hypothermia can occur above 40 degrees Fahrenheit when a person is wet and chilled.
Frostbite rewarm: Frostbite begins with pain, tingling, stinging, or numbness.
Wet-foot care: Prolonged cold and wet exposure can injure feet even without freezing.

Chapter 7

Bites, Stings and Toxins

Read the threat: Recognize and manage bites, stings, plant and mushroom exposures, contaminated water illness, and animal attacks until professional care takes over.
Snake and spider bites: Treat a bite as dangerous when you cannot identify the animal, pain and swelling are increasing, the patient has weakness, vomiting, drooping eyelids, trouble swallowing, breathing trouble, bleeding or a change in alertness.
Stings and anaphylaxis: A local sting usually causes pain, redness, itching and swelling near the site.
Plants, fungi and contaminated: Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac can leave urushiol on skin, clothing, tools and animal fur.
Animal attacks and follow-up: Prevention is your first treatment.
Venomous bite response: Move the patient and group away from the animal without trying to catch or handle it.
Anaphylaxis response: Recognize a rapid whole-body reaction such as hives away from the sting, airway swelling, wheezing, faintness or vomiting.
Poison exposure response: Stop contact, move to fresh air and protect your own skin, eyes and airway.
Animal wound response: Leave the animal alone, move the group to safety and control severe bleeding with direct pressure through a clean dressing.
Alligators and Ticks: Do not swim where alligators live or where signs say not to.

Chapter 8

Burns and Airway Management

Stop the Damage: Stop a burn, protect the airway, give careful first aid, and start an urgent evacuation when the injury can threaten life or function.
Chemical and Electrical Burns: A chemical burn keeps damaging tissue until the chemical is removed.
Airway and Choking: A patient who can cough forcefully, speak, or breathe may be able to clear the object.
CPR and AED: CPR is for an adult who is unresponsive and not breathing normally or is only gasping.
Cover and Evacuate: Do not judge severity by pain alone.
Drowning and Water Rescue: Reach or throw, do not go.
Gloves, Water, Dressings: Cool the burned area with clean, cool running water for 5 to 20 minutes, starting as soon as possible.
Stop and Cool a Burn: Cool the burned area with clean, cool running water for 5 to 20 minutes, starting as soon as possible.
Chemical and Electrical Burns: Flush the area with copious clean water for at least 15 minutes.
Clear a Choking Airway: Tell that patient to keep coughing and watch closely.
Protect Airway and Evacuate: Smoke and heat can injure the airway.

Chapter 9

Medical Emergencies

Recognize the Pattern: Recognize anaphylaxis, diabetic emergencies, seizures, heart attack and stroke, give the safe first care, and move the patient toward emergency help.
Sugar, Seizure, Heart Attack: A seizure may be caused by epilepsy, low blood sugar, heat illness, infection, poisoning or head injury.
Stroke and First Minutes: Use FAST for a possible stroke.
Handoff and the Line: Remote care is a bridge to professional care, not a finish line.
Kit and Field Check: An AED should be used only on a person who is unresponsive and not breathing normally.
Anaphylaxis response: Anaphylaxis can follow a sting, food, medicine, latex or plant contact.
Low blood sugar response: Diabetes can look like intoxication.
Seizure protection: A seizure may be caused by epilepsy, low blood sugar, heat illness, infection, poisoning or head injury.
Heart stroke recognition: Chest pressure or squeezing pain, pain into the arm, jaw, back or shoulder, shortness of breath, nausea, cold sweat or unusual fatigue can signal a heart attack.

Chapter 10

Evacuation and Long-Term Care

Decide Before You Move: Make a stay-or-go decision, call for help, move a stable patient safely, and provide organized care until handover.
Get A Clear Message: Use the most reliable device available.
Care For The Long Wait: Keep the patient observed when possible and update rescuers if the condition worsens.
Move With Control: Do not test a suspected spinal injury by asking the patient to walk.
Care Until Handover: Before the trip, learn the device, charge it, carry it where it can see the sky, and write down the emergency plan.
Message, Litter, Shelter: A remote injury is a time, environment, improvisation, and communication problem.
Stay Or Go Decision: Use the patient’s condition, mechanism, environment, resources, distance to help, and group capability to choose.
Emergency Message: Send one calm, complete report.
Pole And Jacket Litter: For a longer carry of a patient without a suspected spinal injury, use a litter that supports the whole body.
Prolonged Care Shelter: Build a dry, ventilated patient space.

Questions people ask

How do you stop bleeding in the wilderness?

Make the scene safe, use gloves or a clean barrier, and send someone to call 911. Press hard with gauze or a clean cloth and do not lift the dressing to peek. If blood comes through, add one pad on top and press harder, without stacking pads. For a life-threatening arm or leg bleed, use a manufactured tourniquet.

When can you use a tourniquet?

The book says use a manufactured tourniquet for a life-threatening bleed on an arm or leg, an amputation, or when pressure cannot be kept safely. Place it on skin two to three inches above the wound, never over a joint. Do not loosen it, write the time down, and call 911. It cannot reach the scalp, neck, shoulder, groin or back.

Can you use a tourniquet for a snake bite?

No. The book says do not use a tourniquet, cut the skin, suck the wound, apply ice or immerse the limb. Move away from the snake, remove rings and watches, keep the limb still at or just below heart level, mark the swelling with the time, call 911 for any snakebite and arrange urgent evacuation.

What is the ABCDE patient assessment?

ABCDE stands for airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure. Start with scene safety, then check the airway, breathing, major bleeding, the patient's mental state, and expose only enough to find hidden injuries while keeping the patient covered. Repeat the letters after every change, and call 911 for a life threat.

How do you clean a wound outdoors and prevent infection?

After bleeding is controlled, flush with filtered, purified or bottled drinkable water in a steady stream, and do not probe a puncture. Wash the skin around the wound, then cover with a non-adherent layer and an absorbent layer. Check it every 24 hours. Watch for spreading redness, warmth, pus or fever.

How do you tell a sprain from a fracture, and how do you splint it?

In the field you do not need the exact name. If the part is unusable, protect it and splint it if you must move the patient. Cover any open wound, pad bony points, and splint the joint above and below in the position found. Check pulse, motor function and sensation before and after.

What are the signs of hypothermia and heat illness, and what do you do?

For hypothermia, shivering, fumbling and confusion call for dry shelter, removing wet clothing and warming the center of the body first. Do not rub the skin or use direct heat. For heat stroke, confusion or collapse means call 911 at once and start cooling. Heat exhaustion needs shade, rest and cooling.

What do you do for a sting, tick or alligator injury?

Scrape a bee stinger without squeezing. For anaphylaxis, help the person use prescribed epinephrine at once and call 911. Remove a tick with fine-tipped tweezers, pulling upward steadily. Stay away from alligators; on the Okefenokee refuge keep 20 feet. For any animal attack, control bleeding with pressure, cover wounds and evacuate.

How do you treat a burn or a blocked airway?

Cool a burn with clean, cool running water for 5 to 20 minutes, then cover loosely with a non-adherent dressing. Use no ice or grease. For choking with an ineffective cough, give up to 5 back blows, then up to 5 abdominal thrusts, and call 911. Never make a blind finger sweep.

When should you call 911 outdoors, and what do you do while waiting?

Call 911 for a patient who is unresponsive, not breathing normally, bleeding severely or showing any other life threat. While waiting, keep the patient observed, dry and insulated, and write down times and changes. Send a clear message with location, condition and care given. Never test a spinal injury by asking the patient to walk.

Related books in the series

The Blackwater Survival Guide

Rain and Cold Weather Camping Guide

The Blackwater Canoe Camping Guide

This book is not a medical license or a safety credential.

See every book in the series