Usually, in any serious expedition, there is someone with medical training—an experienced hiker or guide who has completed first aid courses. But what happens if that person gets injured? In that situation, the rest of the group must be ready to take the initiative and care for their comrade. This is why everyone, regardless of their experience level, must possess basic first aid skills.
Relying on the idea that "someone else" knows what to do is a dangerous illusion. Even the most experienced medic could lose consciousness or get into trouble themselves, and the nearest village could be days away. Your knowledge and composure are the only chance to save the victim.
How to Act in an Emergency?
The hardest part of an emergency is the chaos and panic. Imagine a rockfall, a bad fall, or sudden bad weather resulting in multiple casualties. How do you decide who to help first?
Instinctively, you want to rush to the person screaming or moaning the loudest. However, disaster medicine follows a different rule. If a person is screaming, it means they are conscious and, most importantly, breathing. Their condition requires attention, but it is not the most critical in the very first second.
Your main rule in the first minutes after an incident is: do not get distracted by the noise. First, scan the scene for those who are lying silently. Your priority is people who are unconscious, showing no signs of life, and not breathing. They are on the brink of death, and they need help immediately. Quickly restoring breathing and circulation is priority number one.
Once you have stabilized the most critical patients, you can move on to helping others. However, remember: if a victim has a serious injury (especially to the head, spine, or internal bleeding), your task is to organize their evacuation to professional medical help as quickly as possible. In the mountains, time is often the deciding factor.
Packing a First Aid Kit: What You Really Need on a Hike
There is no universal first aid kit for every situation; its contents depend on the difficulty of the route and the length of the trip. However, there is a basic set that every hiker heading into the mountains should have in their backpack:
• Dressing Materials: A set of plasters in various sizes (be sure to include blister plasters—a lifesaver for your feet), 2-3 sterile dressing packs (where the bandage comes with an attached pad) or simply sterile bandages and gauze pads separately.
• Bandages: Self-adhesive bandages are the most convenient—they don't unravel, stick well, and don't require safety pins.
• Triangular Bandages: A very versatile item. They can be used to make a sling, an improvised tourniquet, or a stabilizer for an injured arm.
• Tools: Tweezers (for removing splinters, ticks, or small rock fragments) and scissors. Also, a large syringe (10-20 ml, without the needle) is useful for irrigating wounds with clean water under pressure.
• Antiseptics and Hygiene: An antiseptic solution that doesn't contain alcohol (to avoid burning the tissue), alcohol wipes or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for cleaning your hands before touching a wound. Be sure to bring several pairs of disposable gloves (non-latex is better, as latex allergies are common).
• Medications: Pain relievers (paracetamol, ibuprofen). Remember the dosages: aspirin should not be given to children under 16, and the uncontrolled use of any analgesics is harmful to the body. You should also include any personal medications you need (for allergies, stomach issues, etc.).
This list is just the foundation. In the following articles, we will discuss specific situations in detail: what to do in case of fainting and how to perform CPR, how to help a choking person, how to properly clean wounds, how to splint fractures and dislocations, and how to deal with burns, heatstroke, and hypothermia. In the mountains, knowing these details can be the difference between a successful adventure and a tragedy.
Next guide: Wilderness First Aid: How to Handle Fainting and Rescue Breathing Previous guide: Wildlife Photography and Videography on the Trail: A Practical Guide You can view the full list here: Survival Guides for the Mountains
