Outdoor adventure and survival in the wild are becoming more and more popular leisure sports for modern people. It is worth noting that although human beings also came out of nature, modern humans have been away from the wild environment for too long and increasingly rely on artificial environments to survive. When entering the natural environment for adventure activities, the question of how to survive safely in this environment emerges.
A true explorer never takes his life lightly. The point of outdoor adventure is not to risk your life, but to do everything possible to reduce or avoid the possibility of danger. This magazine invites outdoor first aid expert Ma Guilin to preside over this column. It is hoped that everyone who participates in outdoor activities will not only have sufficient material and physical preparation, but also have certain self-rescue and mutual-rescue knowledge and technical ability, and have a wonderful experience. process of outdoor activities.
Emergency babies in the luggage: newspapers, potassium permanganate, thermal blankets
When you go out to participate in outdoor activities, you must bring essential items for survival and protection of your own safety. In addition, it is recommended to bring a little newspaper, potassium permanganate, and a thermal blanket with you. Don’t underestimate these three things, their role is extraordinary! Light weight, small size and easy to carry, it is an indispensable self-rescue and mutual rescue item in your luggage.
Newspapers
The important role of newspapers in outdoor activities is well known, so don’t throw them away. You see, it is fully functional for keeping warm, entertaining, acting as a splint, igniting, and repelling insects.
Keep warm: You will sweat when you exercise, especially after a lot of outdoor exercise. Sweating can make clothes wet. When you are resting, being blown by the wind will take away the heat from your body, which will not only increase the degree of coldness, but also make it difficult for wet clothes to stick to your body. This is the most common and unavoidable thing for tourists. headache. Outdoor sports is a sport that consumes a lot of physical energy, so travelers generally travel light, and it is impossible to bring many sets of clothes to change at any time. Although many outdoor equipment manufacturers have developed moisture-proof, ventilated and warm clothing to solve the problems caused by sweating, they are expensive. Then, newspapers are the easiest, most economical, and most urgent way to resolve this contradiction.
The effect of keeping warm with newspaper is very reliable, and the method of use is very simple, just lay the newspaper on the front and back. Newspapers are dense, and the windproof effect is very positive, which is equivalent to wearing an extra thermal underwear. After sweating, the newspaper will absorb the sweat so that the clothes will not get wet. Gently remove the already damp newspaper, shake it dry in the air, and use it again.
Heatstroke prevention: When traveling in summer, the scorching sun will lead to heatstroke. Newspapers can be used as hats to keep out the scorching sun.
Recreation: Getting lost is a common thing in travel. When you are alone in the mountains waiting for rescue, your best friend is the newspaper. Reading a newspaper can kill time, reading aloud can beat your fears, and maybe the humorous news in the newspaper will make you laugh. In the dark, burning newspapers can also be an obvious target to help rescuers find your location.
Ignition: According to reports, pour a small spoonful of potassium permanganate on a newspaper, add a few drops of car antifreeze, and crumple the newspaper into a ball, and it will catch fire within 30 seconds.
Insect repellent: There are all kinds of flying insects and beasts in the wild, especially the interference of mosquitoes when camping and resting, which is annoying. Light a slightly damp newspaper, the smoke produced can drive away mosquitoes, flies and even reptiles; the burning flame can drive away beasts.
Splint: Falling while traveling is a common injury. If it is impossible to determine whether it is a sprain, a dislocation, or even a fracture, the first aid principle is to treat it as a fracture. That is to make the injured part brake (fixed) to avoid re-injury caused by movement. Braking requires the use of splints. There are many opportunities to obtain splints outdoors, such as branches and tree trunks. However, the safest and most convenient splint is newspaper. The newspaper is soft and does not hurt the skin, saving the trouble of using a tree trunk as a splint for a lot of padding; the newspaper is light, does not add more weight, and reduces the load of handling; the newspaper has strong plasticity and is easy to use and easy to use.
Correcting Respiratory Alkaline Poisoning: The air in the mountains is thin, people will use faster breathing to improve hypoxia, and excessive breathing will exhale more carbon dioxide, resulting in respiratory alkaloid poisoning, which seriously threatens human life. If the newspaper is rolled into a funnel shape, a small hole with a diameter of 1 cm is left at the top of the funnel, the bottom of the funnel is wrapped around the mouth and nose, and part of the exhaled carbon dioxide is inhaled into the respiratory tract. This method is used to prevent and correct respiratory alkali poisoning.
Look, newspapers have so many uses, cheap and readily available, don’t forget to pack them in your luggage when you travel.
Potassium permanganate
Potassium permanganate is the most common chemical, and it is also essential in outdoor sports. It can be said that Potassium permanganate is amazing, a small dose can solve big problems. Purifying water, marking, debridement, anti-inflammatory and detoxification. Friction and fire for thirty seconds, don’t worry if you are trapped in the mountains.
Lighting fire: According to the principle that potassium permanganate contacts, rubs, and collides with organic matter, generates heat and releases oxygen, which will cause combustion. After mixing one part sugar and two parts potassium permanganate, grind it in the middle of dry wood chips , If the weather is dry, the wood chips can burn quickly, the time is short and the effect is good.
Purified water: Potassium permanganate is a conventional additive for water purification in waterworks. When fetching water in the wild, add three or four potassium permanganate tablets to 1 liter of water, and drink it in 30 minutes.
Anti-inflammatory: Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidant, it releases new ecological oxygen when it encounters organic matter, and has the effect of killing bacteria. Its bactericidal power is extremely strong, and a solution with a concentration of 1:2000-1:5000 is commonly used in clinic to wash skin wounds, ulcers, thrush, abscesses, etc. The solution gargle is used to remove bad breath and to disinfect the mouth. It should be noted that the concentration of the solution should be accurately controlled, as excessive concentration will cause local corrosion and festering. Time should be considered when configuring the solution. Potassium permanganate releases oxygen slowly, and the soaking time must reach 5 minutes to kill bacteria. Use cold water to prepare the solution, as hot water will fail.
Gastric lavage: When plant poisoning is accidentally ingested in the wild, gastric lavage should be performed as soon as possible to reduce the absorption of toxic substances. The simple method is to use potassium permanganate solution with a concentration of 1:1000-1:4000 to gastric lavage. The easy way to check this concentration is to look directly at the solution to be lavender or light red. If the solution is purple or dark purple, its concentration has reached 1:100-1:200, this extremely high concentration of potassium permanganate The liquid can cause ulceration of the gastric mucosa, and it must not be used for gastric lavage. Accidentally ingesting extremely high concentrations of potassium permanganate solution will cause poisoning, so pay attention to safe use.
Marking: When you get lost in the snow, you can sprinkle potassium permanganate particles on the snow, and the resulting purple color can guide the rescuer. However, the color usually only lasts for about two hours.
It is worth noting that potassium permanganate is a strong corrosive agent. When using it, do not directly touch it with your hands to avoid burning your skin. Direct contact can only be done when it is formulated into a reasonable concentration.
Insulation blanket
The role of insulation blankets in self-rescue and mutual rescue has attracted more and more attention from the world. Internationally used thermal insulation blankets are actually made of tin foil, generally 2 meters long and 1.8 meters wide. When folded, it is the size of a cigarette pack, which is lighter than a pack of cigarettes. Don’t underestimate this insulation blanket, it’s very useful.
Insulation: As the name suggests, the insulation blanket is insulation. When it is cold, wrap it around the body or parts that are susceptible to freezing, which can reflect the heat emitted by the human body and achieve the effect of insulation.
First aid: The drop in body temperature will aggravate the injury of the injured person, and wrapping the thermal blanket is a kind of protection for the injured patient. In addition, when the injured patient is seen wrapped in a thermal blanket, it indicates that the person has been injured and has undergone primary first aid, and the medical staff will give priority to further examination and treatment. The chance of the injured patient being saved increases, and time is life.