When someone near you gets injured and the EMTs are still a few minutes away, you may have to step up and take charge. What you do can lead to the injured person’s survival or death. This situation rings even truer when SHTF and emergency medical services become unavailable. It’s important for you, your family and your group of survivors to stay alive and healthy during a disaster. That’s why it’s important to pack a first aid kit in your bug-out bag. However, having the equipment alone isn’t going to solve your problems. Here’s why you should take up first aid training as well. (h/t to ThePrepperJournal.com)

You can prevent injuries from getting worse

This may be the most obvious reason why first aid training is important. Not only will first aid training help you prevent your injured friend or family member from bleeding out, but knowing how to properly respond to emergency medical situations stops further complications, such as infections, from happening. First aid training can also help you spot the signs of certain conditions. If you know the early warning signs of a heart attack or a stroke, for example, you can get the person the proper medical attention he needs.

You can be an example to your family and friends

With first aid training, you can show your friends and family the importance of caring for each other during emergency situations. The example you set may even inspire other members of your family to go and take up first aid training themselves. A group or family that has several members with first aid training can make most medical emergencies easier to deal with. If your first aid training does inspire others, encourage them to take different or even more advanced classes so that the first aid knowledge of your family deepens.

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You can help others

With first aid training, you can help anyone around you who needs it. If a child falls in the playground and grazes himself, you can attend to them. If somebody’s choking in a restaurant, you can perform the Heimlich maneuver. Furthermore, when SHTF and somebody is in need of medical assistance, you can use your skills as a bargaining chip if you’re in need of supplies. A group that has members with first aid training will definitely come out of any disaster stronger than a group without.

You can be proactive and prepared

First aid courses will make you understand just how important it is to be prepared for anything, especially medical emergencies. Understand that creating or purchasing a first aid kit is just the first step to being fully prepared for any emergency situation. The next step is the first aid training. In fact, after going to several first aid classes, you may even understand the importance of having more than one first aid kit at the ready. You may want to have one in your home, in your bug-out bag and in your car.

The world’s understanding of emergency medicine is getting better each day. Once you finish your first aid course, keep yourself updated with the breakthroughs that are happening in the medical field. Being prepared isn’t just about buying or creating the perfect first aid kit, it’s a process that helps push you to learn more and keep you on your toes.

Sources include:

ThePrepperJournal.com

ThePreppingGuide.com