Every Day Carry

“Every Day Carry” and “Concealed Carry” are terms you may be familiar with. These terms typically refer to guns, but there’s something else we should be carrying every day and more importantly, trained in.

We are all prone to accidents. Whether it’s our own fault or someone else’s, you can’t escape life’s occasional bumps and bruises. But how much more equipped would we be to handle these accidents if we were trained in trauma first aid and carried a modern first aid kit with us at all times?

I have worked in and around manufacturing for all of my adult life. I have seen some people get hurt in big machines and have heard countless stories of others getting hurt. When accidents happen, having a person around that has basic first aid training and carries a simple kit could be the difference between life and death.

Modern kits include tourniquets (bandages designed to apply pressure to bleeding wounds) and special chemicals to promote blood clotting. Getting a clotting agent on a wound immediately may mean a person lives the extra 5 to 10 minutes that it takes EMS to respond. These kits are compact and are designed to be carried on belts, on ankle pouches, or in pockets and purses.

I recently had a near miss with a machete while I was clearing brush. I did not have a kit on me. I keep one in my car, but not physically on me. If circumstances were slightly different, I could have been badly injured deep in the woods with no cell coverage.

There are many classes on first aid including the standard Red Cross classes. The training is as important as the kit. I plan to get trained soon. I hope you will consider doing the same.

We live in a dangerous world with accidents, big machines, and a few crazy people. Being prepared with some basic items could mean the difference in saving your own life or the life of someone around you. Let’s all make safety a priority this year!

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Craig: Craig Page is a self-proclaimed “data geek” with nearly 20 years of EAM/maintenance consulting experience. His favorite work is data migrations. He enjoys solving the puzzle to make the data fit and keep the integrity of the information. When Craig isn’t in front of a computer, he is probably running a chainsaw or a tractor. Have a question for Craig? Send him an email!