Sports
First Aid Kits
As
this author has coached numerous basketball and baseball teams,
it always strikes me as unfortunate to see coaches or trainers
that are ill-prepared to handle an emergency. The vast majority
of sport-related incidences are usually sprains, strains and
fractures. However in the summer months, it is not uncommon
to see dehydration, heat exhaustion, and rarely but unfortunately,
heat stroke victims. The sports first aid kit should clearly
contain your basic bandages, 4 x 4’s, Band Aids®,
Ace wraps®, splinting material for fingers, reusable ice
gel packs which nowadays can be broken, which elicits a chemical
reaction to make them cold. This definitely eliminates the
need to carry a cooler with you at all times, and are a must
to help decrease swelling. They can be placed around the extremity
and wrapped with an Ace wrap® over it. Sports first aid
kits can be very simple and do not have to be complex because
transportation to an clinic or ER is usually extremely expedient.
In many cases, doing too much can cause more harm than good.
Please remember this when medical professionals are on the
way and transportation is imminent. Small things to consider
include hair bungees to pull back hair during sports play
as we know many individuals forget these, safety pins which
definitely help in adhering arms to shirts as a sling.
In the
last 10-15 years, we have seen reports of sudden death from
heart arrhythmias on the court. Somebody on the basketball
team, trainer or assistant coach should be CPR certified and
understand what to do in case those situations occur. More
and more colleges as well as professional sports are using
portable defibrillators which have been extremely beneficial
in saving lives. Electrolyte replenishing drinks such as Pedialite
are important to have, especially in case of dehydration.
Knowing the signs and symptoms of dehydration is important,
as well as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Please see Surviveoutdoors.com
for signs and symptoms and treatment for heat exhaustion,
heat stroke and dehydration. Perhaps the most important item
to be carried in the sports first aid kit is what we carry
with us all the time, our common sense and judgment. Keeping
a cool head, approaching the athlete in a calm manner to calm
down their anxiety and fear, is one of the most important
factors in treatment. One must understand that most of these
individuals are scared regarding the seriousness of the injury
but might not show their fear, as well as the concern of the
parents. I cannot emphasize this enough in terms of reassuring
parents and the athlete that everything is being done to take
care of them before transporting them to a medical facility.
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