First Aid Skills

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MeritBadge.Org offers resource and video links for First Aid, Swimming,
Outdoor Skills, Backpacking, Cooking, Navigation, Cycling, and Wilderness Survival Skills.

Contents

Abrasion (Scrape)
AEDs
Altitude Sickness
Assessing Injury
Back Injury
Bites Stings Bees
Black eye
Bleeding
Blisters
Bloodborne Pathogens
Broken Bone
Bruise (Contusion)
Burns
Chest Pain
Choking
Cold Reactions
Convulsion
CPR
Cramps
Cuts (Lacerations)
Dehydration
Electrical Burns
Electrical Shock
Eye Injury
First Aid Kit
Fishhook
Fractures
Frostbite
Getting Help
Head Injury
Hearing Loss
Heart Attack
Heart Disease
Heat Exhaustion
Heat Reactions
Heat Stroke
Heimlich
Hyperventilation
Hypothermia
Insect Bites Stings
Motion Sickness
Muscle Cramps
Muscle Strains
Nausea-Fainting
Neck Injuries
Nosebleeds
Object in Eye
Poisoning
Poisonous Animals
Poisonous Plants
Puncture Wound
Rope Burns
Scratches
Shock
Seizure Slings - Splints
Snakebite
Spinal Injury
Splinters
Sprained Ankle
Sprains-Strains
Stopped Breathing
Stroke
Sunburn
Tick Bites
Tooth Injury
Transporting
Triage
Wilderness First Aid

“

First aid is the first help given to someone who has had an accident or other health emergency. If more attention is needed, first-aid treatment helps keep an injured or ill person as safe as possible until medical personnel arrive. Wilderness first aid (WFA) is the assessment of and treatment given to an ill or injured person in a remote environment when a physician and/or rapid transport are not readily available.

First aid and WFA are important to participants in BSA programs. The BSA strongly recommends that participants avail themselves of CPR with automatic external defibrillator (AED) training, along with first-aid and wilderness first-aid training. For certain program participation, there may be requirements for first aid, wilderness first aid, and CPR/AED. There are no unit-centric requirements at this time.

First aid, WFA, CPR/AED may be taught by instructors currently trained by a nationally certified provider such as the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Emergency Care and Safety Institute, or American Safety and Health Institute. Cub Scouts can even be taught this valuable skill in a family-type setting. Online-only courses are not accepted if a certification is required. The BSA will accept nationally recognized blended courses—such as from the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Emergency Care and Safety Institute—where competency can be demonstrated to an instructor.

Further information and advancement in first aid may include wilderness first responder (WFR) and wilderness emergency medical technician (WEMT).

For more information, see the Boy Scout Handbook and the First Aid merit badge pamphlet.

”

— Guide to Safe Scouting (2017), V. Medical Information and First Aid

Here are first aid resources to aid you in teaching and learning first aid in over 40 ranks and badges.

Resources

The Boy Scout Handbook should be a Scout's initial resource for learning first-aid skills. The First Aid merit badge provides more information and guidance and lists the following first-aid resources

On the Internet

Scouting Literature

Handbooks, Manuals, & Guides

Boy Scout Handbook
Fieldbook
BSA® Wilderness First Aid Manual — ScoutShop.org
Pocket Naturalist® Guide Emergency First Aid Pocket Guide — ScoutShop.org

Merit Badge Pamphlets

Additional Resources

Your handbook is your primary reference. See First Aid Skills for step-by-step instructions and lesson video links.
See also: First Aid Merit Badge Pamphlet - First Aid Kit - Emergency Kit - Guide to Safe Scouting - Annual Health & Medical Record
Mayo Clinic First Aid Index
Very Well Health - offers a number of first aid articles.

► ProFirstAid (PFAVideo) - online first aid (including CPR) courses for free. Pay if you want their certificates.

Disclaimers

Disclaimer: This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. Don't use this information to diagnose or develop a treatment plan for a health problem or disease without consulting a qualified health care provider. If you're in a life-threatening or emergency medical situation, seek medical assistance immediately.

Please note that the only first aid materials recommended by the Boy Scouts of America are those found or listed in official BSA materials such as the current First Aid Merit Badge pamphlet (Order: full pamphlet (Scout Shop); Download: requirements & resources only (Scouting.org)) and Boy Scout Handbook. First Aid Treatments are constantly being revised. See the Guide to Safe Scouting. Neither MeritBadge.Org, nor its contributors make any recommendations.

MeritBadge.Org Disclaimer

AED

WebMD: Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

► Pro First Aid: Adult AED, Practice: Adult AED, Child AED, Practice: Child AED, Infant AED, Practice: Infant AED

Altitude Sickness

WebMD: Altitude Sickness - Wikipedia: Altitude Sickness - Video: Altitude Sickness Prevention -

Requirement for Camping and Hiking Merit Badges.

Bites and Stings

Mayo Clinic: Insect bites & stings - Spider bites - Animal bites - AAFP: Stings & Bites - Cat & Dog Bites - Center for Disease Control: Dog Bites - WebMD: Bites & Stings

► EVVideo: Insect Bites & Stings - Treatments - Insect Bites - Brown Recluse Spider Bite - Chiggers - Bee Stings - Bees

Tick Bites

Mayo Clinic: Tick bites - WebMD: Ticks Treatment - About.com: Tick Removal

► Avoiding Ticks - EVVideo: Removing Ticks

Bleeding

Mayo Clinic: Bleeding - Harvard: Bleeding - Harvard: Direct Pressure - Harvard: Butterfly Bandage - WebMD: Bleeding - Center for Disease Control: Acute Injury Care

► Mayo Clinic: Bleeding Video - EVVideo: EVVideo: Bleeding - EVVideo: Bleeding2 - Direct Pressure - Pressure Bandage
► ProFirstAid: Minor Bleeding - Serious Bleeding - About.com Video: Dress a Wound

Wikipedia: Tourniquet - Dangerous - you must be very knowledgable but knowledge is requried for First Aid Merit Badge

Blisters

Mayo Clinic: Blisters - About.com: Blisters- MSN: Blisters

► EVVideo: Avoiding Blisters - Blisters - How to Treat Blisters

Bloodborne Pathogens

Bloodborne Pathogens

► ProFirstAid: Introduction to Bloodborne Pathogens - What are Bloodborne Pathogens? - How Bloodborne Pathogens are Spread - How to Reduce Your Risk

Broken Bones

Shortcut: Broken Bones - Fractures

Mayo Clinic: Broken Bones - Harvard: Broken Bones - WebMD: Understanding Fractures
Mayo Clinic Broken Bone Symptoms & Treatments: Arm - Collarbone - Broken leg - Hand/Wrist/Fingers - Ankle/Foot -
WebMD Broken Bone Symptoms & Treatments Arm - Collarbone - Finger - Foot - Hand - Leg - Toe

Dislocation

Mayo Clinic: Dislocation - Shoulder Dislocation (Required for Whitewater Merit Badge.)

Bruises

Mayo Clinic: Bruises (also called Contusions) - WebMD: Bruises
Mayo Clinic: Black eye - WebMD: Black Eye - Black Eye (Black eye - a bruise near the eye)

Burns

Mayo Clinic: Burns - AAFP: Burns - WebMD: Burns

► EVVideo: Burns - Second Degree Burns - Second & Third-Degree Burns - About.com Video: Burn - About.com: Types of Burns Video

See also: Electrical Burns and Rope Burns

Cancer

American Cancer Society: Signs & Symptoms - Warning Signs - Mayo Clinic: Cancer Defined - Cancer Myths

Chest Pain

Mayo Clinic: Chest pain - WebMD: Abdominal Pain

Choking

► EVVideo: First Aid for Choking Victims - PFAVideo: Choking - About.com Video: Heimlich Maneuver

Cold Reactions

Hypothermia

Mayo Clinic: Hypothermia - AAFP: Hypothermia - WebMD: Hypothermia - About.com: Hypothermia

Frostbite

Mayo Clinic: Frostbite - WebMD: Frostbite - About.com: Frostbite

► EVVideo: How to Treat Frostbite - About.com: Stages of Frostbite Video

CPR

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

“

CPR instruction [in the merit badge program], wherever it is required, must be taught by people currently trained as CPR instructors by a nationally certified provider, such as the American Red Cross, the Emergency Care and Safety Institute, or the American Heart Association.” — BSA Guide To Advancement (HTML, PDF), page 45.