The Boy Scout Handbook is a Life-Saver — Literally

Barely a week goes by that I don’t read a headline about Scouts saving lives. In fact, earlier this year I wrote this blog post highlighting just a few of the recent life-saving efforts of our Scouts: What You Learn In Scouting Could Save Lives.

I guess you could say that Scouts have the market cornered when it comes to teaching life-saving first-aid techniques. And that’s something I’m really proud of. Who else would you want to be with you on the trail if you take a tumble, or in a restaurant if you start choking, than a Scout who knows exactly what to do?

With this in mind, we thought it made perfect sense to continue promoting the 13^th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook by dedicating the next installment of our #HandbookHacks series to the RICE method of first-aid treatment for sprains and strains: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

To ensure every Scout is prepared, Chapter 4 of the Boy Scout Handbook details first-aid training and emergency preparedness techniques. It includes lessons on how to respond to injuries from minor burns and poison ivy rashes to more serious incidents, such as heart attacks and hypothermia.

And if you’re not already familiar with the handbook, you’ll see that — just as with the RICE method — we like to use helpful mnemonic devices or acronyms to help Scouts of all ages remember what to do in times of need for the rest of their lives. For example, there’s the FAST (Face, Arm, Speech and Time) method to identify if someone is experiencing a stroke. And we look for signs of fracture with the help of DOTS (Deformity, Open wounds, Tenderness and Swelling).

Are there any other tips you’ve created to remember your first-aid training? Let me know in the comments below, reach out to me on twitter, or better yet, share your own #HandbookHacks!

Mike