Bike riding can be a fun and exciting activity, but sometimes accidents happen. Are you prepared and carry a first aid kit to help you or someone else when on your ride?
If you do not have first aid qualifications, we recommend doing a course like this one with St John’s to prepare you for any accidents on and off the bike.
We suggest the carry the below items as a basic first aid kit for riding.
- Gloves - to protect you when having to give first aid to anyone bleeding
- Face Shield - if you are required to give CPR to anyone, it’s good to have a barrier to prevent infection
- Triangular Bandage - can be used as a sling or a pad to stem bleeding
- Crepe Bandage - used to create pressure on wounds, reducing swelling or to hold padding in place
- Non-adherent dressings - used to covered abrasions
- Bandaids - for small wounds
- Gauze - to clean wounds (only swipe in 1 direction and use once to keep wound clean)
- Saline Solution - to help clean wounds
- Pencil & Note Paper- to note details while you’re on the phone, or to go with the casualty to the hospital
Carrying these items in waterproof or zip lock bag means they will be ready in any weather condition.
Additional items to carry:
- Antibacterial gel - to further clean your hands, before putting on gloves providing first aid
- Adhesive Tape - used to secure dressings or protect small cuts
- Thermal blanket - to warm keep warm, especially important when going into shock.
An important thing to know if you need to call the emergency services on "000" is your location, we recommend having the EMERGENCY app on your phone. Using your phones GPS, it sends the emergency services the direct longitude and latitude coordinates of your position.
We also recommend having the emergency call/contact function set up on your locked phone. You can follow the set by set guides here for apple and here for android.
IC Emergency also have keychains, wristbands and bank card size USB’s which you can put emergency contact information and medical information. This can be crucial for more serious accidents where hospitalisation is needed.
“After recently completing a refresher first aid course, it made me realise how important it is to carry a first aid kit and know how to use it. We never want accidents to happen, but fortunately they can and you need to be prepared to handle small bleeds to bigger crashes,” comment Kim Lavender, Bicycle NSW Communications Manager.
