Ahoy there me mateys! Sept 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, that be true! Accidents do happen, aaarh! Here be 5 first aid tips for any mishaps aboardships for all of ye and how we tries to prevent any injuries……
1. Rope Burns
Ropes onboard are best kept good n clean – no frays mind. If they be runnin’ through yer hands, they can fair rip at yer skin – a friction burn they calls it. There be redness, blisters, skin missin’ and blood oftentimes. What do ye do now, then, eh?
First aid for rope burns:
Assess the wound – if its deep and has broken the skin or is more than 2-3inches long, see a doctor
Clean the wound using running cool water. This helps remove debris, tar, bacteria and rope fragments. Tarred ropes popular with Pirate ships cause very dirty sticky wounds so always take time to clean them thoroughly.
Remove rope fragments or debris embedded in the wound. Gently remove them if you can with a sterile pair of tweezers. If there’s lots of rope fragments or it’s a large fragment, leave it for a doctor to deal with.
Cover the wound loosely with a bandage and keep it clean and dry throughout the day. Change the bandage daily.  Continue to monitor the wound. If it doesn’t improve, see a doctor. Rope burns can take up to 10 days to heal depending on their severity.
2. Eyes injuries and some Pirate eye care tips!
PEARL! Caught yer attention with that word, aye?! Eye?! It’s no yer long lost ticket home but a way of assurin’ a casualty’s head is all in order inside. Here’s how the docs call it and some tips for treatin’ and preventin’ eye injuries…..
Pearl = Pupils Equal And Reactive to Light – When your eyes are closed the big black pupils are large because they are in the dark. When you open your eyes, both pupils should shrink to the same size at the same time. Any differences in size or shape might indicate a head injury. Get them seen by the doctor.
First aid for something stuck in the eye:
Wash it out – tilt the head away and carefully wash out any foreign objects with clean water.
If there’s I something stuck in there, cover the eye and go to hospital. It’s also good to cover both eyes as both eyes will move when one is in use, potentially causing more pain or injury in the other.
Preventing eye injuries – some Pirate tips:
Wear appropriate PPE (Pirate Protective Equipment). Any activities you do should be risk assessed. Pirate work is dangerous at times and people want to hurt you, or worse. Injury prevention can be helped by equipment, clothing or throwing them overboard.
Pirate Eye patches – Pirates used eye patches not just for injuries but to allow them to move between light and dark settings (above and below deck or at night). Removing the eye patch let them see in the dark very quickly without having to wait for their night vision to kick in.
Pirate Bandanas – not just a fashion item but a way of keeping sweat from their eyes, important on deck duty and when fighting.
3. Walking the plank – cold water shock:
Aaargh! It happens to many of us, mateys! Some deserves it, some others but a quick trip to Davy Jones’ Locker is not always the outcome if ye knows what to do!….
Cold water shock is a body’s response to sudden change in skin temperature caused by walking off the plank and into the sea. It causes a sudden gasp for air, followed by uncontrollable rapid breathing caused by anxiety or panic. Their body will also respond to this sudden cold environment by protecting the vital organs and therefore reducing the blood flow to the limbs. This may reduce their ability to swim or manoeuvre their way out of the water.
First aid for cold water shock:
Get them out of the water and into some shelter, ideally out of the wind. Better below decks if possible.
Remove wet clothing and give them warm dry clothes to wear. They may be shivering uncontrollably – it’s the body’s response to the cold and it is trying to warm the body by shivering. Lots of reassurance required here.
Give them warm fluids to drink and food to eat. Â Food helps because their body will generate heat if it has fuel to burn. No rum though as it just thins to blood and keeps them cold.
Reassure and monitor them and get medical help if they do not warm up or improve.
The cold water response decreases with more cold outdoor swimming experience. A smart Pirate should choose to swim often to increase their adaptability to cold water environments – and avoid being made to walk the plank in the first place!
4. Scurvy and dehydration
Aaarh, I knows this all too well. Lack of vitamin C in yer diet takes it’s toll. Ye can get bleeding gums, lose teeth and it all weakens yer bones so yer never a fit Pirate unless you keeps healthy. A sore mouth also makes yer talk funny, so I’m told. Aaaaarh! On top o’ this, ye too easily get dehydrated if you don’t drink enough fluids. Then ye’ll be all fatigued and yer performance will drop – no good for you nor your shipmates! Here’s how to sort this out….
Eat plenty of citrus fruit or sauerkraut – these have lots of Vitamin C in them.
Keep clean – wash regularly and brush your teeth! Bacteria build up when you fall down on personal hygiene. A clean Pirate is a healthy Pirate!
Avoid dehydration and drink regularly – water is better than Rum, honestly! Dehydration is not always a hot weather issue – it can happen in any weather or environment. It’s all about fluids in and out.
Signs of dehydration include: sweating – water and salt are both lost in hot weathers or when you’ve been working hard. Other symptoms are headaches, poor performance and confusion.
Monitor your hydration level by checking the colour of your pee. It’s an early warning sign you shouldn’t ignore. As a pirate ship crew, we are not usually very comfortable talking about going to the heads (toilet), but you should pay attention to your pee – it should be a light, clear yellow. Darker yellow is a sure sign that you are dehydrated and need to drink more fluids.
First aid for dehydration:
- Get them out of the sun if that is the cause or stop them working if that is the cause.
- Drink water and rest
- If you have lost a lot of salts through sweating, electrolyte drinks are best.
- Remember – water, not rum!
5. Severed limbs – a Pirate’s nightmare!
Aaaargh! A pirates worst nightmare, believe me! If you loses a hand or a leg, it really shivers yer timbers inside! Pain level?- way beyond what a lot of landlubbers would ever know. Them hooks and wooden stumps are no replacement! Anyways, here’s what to do…
First aid for amputations:
Reassure the Pirate – they used to get a shot of Rum to numb the pain. Now we use lots of calm reassuring words from the first aider!…until the paramedics arrive so phone 999/112 immediately. They have things better than rum!
Check and clean the wound. Wash it out with clean water.
Apply pressure using firm grip and then apply a firm clean bandage onto the stump. Use a tourniquet if required. Write the time applied on the tourniquet or on the pirate’s forehead.
Raise the stump above the level of the heart if possible and comfortable for your Pirate.
Monitor your Pirate and be alert to them going into shock.
What to do with the severed body part?
- Place it in a clean plastic bag, double bag it within another bag and place it in a bottle or box filled with clean water.
- Take it to the hospital with the casualty.
- DO NOT put severed body parts on ice. Keeping the severed item cool makes it easier and quicker to reassemble your Pirate in hospital. Ice damages the tissue and makes this harder.
So there you go, me mateys – some excellent tips to keep ye healthy and well repaired on the high seas! If you want to learn more, ye’ll have to come to land awhiles and go on a course with the fine folk at The First Aid Training Cooperative. (They’re not all landlubbers you know!) Here be the link to their courses. Ahoy!
