Troop Injuries...

[t305spl]

Hey Guys,

How often do you have injuries while on a scouting trip? How many of those have required medical care?

Just trying to find out about an average.

What steps have you taken to ensure a speedy response to an injury?(For example have you pin-pointed someone to take care of injuries, are forms filled out)

~I have been away for a while, but im back now!~

[616kayak]

We have had two injuries that have required evacuating a member within the past 8 years. Both on AT trips one it was pulmonary something where he was coughing up blood and we called rangers via satellite phone. Another has an extra bone in his ankle and had to turn back with some adults after day 1. Other small injuries like 2nd degree burns and cuts nothing big.

[scoutaholic]

I have been SM for 7 years. In that time, I have only used the first-aid kit 4 times.

1 boy pinched his finger in a tent pole (cried for his mommy), and I had to take care of a blood blister.

1 boy cut his finger on a knife while doing dishes. A simple bandage was all that was needed.

1 boy got a sliver climbing a dead tree trunk. Tweezers, and a bandage were needed.

I cut my finger on something in camp once. It was no big deal, but when I re-opened the cut while rock-climbing, I did have to bandage it.


A few years ago, the varsity/ventures went on a camp that I didn't attend. They had 2 injuries while doing their 50-mile ride for cycling MB. 1 boy went to ER and then home with a broken arm. The other was cleaned up in camp (minor scrapes and bruises).

[JRTroop270]

in my memory my troop has had one injury that required any medical care and that was me. I slipped and hit my knee on a rock and cut it up pretty bad and had to bandage it up and rest it for a few hours. It was my first scout trip.

[FrankJ]

We had a scout slice his hand open out summer camp a few years back. A eye surgen who just happen to be there suctured it at camp. We had had an ASM break something in his leg at Nothern tier last year. He finish the trip & then was on crutches for a couple of months. We had a scout burn his hand on a lantern (2nd degree) two years ago at summer camp. The camp medic concurred with our teatment & left him in camp. I can only say be prepared. On trips the medical forms should be close at hand (G2S). Encourage as much first aide training as you can by every one. You have to deal with the situation with what you have at the time. The most qualified is not always available.

[Mrw]

I can think of two in the 9 years we have been with the troop.

One was years ago when two boys were wrestling each other in their free time and one twisted a knee. The other was this past year when a boy cut himself with his knife while playing around with it and needed stitches.

Never any actually serious injuries.

[deweylure]

During my scouting career over 16 years,I have experienced a few situations which were serious. The rest were scrapes ,bumps and bruises.
One scoutmaster fell over a tree root and had to go to the hospital. A scout came down with an ear infection. When I was younger a JASM cut his foot with an ax.

A good first aid kit is worth it. I check and restock the kit before summercamp.

Deweylure

[616kayak]

I recently accidentaly burnt myself reaching to move a floodlight while building something for a camporee. 2nd degreee burn in the shape of the ridges on the back of the flood light and first degree in the area around it. No big deal tho.

[EagleBoy62204]

last weeekend actually i was wrestling with my brother at the campout...and i hit my wrist on a rock that we missed when we were clearing the area and i fractured the bone, along with pulling the main muscle along the left side of my left hand. Im an adult in the troop now and have been for 2 years now, it was saturday night and thought nothing of it because it didnt hurt. next morning my arm was really stiff and driving home was the hardest thing cause im left handed and usually drive with my left..

ive got a good track record leading at summer camps. I was giving my brother a ride through camp, running at full speed. The bridge we were crossing was wet, i didnt think anything of it, and BAM! I slipped backwards, on top of my brother, who sprained his wrist due to the weight of both him and me on it.

Last year, i was racing one of the staff members just for fun and i caught my foot in a hole on the field, and broke it.

Before that happened, i was walking through a forest path with a few friends, and a wind caught a branch and knocked it off a tree hitting me in the nose causing it to gush blood everywhere.

two years ago (18 yrsold), during a tornado evacuation of our site and a few other back wood sites we were running down a path and one of our boys slipped off the path and sprained his ankle..nothing major.

only other one i can remember, was a few years ago when i was 14, through one of the camps obsticle courses..i was going through it was some speed and slipped off one of the objects landing on my shoulder, breaking the bone right below the growth plate. We didnt goto the hospital right away because it didnt hurt that much, but by the end of the day i was in the ER with much pain.

Im used to it, ive broken my fair share of bones due to sports, scouts, and just fooling around with friends.

[t305spl]

You sure keep your troop busy with injuries.

Over the past few years I can remember 3 in our troop.

1.) A bunch of scouts were running around the fire, just as we yelled stop one kid tagged the other and he tripped putting his palm down on a burning hot rock around the pit. Nice 2nd degree burn. I was the one with the highest level of Emergency Care certifications so my SM sent called for me. I quickly cooled it down and started all the burn stuff(dont feel like typing it all) and wrapped it. Brought the scout to the Health Officer and camp to have his parents take him to the hospital.(BLS Ambulance was not needed)

2.) A scout was playing Ultimate Frisbee at a Military Academy Camporee and broke his clavicle. Military Medics took care of it and called for a BLS Ambulance for transport to the nearest hospital.

3.) We were at a Science Center and scouts yet again were having fun chasing each other until one scout went to go under a table. Didnt clear it all the way and smacked his head on the side of the table. Large bump and we sent him home with his father to go get it checked out.

Many other bumps scrapes all that good stuff.

[Mrw]

We did have a kid who was pretty allergic to poison ivybreak out in hives and his face was swollen at summer camp one year.

Sent him home with Mom for a trip to the doctor and he was back the next day. Much less uncomfortable and with instructions to learn how to identify and avoid the stuff.

[Mad Dog]

We have not had many incidents since I joine dthe troop. A few weeks a go a scout was using an axe without gloves and got a few large blisters on his hand. Reached for the recently restocked first aid kit. Afew weeks later he was chopping wood again, this time with gloves on.

[MisterChris]

In the 15 years I've been with Ole97, I can only remember 4 serious ones.

One time we had a boy go down to Camp Tallaha with the troop, was running and fooling around in the mess hall (instead of camping in the cabins or tents they were sleeping in the mess hall? and fell and broke his arm (right angle break!) - 2 ASMs took him to the Hospital, medical form in hand. Keep those medicals and perm slips handy.

When a subset of the troop was headed to Philmont, one kid who was an absolutely out-of-control discipline problem who would NEVER do what you told him, went climbing up a cliff in OK City at a rest stop. Leaders told all the boys NOT to climb. Yelled at him to come down immediately. Well, he was still climbing up when he inadvertently obeyed. 35 foot fall, femur broken in two places, airlifted out, missed Philmont, ended up with a Steel rod in his leg. Never had another issue with him.

50 miler canoe trip in AR, one bright Eagle Scout decided to shinny up a 2' diameter tree hanging over the river to put a rope out so the rest could swing and drop in the river. The tree was literally COVERED in poison ivy. He was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. I told him not to, but he did it anyway, said he wasn't allergic. Came down covered in sap, washed in the river with soap and water. Finished the 50-miler with oozing welts ALL over his body. Spent the rest of camp lying down drugged up on Calamine, Benadryl, and I don't know what else the camp nurse shot him with but I suspect it had brains in it, cuz he got smarter and started listening.

1996 - Troop headed back from Cumberland Caverns on I-40. A car coming the other way lost the left front wheel, which rolled into the median and became airborne. bus driver Doug Mangum swerved to the shoulder so the tire wouldn't hit him (cars in the lane to the right) - The tire came through the front passenger side windshield and sheared off a metal fan cooling the driver. Tire hit the stairwell wall, down into the stairwell, bounced up and dented the roof, and ended up in the front passenger seat (empty, I had to work that weekend or I would have been in it). The metal pieces of the fan flew back through the bus and embedded in the ONLY other seat empty in the very rear of the bus. windshield glass flew back through the bus also, peppering the boys with minor cuts on face and hands.

Doug hit the brakes and slowed the bus to a stop. If he'd swerved right they probably would have impacted cars on the right, bounced back, and killed the driver with the tire. If he'd swerved left too fast the bus would have rolled. No seat belts - the bus was old. They found the grill to the fan stuck in a pack in the back of the bus. The fan blades were sticking out of that only empty seat, blade first. We retired that bus this past year, but the old 'Swamp Fox' still had that slit in that back seat up until the bus died for the last time, a 'fingerprint' of the angels watching out for the guys. Out of all that, the only injuries were minor cuts on the faces and hands of some of the kids. No glass in the eyes.

...and VERY glad I wasn't along.

[riverwalk]

Thanks for that one. Yes, it's in our best interest, to remember that ALMOST ALL serious injuries and fatalities in Scouting, happen at the local Unit/District level. These things do happen, and will happen in our Programs.

I encourage folks to consider all the recognition they can qualify for in the area of Health & Safety.....this includes Awards for every level of registered person, and for Units also. The result isn't about recognition though it may help get people trained...rather it's about an increased awareness and safe practices. If you work the Sweet 16 into all planning, and notice the sandwich principle is included in many of the outdoorsy trainings, you'll be in good shape. Speaking of that, Scouters are often the casualties in our Programs, so if some us (yeah, me too) will improve our fitness (Fitness Award...hmmm?), it will help. Then have your First Aid person assigned for activities, and know what's in and how to use the kit.

Paperwork is a good consideration, thanks again for that question. Know when to notify the Council Executive, and know when to use the BSA First Aid Log (now being reviewed for HIPPA, locally anyway). And encourage folks to really list stuff on their Medical Forms. We often see failure to indicate asthma, and related Meds.

If you stayed with me, keep this in mind too. One of the areas being reinforced these days, is about driving in the "RISK ZONE", and the use of seat belts for everyone on your trip.

[616kayak]

Today with jrotc we had competitions between companies at our anual picnic.

One of thew competitions is the zodiac carry 8 members of the company carry a 400 lb zodiac with a 250 lb person in it.

My company was up and Just as they crossed th finish line our main guy on the left side passed out. When he fell two people behind him tripped and dropped the zodiac. this caused everyone else to drop it.

I ran over pulse check for 10 secs no pulse. he was out. As we lifted the zodiac off of him he came to. We walked him over to the shade. We cooled him down and let him relax.

He was in rough shape. Luckly he was doing good by the time lunch was over and we started tug o'war.

[riverwalk]

I'm glad he's better, but I hope he was evaluated by Medics with ALS capability, and Emergency Department?

[t305spl]

616kayak, I to really hope he was examined by ALS and an Emergency Dept. Something like that 10 sec. no pulse and passed out and if I read correctly he had atleast part of this "zodiac w/ a person in it" on him. Who deemed it unnecessary for an ALS Ambulance to be called?


"Its better to be safe then sorry" We cant see what's going on inside of the body.

[616kayak]

A member of cadre who’s a green beret and has had a lot of medical training said he came over and said he would be fine.

Cadre and a dad whos in fire recue checked his temperature and stuff. I was back to my company by then because I wasn’t needed and didn’t want to get in the way.

This is the second year in a row we’ve had a zodiac accident. Last year a girl tripped and got stepped on but the zodiac stayed up and she got back up and went back to the zodiac all scrapped and bruised.

[fritz1255]

Not an injury, but a scary sitaution never the less: On a campout last fall, one of the boys felt nauseous, complained of stomach pains. I had my son (who had his appendix out the previous year) talk to him, he suspected appendicitis based on where the pain was. We sent the boy home, his appendix was removed the next day. The boy's mom thanked us for saving his life. I don't think the situation was quite that grave, but something to watch for!

[riverwalk]

Well possibly it could have been worse, if he was kept away from Medical attention. But you did the safe thing and acted in a manner BSA hopes we will. That was perhaps a good test for your Unit, in all aspects of recognizing a serious condition, acting on it, and knowing how to contact family.

It also means there's one more member in the group, that won't have that same problem again, haha. Sorry:)