Emergency help

Someone is bleeding badly. What do I do?

Call the emergency number now, or get someone else to call while you act.

1. Press hard. Put a clean cloth, dressing or even your gloved hand directly on the wound and press firmly. Do not keep lifting it to look.

2. Keep pressing for at least 10 minutes without letting go. If blood soaks through, put more cloth on top and press harder. Do not remove the first layer.

3. Lie the person down and keep them warm. Raising their legs slightly helps if they feel faint and the legs are not injured.

4. Bandage firmly over the pad once the bleeding slows, but not so tight that fingers or toes go cold or blue.

If something is stuck in the wound, leave it in and press around it, not on it. If firm pressure cannot stop life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg, apply a commercial tourniquet 5 to 7 cm above the wound, never on a joint, and tighten it until the bleeding stops. Note the time, do not loosen it, and get help. Training is recommended, but anyone may use one.

Watch for shock: pale, cold, clammy skin, fast breathing, confusion. That is an emergency even if the bleeding has stopped.

How do I treat a burn?

1. Cool it straight away under cool running water for a full 20 minutes. This is the single most useful thing you can do, even if a few minutes have passed.

2. Take off rings, watches and clothing near the burn, unless they are stuck to the skin. Leave stuck fabric where it is.

3. Keep the person warm while you cool only the burn, so they do not get cold.

4. Cover it loosely with cling film laid on in strips, or a clean plastic bag for a hand. Not fluffy cotton.

Never use ice, iced water, butter, oil, toothpaste or creams. Do not burst blisters.

Get medical help or call the emergency number for any burn that is larger than the person's hand, deep, white or charred, on the face, hands, feet, groin or a joint, from chemicals or electricity, or on a child or an older person.

Someone is cold, shivering and confused. What do I do?

Shivering, clumsy hands, slurred speech and confusion in cold or wet weather mean the body is losing heat faster than it makes it. Treat it early.

1. Get out of the wind and rain: into a shelter, behind a wall, under a tarp.

2. Replace wet clothes with dry ones, or put dry layers and a waterproof over the top.

3. Insulate them from the ground: a pack, foam mat or branches underneath matters as much as layers on top.

4. Cover the head and neck. Share body heat in a sleeping bag if you have to.

5. Give warm, sweet drinks only if they are fully awake and can swallow easily. Never alcohol.

Warm the body slowly. Do not rub their arms and legs, and do not put them in a hot bath.

If they stop shivering while still cold, become very drowsy or stop making sense, this is serious. Call the emergency number and handle them gently.

How do I stay safe in a heatwave?

Heat kills more people in Europe than any other weather. In hot climates, summer can bring days above 35 °C. This is general guidance; call the emergency number if someone becomes confused, stops sweating or collapses.

At home:

1. Close shutters and curtains on the sunny side during the day; open everything at night when outside air is cooler.

2. Keep one room as the cool room, ideally north facing and downstairs.

3. Fans help only below about 35 °C. Above that, use damp cloths on skin, cool showers, and feet in cold water.

4. Drink regularly, before thirst. Add a pinch of salt or an oral rehydration sachet if you sweat a lot. Avoid alcohol in the heat of the day.

Outside:

1. Do heavy work before 10 am or after 6 pm. Rest in shade 10 minutes every hour.

2. Hat, loose light clothing, sunscreen, and a litre of water per hour of effort.

Check on elderly neighbours and anyone living alone; they often do not feel thirst. Never leave children or pets in a car. Signs of heat exhaustion: headache, nausea, cramps, heavy sweating. Move to shade, cool the body, sip water. If not better in 30 minutes, get medical help.

Heat stroke is an emergency: hot skin, confusion, collapse or fits. Call the emergency number and cool them fast, in cold water if possible; otherwise soak them with water and fan hard. Keep cooling until help arrives.

What do I do in a thunderstorm outdoors?

If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck. Count the seconds between the flash and the bang: divide by three for the distance in kilometres. Under 30 seconds, act now.

1. Get into a building or a car with a metal roof if you can reach one. That is the only really safe place.

2. Get off high ground, ridges and summits. Move away from water, metal fences and lone trees.

3. In woodland, shelter among lower trees, not the tallest.

4. If you are caught in the open, crouch low on your pack or a mat with your feet together. Do not lie flat.

5. In a group, spread out at least 15 metres apart so one strike cannot hit everyone.

Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before you move on.

A person struck by lightning carries no charge and is safe to touch. Call the emergency number and start CPR if they are not breathing.

It is getting dark and I am still out. What do I do?

Decide while you can still see, not after.

1. Check your map: how far to camp, how long, and how much light is left.

2. If you can reach a road, car or shelter on a clear path before dark, go now, steadily, without rushing.

3. If the way is rough, steep, off-path or unknown, stop while there is light. Walking in the dark is how people fall and get lost.

4. Pick a sheltered spot out of the wind, off wet ground, away from cliff edges and rising water.

5. Put on every layer before you get cold, eat something, and sit on your pack.

6. Save your phone: low power mode, torch only when needed. Use your phone torch to signal for help: three short, three long, three short.

If anyone knew your plan, they will start looking at the time you said you would be back. That is why you always tell someone.

If you are hurt, very cold, or in danger, call the emergency number.

What do I do if I get lost hiking?

The moment you think you might be lost, stop. Almost every rescue gets harder because the person kept walking.

Use STOP:

1. Stop. Sit down, drink some water, breathe for two minutes. Panic burns energy and judgement.

2. Think. When were you last certain of your position? What did you pass? Which way is downhill, and where did the sun rise?

3. Observe. Check your phone for signal and battery, look at the map, listen for roads or water, look for the trail markers you may have drifted from.

4. Plan. If you are sure of the way back to your last known point, go there slowly. If not, stay put, especially near dusk, in fog, or if you are injured.

If you have signal, call the emergency number and give your last known location; many services can locate a phone. Then conserve battery: low power mode, no browsing.

Make yourself easy to find: stay in the open, put bright clothing on a rock, blow a whistle in threes every few minutes. Insulate yourself from the ground and stay dry; cold is the real danger, not hunger. Next time, leave a route plan with someone before you go.

How do I purify water?

Untreated water can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites you cannot see or taste. Treat all of it unless it comes from a tap you trust. This follows WHO and CDC guidance.

1. Clear it first. Let muddy water settle, then pour it through a clean cloth, coffee filter or bandana. Cloudy water shields microbes from chemicals.

2. Boil: bring to a full rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 2000 metres altitude). This kills bacteria, viruses and parasites. Let it cool and store covered.

3. Chemical, if you cannot boil: household unscented bleach at 5 to 6 percent, 2 drops per litre of clear water (4 drops if cloudy), mix and wait 30 minutes. Or water purification tablets, following the packet exactly. Chemicals do not kill Cryptosporidium reliably; boiling or a 1 micron filter does.

4. Filter: a portable filter rated 0.1 to 0.2 micron removes bacteria and parasites but not viruses. Pair it with chemicals or boiling where viruses are a risk.

Never rely on a flowing stream or clear appearance. In an emergency at home, the hot water tank and ice cubes are stored drinking water. Keep 4 litres per person per day for at least 3 days: about 2 to drink, the rest for cooking and washing.

What do I do after a snake bite?

Most snake bites in Europe are from vipers such as the adder. They are painful and need hospital care, but deaths are rare when people stay calm and get help.

1. Move away from the snake. Do not try to catch or kill it.

2. Call the emergency number.

3. Keep the person still and calm, and keep the bitten limb still and roughly at heart level. Walking spreads venom faster.

4. Take off rings, watches and tight clothing near the bite before swelling starts.

5. Note the time of the bite and, if you can do it safely, what the snake looked like.

Do not cut the wound, suck it, apply ice, or put on a tourniquet. Do not give alcohol or painkillers like aspirin.

Get medical help even if they feel fine: symptoms can take hours to appear.

How do I signal for help?

Rescuers look for things that do not belong in nature: straight lines, bright colours, regular sounds, flashes.

Phone first: even with no signal from your network, emergency calls may route through any carrier. Call the emergency number (112 works across Europe and on most phones worldwide). Send a text if a call fails; texts need less signal. Share your location from the map app.

Sound: three blasts on a whistle, pause, repeat. Three of anything is the international distress signal. A whistle carries far further than your voice and does not wear out.

Sight:

1. A signal mirror or any shiny surface: aim the reflection at aircraft or distant people by sighting through your fingers. It is visible for many kilometres in sun.

2. Bright clothing, a foil blanket or a tarp laid flat in an open area.

3. Ground signals: build a large V (need help) or X (need medical help) with rocks, logs or trampled snow, at least 3 metres per stroke.

4. Fire: at night a fire, by day add green leaves for thick smoke. Only where safe and legal.

Stay in the open and stay put once you have signalled. Moving makes you hard to find.

🛒 Gear we recommend

See all the gear →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and keeps this site free.