Why You Should Take A First Aid Course Before Going On Vacation

The Benefits of Pre-Vacation First Aid Training

The prospect of jumping on a plane and flying to the tropics is one often filled with excitement. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t enjoy sitting on a beach, with a drink in hand and the sun in the sky. This is especially true for Canadians, at this time of year. With colder temperatures inevitable, a destination getaway is ideal. It’s vital, however, that would-be travellers prepare for emergency situations.

Have you ever taken a first aid course? If you have any upcoming travel plans, now would be the best time to do so. Red Cross offers a Standard First Aid & CPR course which offers a ton of valuable insight on wound care; head and spine injuries; bone, muscle and joint injuries; and environmental emergencies, just to name a few. Let’s delve deeper into why you should take a first aid course before going on vacation.

You’ll learn how to stock a good first aid kit.

Travelling with a first aid kit is essential. But what are the mandatory elements of a good first aid kit? The Red Cross recommends that all first aid kits for a family of four include such items as two absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches), 25 adhesive bandages (in assorted sizes) and one adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch). Kits should also include sterile gauze pads and an oral thermometer.

First Aid Kit

As well, a proper first aid kit is stocked with five antibiotic ointment packets (approximately one gram), five antiseptic wipe packets, two packets of aspirin (81 mg each), one emergency blanket, one breathing barrier (with one-way valve), one instant cold compress, two large pairs of non-latex gloves, two hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each), one 3 inch gauze roll (roller) bandage and one roller bandage (4 inches wide).

You’ll learn how to care for a wound.

How to Care for a Wound

Accidents happen. If you’re in the know about how to correctly treat a wound, you will be able to prevent a very expensive foreign hospital bill. Rapid wound care intervention is necessary for even the smallest of cuts. While on vacation, the last thing you want is to develop an infection.

You’ll learn how to treat jelly fish and other aquatic animal stings.

There is a common misconception that the solution to the pain, redness, rash and swelling caused by a jellyfish sting is to have someone urinate on the affected area. Allow us to dispel the myth that pee is the solution. By taking a first aid course, you’ll discover that vinegar is one ideal alternative.

A family at a beach

“Wash the area with vinegar for at least 30 seconds,” explains the Canadian Red Cross, “If vinegar isn’t available, use a mixture of baking soda and water (to make a consistency like toothpaste) and leave it on the area for 20 minutes. Then immerse the affected area in hot water (as tolerated) for 20 minutes or as long as the pain persists. Do not rub the area.”

You’ll learn how to manage diabetic emergencies.

A person conducting a blood sugar level test

Do you tend to “eat, drink and be merry” during your vacations? Join the club. Indulging is a common “I’m on a trip” activity. However, it’s important to be mindful that such indulgences can throw off a person’s blood sugar. Your liver breaks down alcohol by releasing glucose. This can cause sugar levels to drop, inducing hypoglycaemia. Often, an ideal solution is to give the diabetic individual a sugary drink or sweet food. Ideally, glucose gel or tablets would be taken.

There is so much more to learn! SOS First Aid offers several First Aid and CPR training courses. To learn all about them, please don’t hesitate to call us at 905-844-9813. You may also email us at [email protected].

Contact

SOS First Aid and Safety Training services the following Southern Ontario communities: Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Guelph, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Acton, Georgetown, Hamilton, Ancaster, Brantford, Stoney Creek, St. Catherines, and Welland.

Customer Reviews

Mrs Viola was incredible teacher, I love her teaching mechanism’s easy to understand her thank you.
Beryl oyugi
Beryl oyugi
Ally was amazing, she answered all our questions and made sure we understood everything. Such an awesomeTeacher
Jenn Jenn
Jenn Jenn
Aly makes the class fun and engaging. You will not be bored in this class.
Sameer Zaheer
Sameer Zaheer
suzyan kunwar
suzyan kunwar
Had a great experience, instructor patty was very helpful.
8sujata kunwar
8sujata kunwar
Thank you Patrick for your wonderful instruction
LE NGUYEN
LE NGUYEN
Minakshi Subba
Minakshi Subba
Had amazing experience with Patty! She taught us so well and I learnt so much while practicing cpr and first aid.
Sanpreet Kaur
Sanpreet Kaur
Patty was a great instructor and extremely knowledgeable Was great with instructions and communication. Fun and a great experience.
Susie Riggs
Susie Riggs
I did the BLS course with Patty, and she was a very good teacher!
Nicole Freeman
Nicole Freeman
Our instructor was really good, he truly cared! It was a recertification, and I have to say that I learnt a lot this time. He went above and beyond. I feel more secure and knowledgeable when responding to an emergency. Thank you!
Marilyn A M
Marilyn A M
Ally was an amazing teacher trainer. Felt safe heared and very informative. would highly recommend.
jac hal
jac hal
Bidisha Dey
Bidisha Dey
Eun Hye Pedralvez
Eun Hye Pedralvez
Prakash was a great instructor! Made the class very engaging and explained things well
Sandy Kdeiss
Sandy Kdeiss
Sarah Almeida
Sarah Almeida
Mr. Nagar was amazing! Very helpful!
Alicha Desmond
Alicha Desmond
G KAUR
G KAUR
Great information and indepth knowledge of epinephrine and the placement and new technologies. Thank you Prakash!
Thaksha Kulenthiran
Thaksha Kulenthiran
Prakash was very engaging and thorough
Alpana Vora
Alpana Vora
Ally was an amazing informative teacher! i love her teaching style and she was great at answering questions and chatting in an informative way!
Sofie Z
Sofie Z
The training was interesting and educativeI enjoyed it
Oluwatosin Enitan
Oluwatosin Enitan
Daniel was excellent!!
Alaa Dimitri
Alaa Dimitri
Julie was the best instructor for standard first aid , very informative and easy to listen
Suhad Sa'doun
Suhad Sa'doun
I had a great experience with debbie at the kingbridge location She made it very easy to stay alert in the class That all students were able to receive her lessons she was amazing 👏
Kimberly Palmer
Kimberly Palmer
Jasen Devasagayam
Jasen Devasagayam
Great instructor
AsianDomination104
AsianDomination104
Great experience.Mario gave clear and detailed instructions that were easy to follow and remember. He was very professional and gave so much input than I expected. Would highly recommend!
Shiela Mae Arca
Shiela Mae Arca
Laziz Eibov
Laziz Eibov
Great instructor Mario! Thank you :)
Leila Yohannes
Leila Yohannes
Nanzala Anna
Nanzala Anna
Was a lot of fun while also providing the education and performance testing needed!! Mario was great!!
Hai Psycho
Hai Psycho
Mario is very knowledgeable. Mask fit testing went smoothly.
Kathryn Lantican
Kathryn Lantican
olubunmi olaoye
olubunmi olaoye
Mario was a great instructor. Thoroughly explained and provided a great learning experience!
Simran Sandhu
Simran Sandhu
I have amazing experience. My instructor explained everything very well and it was very easy for me to understand the whole process.
Gurkirat Kaur Grewal
Gurkirat Kaur Grewal
WANG RUXIN
WANG RUXIN
Wonderful class. Goi instructor daniel
Marlene Cromwell
Marlene Cromwell
Perfect 👍 teaching 👌
ese Dukuye
ese Dukuye
Daniel was great!! Everything was explained so well that I manage to score hundred percent
Zarah Ali
Zarah Ali
Mario was great! We had fun with our N95 activities!
Alieh Ramezani
Alieh Ramezani
Chirag Rangani
Chirag Rangani
The mask fit training was very informative and beneficial. I had a fun time attending the class and I feel confident in correctly fitting my mask for safety.
Acemark Pellos
Acemark Pellos
Zhanming Chang
Zhanming Chang
Aline Chusl Fotso
Aline Chusl Fotso
Keirol Mallari
Keirol Mallari
Dawa Sherpa
Dawa Sherpa
Mario is excellent! Great job! Highly recommended!
Marsi Siobal
Marsi Siobal
It’s very good session…
sagar amin
sagar amin
I have very good experience here
sonu3115
sonu3115
It was good
Amandeep kaur
Amandeep kaur
Mario is very helpful and accommodating.
gurwinder dhanda
gurwinder dhanda
very quick and friendly instructor!
Von Immanuel Yagong
Von Immanuel Yagong
Barkat Khalid
Barkat Khalid
Huang Yang
Huang Yang
Mario was missing Luigi. Perfect session very informative and straight to the point. Perfect session highly recommend.
Robert Rebelo
Robert Rebelo
GC Tobino
GC Tobino
Zantrav Motovin
Zantrav Motovin
genevieve gelinas
genevieve gelinas
I learnt a lot especially what to do when someone has got a snake bite.
Chidimma Onwughalu
Chidimma Onwughalu
Ally and Doug were great at explaining and teaching. They made the class fun and easy to understand. Loved it!
Samra s
Samra s
Navdeep Kaur
Navdeep Kaur
Wen Fan (Yvonne)
Wen Fan (Yvonne)
Went here three times already and I can confidently say that they deliver the most effective lesson for N95 certification. I had Mario as my lecturer and he was able to simplify and highlight important details on the use of N95's. Highly recommend
xkristiann (xkristiann)
xkristiann (xkristiann)
Excellent instructor
Manpy Sehmi
Manpy Sehmi
Araba Wood
Araba Wood
Marian De Villa
Marian De Villa
It was a splendid experience and very educative.
Kayla Asante
Kayla Asante
Great Mask-Fit session with Mario
Mel B
Mel B
Session was really informative and interactive. Mario has good humour and makes the session lively.
Polina Loukianenkova
Polina Loukianenkova
Mario was great. The session was informative and mario made it entertaining and enjoyable.
Ed de Vries
Ed de Vries
Jennifer Nana Arku-Entsie
Jennifer Nana Arku-Entsie
Great and engaging!!
Chidera Eleh
Chidera Eleh
Ally was absolutely the sweetest, most informative and great teacher, I have ever had. To have her patiently answer questions, while also providing real life examples that make it all better to understand! So smart! Loved it!
Leo Andruchovici
Leo Andruchovici
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Mario is very friendly and approachable. Learned a lot from him. Never a dull moment during our lesson for N95. Good job!
Derlin Baywas
Derlin Baywas
Jasmeet Dulay
Jasmeet Dulay
A fun session
Shivangi Aatli
Shivangi Aatli
Quick and informative
Jahleen Reid
Jahleen Reid
Lima Siddiqi
Lima Siddiqi
It was very informative and Mario was a good instructor.
Witney Akowuah
Witney Akowuah
Very informative session!
Chelle Rubio
Chelle Rubio
Victoria Cuthbert
Victoria Cuthbert
For something I was dreading spending money on and doing, I actually ended up wanting more of and am looking forward to another opportunity to take more classes with SOS! Learning from Ally has been both enjoyable and inspiring. My classmates and I spent our break time discussing the material we learned and also how impressed we were with the content and delivery. We had all done the CPR and First Aide courses in the past, but all agreed this course was a game changer! We couldn’t thank Ally enough!
Jenna Bernard
Jenna Bernard
Ezinma Kingsley
Ezinma Kingsley
Mario was very informative and made the learning process enjoyable.
Sarah Byrne
Sarah Byrne
hyun been seo
hyun been seo
Very informative and proper courseJess was an amazing instructor
Arsany Maged
Arsany Maged
Jess was awesome! It was a very interactive and informative class. Easy to learn environment. Would definitely recommend SOS First Aid.
Ronak K
Ronak K
Marlon Murray
Marlon Murray
Learned how to provide the first aid.
Aiden Muliett
Aiden Muliett
Very good classAlly made it very fun
Justin Mancini
Justin Mancini
Peter Ayoub
Peter Ayoub
Prakash was very enjoyable approachable fun and supportive. He was very empathetic in his teaching and instruction and corrections. I had a very enjoyable and supportive experience with him in the classroom
joan rupram
joan rupram
I really enjoyed every time I spent throughout .
alonge segun
alonge segun
I did my first aid training for the first time and Karen was fun and so knowledgeable. Would do the training with them again for sure!!
Puneet Khangura
Puneet Khangura
Surprised that we weren’t bored out of our minds when we took the course
the filipinaa
the filipinaa
Our instructor Karen was amazing. Very knowledgeable. Highly recommended
Radesia Campbell
Radesia Campbell
Karen Parker is funny and smart and one of the best instructors I’ve came across ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Silvester Nirmal
Silvester Nirmal

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