Dean Lofthouse

Spikes, ladders and top of ladder roped, what a whimp

Found these in the pond in my back garden one day, so I told our lass to get her wet suit on and ride the suckers. Threw her up in the air in the second photo, good job I had my camera in sports mode

I know it was the case in Germany when I was there. Which was why, if there was a serious accident, people just carried on driving past without helping. I don't know what the situation is now.

LOL. Very true Drew. I've seen people go queezy at the sight of a spot of blood and pass out at the sight of a needle approaching their arm. Andy: I am ex military and do think military first aid training (or aspects of it) would benefit, especailly pressure points. I wonder how many people have died of arterial bleeds because the first aider hasn't known how to stem the blood flow. I do remember however, a story of a Sgt who stopped at a roadside accident in Germany in which an unconscious young lady had an arterial bleed from a thigh wound. He used a pressure point in the groin area to stem the bleed and saved her life. She tried to proseccute for rape, which thankfully was thrown out. There could also ethical issues in which you could, if first aid is used incorrectly, be prosecuted for contributing to killing the casualty?? Oh what a world we live in.

.....and they will not take no for an answer. They rang me 4 weeks ago and i said no. Eventually I said ok send me a pack and I'll sign it and send it back. They rang me a week later after I'd binned the pack without opening it. I told them I didn't receive it and could they send me another. and another and another They still haven't got the message!!

You might do well checking the carb diaphrams haven't gone hard or stiff or maybe the fuel gauze in the carb is partially blocked. I wouldn't of thought the diaphrams would be hard on an MS unless it has been stood for some period of time without being used.

Your so vague Linda, what days would those be?

I've had the lockjack for 4 years, used it intermittently and this last six month I have just clicked with it. Stick with it chaps, the controlling the decent comes after a while but you do get it. Once mastered, you'll never turn back.

Let me throw another spanner in the works. What if you have been carrying the field dressing about on your harness, rubbing on branches, laying back on it. The packaging has become damage and the dressing has become damp. Perfect habitat for all sorts of bugs. You then whap out the dressing, whack it on your buddies wound and kill him with a lysteria infection. You may as well stuff an oily rag in the wound. At least in a first aid box carried close to hand it's not getting pummled and abused day in day out. ...and don't go telling me you change them every few weeks

Don't go there anymore, since I've got into Tree Surgery I'm loaded.

Carrying a field dressing doesn't do any harm and if it suits you, carry one. However the point I am trying to make is there's more to it than slapping on a field dressing. I would like to think that whoever helped or tried to stem the flow of blood on me, would know what he she were doing. ...and if we were all honest, we could know a lot more about large wound treatment than we do now. It should really be part of chainsaw training.

I'm starting to use my lockjack quite a lot now, not good in tight spots but excellent for limb walking or spiking up adjacent vertical stems. Decending ??? Excellent!

Looks like a scene from cardboard city under the arches down town with all the local dropouts

Has everyone seen the defender 130 chassis on Ebay BTW 2 year old, could come in for someone.

I think the rear veiw is cooool

I went to price taking a huge hedge out on a building site. When I got there the 360 driver siad to me, "I've made it easy for you and ripped the hedge out with the machine" He'd ragged the hedge out, roots an all and dragged them across a muddy site piling them all in a huge mud and rock strewn pile. I told him the only option left open to him now, was to either get in loads of skips or set fire to the pile.

Where do you keep the scalpels, in the truck. Hemostats? That's what I called prepared for action.

LOL , nice one

I get that regular. Or when you go back to start the job a huge pile of garden waste is piled right at the side of where you told them you were going to park your chipper.

That's how i work where I can and I make a brash pile to drop everything onto. That way I can drop most of the tree without the need for lowering and you can have a tree down in half the time. I must admit though, there's a lot of one handed cutting and holding

Right chaps. Firstly, I started this thread because as Peter said, points need raising. It's no good carrying a field dressing if you don't know how to you it. A "large wound" first aid course and knowledge is better than any field dressing on your harness. A field dressing only covers the wound, it's no good covering up the wound while it's still peeing blood out underneath. The first thing I would do is get myself out the tree, you only have seconds to make choices and I wouldn't waste them putting on a field dressing to an arterial bleed. A turnoquet, if only applied for a minuite even, gives you time to investigate the wound, gather yourself, appraise the situation and find pressure points Shock is a killer, I wouldn't look at the wound either, I would just concentrate on getting down. If you pass out up the tree through blood loss or shock your hard to treat and valuable time is wasted getting you down. Once you are down, you stem the blood loss which ever way you can, forget about tornoquets are a last resort. Wrap a cloth around the arm and twist until theres enough pressure to stop the bleed and you can fish around in the and have a look. If you can see the artery apply pressure, either just outside the wound, on a pressure point nearby (if you know what pressure point are) or stick your fingers in the wound and grab the sucker! Once you have pressure on or a tournoquet, release the pressure every now and again to allow blood to flow to the damaged limb to stop it dying THEN, when you have stopped the bleeding apply the field dressing and pressure, if you have laserated arterial bleed as in Petes case, there's no way he could have self treated and got pressure on up the tree, he could have used a pressure point but would have passed out through shock and we'd of lost the poor soul The best treatment for PeteMc's wound was get the frig down the tree and fast, tournoque while you find a pressure point (a few seconds) if you can't find one whack a field dressing on and apply pressure with the heel of your hand. The best thing you can take up a tree and this is only MY opinion, is first aid knowledge, your hands and a tape sling

Basic stuff Bob, I'm suprised the Council haven't taught you better first aid. We all carry tornoquets, either in sling form or a 100ft rope. Put a sling round the arm, basket it and twist tight using the silky sheath as a lever. Come on, give us something a little more difficult. ...and yes, the toolbox is very close all the time. I just don't agree carrying so much cr@p up the tree with me.

That is a very likely scenario in forestry.

Should we also carry a phone and card with grid reference on. Where do we draw the line and where does it become rediculous?

First aid training should teach improvisation. Otherwise we'd be all stuffed if we came across a casualty in the middle of no-where and we didn't have a first aid kit or field dressing. Shock horror what would we do without one