Chapter 13: First Aid Ranger
Lily: "Notice, shout, help! First Aid Rangers never wait!"
A First Aid Ranger's three jobs: notice someone is hurt, shout for a grown-up, and help in small, safe ways until help comes. Always check first that it's safe for you: no fire, no traffic, no deep water, nothing strange on the ground.
What Rangers know
- Calling for help. Shout "Help!" and send a friend running for a grown-up. Say who is hurt, where you are and what happened. Learn your camp's or country's emergency number with your grown-up.
- Someone won't wake up. Don't shake hard. Call their name and tap their shoulder. If they don't answer, shout for a grown-up right away and stay with them.
- Bleeding. Press firmly on the wound with a clean cloth (or your hand inside a plastic bag) and keep pressing while someone gets a grown-up. If blood soaks through, put more cloth on top and keep pressing.
- Nosebleed. Sit up, lean forward (not back), and pinch the soft part of the nose for 10–15 minutes. Spit out blood rather than swallowing.
- Choking. If someone can cough, tell them to keep coughing. If they can't breathe, speak or cough, shout for a grown-up now.
- Broken bone or a bad fall. Keep the person still and comfortable. Don't move them unless they're in danger. Get a grown-up.
- Burns. Use cool running water for 20 minutes (Chapter 2). Take off rings or bracelets near the burn. No butter, oil, toothpaste or ice.
- Small cuts. Wash with clean water, cover, tell (Chapter 2).
- Bites and scratches from dogs, cats, monkeys or bats. Stay away from animals you don't know, and never tease or corner them. If one bites or scratches you, wash the wound at once with soap and lots of running water for a long time (about 15 minutes), then tell a grown-up and go to the clinic the same day. Some animal bites need special injections.
- Snakes. Step back slowly and go around wide. If someone is bitten:
- keep them still and calm, lying down
- take off rings and tight things near the bite
- get them carried to a clinic fast
- don't cut the bite, suck it, tie it tightly, put ice on it, or try to catch the snake
- Stings. Move away from bees and wasps. If someone has trouble breathing or a swollen face after a sting, that's an emergency: get a grown-up fast.
- Poison. If someone swallowed medicine, fuel, bleach or chemicals: get a grown-up fast, keep the bottle to show the health worker, and don't make them throw up.
Ranger checklist
- ☐ I check it's safe for me first.
- ☐ I can shout and say who, where and what.
- ☐ I know to press hard on bleeding with a clean cloth.
- ☐ I can show the nosebleed position (sit, lean forward, pinch).
- ☐ I know to keep someone with a hurt bone still.
- ☐ I wash any animal bite or scratch for a long time and tell the same day.
- ☐ I know what NOT to do for a snakebite.
- ☐ I keep poison bottles to show the health worker.
Earn your badge (First Aid ⛑️)
| Level | Who | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| ❤️ Heart | Little Rangers | Say: "Notice, shout, help!" and who, where, what. |
| 🥉 Bronze | Little Rangers | Show with props: pressing on bleeding, the nosebleed position, cool water for burns. |
| A trained grown-up signs off Silver and Gold. Practice uses dolls, manikins and blankets only. |
Watch and learn
- Planned: Wash a Small Cut
- Planned: Call for Help
- Planned: Too Hot / Too Cold
- Planned: Cool a Burn
- Planned: Snake on the Trail (Grandma Willow)
- Handbook Chapter 2
Fact-checked Oct 21, 2026, approved by David McKellips.