These first aid basics are meant to give you an idea of the most common afflictions that can occur on boating holidays in Australia and the basic remedies for those ills. We give some pre sailing advice for all those planning a skippered yacht charter or bareboat yacht charter and then cover the most common on board illnesses, including seasickness, and sunburn.

Before you take sailing holidays, make sure that you and everyone you're planning to take sailing knows how to swim.

It is strongly recommend that you know the life-saving techniques of Expired Air Resuscitation (EAR) and...CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) regardless of whether or not you plan to go cruising... Being on the water increases the amount of time that emergency personnel need to get to you, and CPR and EAR is the best way to keep someone alive while rescue personnel are on their way.

CPR is beyond the scope of web pages to teach, but your local St John Ambulance course can teach you the technique in only a few hours. To show you how to perform CPR and the steps involved you'll find detailed procedure at: Emergency Techniques

Among its services, St John Ambulance offers comprehensive First Aid Training and a range of quality First Aid Kits - courses include:

• Senior First Aid Course - This 18 hour course equips you with skills to manage life threatening injury and illness and other lesser conditions.
  
• Advanced First Aid Course - A 15 hour course of high level first aid training
  
• First Aid at Sea Course - This is a 35 hour course, including training to a medallion certificate level.

Your first aid charter boat kit

A first aid kit is supplied on every charter boat offering skippered yacht charters and bareboat charters along with a first aid manual...this first aid boating kit should be in a dry, watertight compartment with a list of contents on the box for easy reference... Check this out with your 'boat briefer' before leaving on your charter. Those contents should (at a minimum) include the items listed below.

One other thing: If anyone on board requires medication for an ongoing condition, make sure that medicine is on board. It's no good being 3-4 hours from a supply - and you need the medication now!

Staving off seasickness on boating holidays

Virtually anyone can be subject to sea sickness or motion sickness... In fact, 90% of people experience motion sickness at some point in their lives and only veteran ocean sailors seem unaffected.

Some old salts swear that they never feel the least bit queasy, but having that feeling develop can ruin an otherwise great sailing holiday. Following is a list of several actions you can take to minimise your chances of feeling nauseous on your yacht charter:

• Avoid alcohol (or a hangover).
• Avoid rich, greasy or spicy foods and apples.
• Focus on the horizon. Distractions such as steering the boat or helping with a job on deck can help you feel better, too.
• Keep some solid food in your stomach at all times. Crackers or bread make good choices.
• Sip small amounts of fizzy drinks such as ginger ale or clear soft drinks. Some people swear by this rule.
• Stay on deck. Stay in the fresh air, away from exhaust fumes.

Cause of seasickness

Motion sickness relates to our sense of spatial orientation, which tells the brain where the body is "in space": what direction it is moving, what direction it is pointing, and if it is turning or standing still...This spatial orientation is regulated by complex interaction of the 4 following mechanisms:

• both inner ears monitor the directions of motion in three dimensions.
• our eyes observe where our body is in relation to its surroundings as well as the direction of motion.
• Skin pressure receptors such as those located in the feet and seat sense in what direction the gravitational pull affects our body. (In other words, which side is up.)
• Muscle and joint sensory neural receptors report which parts of the body are in motion and in which relative direction.

All these sensory data will subsequently be processed in the central nervous system, which enables you to balance, move and position yourself properly in the three dimensional surroundings on board a charter yacht.

The symptoms of motion sickness appear when the brain receives conflicting messages from the four systems... A conflict on board your charter yacht can easily occur: when reading a book on deck, your eyes observe no motion, yet your inner ears feel the motion of the yacht due to the waves.

Symptoms

The first telltales of such a conflict are often lethargy and a slight drowsiness. But for the victims, it will usually start with a nauseous feeling and/or a slight cold sweat. Then these symptoms increase and the face becomes paler, perhaps even greenish. Any attempt to concentrate on a task will worsen this predicament. The nauseous feeling eventually becomes uncontrollable and leads to (sometimes violent) vomiting.

Prevention

Recent studies have shown that ginger root may be as effective as the other drug treatments but is associated with fewer side effects.

Several medicines can help combat seasickness, but most must be taken before the symptoms start. Hours before starting any sailing holidays take an over-the-counter antihistamine such as meclizine or dimenhydrinate... For longer trips, a prescription medication called a Transderm-Scopolamine patch can be worn behind the ear for up to three days at a time... Of course, like just about any other medication, you shouldn't take any of these medicines if you're pregnant without consulting your doctor. Even if you aren't pregnant, your doctor may be able to recommend a good remedy... Over-the-counter seasickness pills, such as Dramamine, must be taken an hour before starting your sailing holiday and like all other medications, can cause drowsiness and a dry mouth.

Keep an eye on anyone on the yacht charter who is feeling seasick. Seasickness can make you weak, disoriented, and extremely sleepy - a danger when on deck. If you notice the early symptoms, act immediately and:

• Help the seasick person to a comfortable spot in the fresh air, but not in direct sunlight.
• Don't give the person any task other than steering. Steering as well as studying the horizon works and will help to anticipate the boat's motion.
• Otherwise, lay in the cockpit to leeward with closed eyes.
• If you aren't feeling well, don't worry; almost all sailors feel queasy at some point.

If you throw up, try to do so off the leeward side of the boat, downwind of everyone (including yourself).

For those of you fixing lunch for a group of sailors, a meal on the water isn't the time to get fancy with spicy or greasy recipes. Stick with basic foods like sandwiches, with
easy-to-digest meats such as turkey, and throw in plenty of crackers, fruit, (not apples) biscuits and easy-to-eat (and digest) foods. On a rough day on the water, you will be glad you followed this first aid boating tip...

Steer clear of sunburn on boating holidays

The effects of being out in the sun all day, combined with the sun's rays reflected off the water, make sailors prime candidates for sunburn. These first aid tips can help you avoid having a painful sunburn at the end of the day:

• Put sunscreen on before you leave for a days cruising.
• Reapply sunscreen several times during the day - especially in wet conditions.
• Always use a sunscreen with a SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of at least 15. Try to always carry a stick of sunscreen in your pocket so you can frequently reapply sunscreen to noses, lips, and ears.
• Always wear a hat and sunglasses. (preferably polarized)
• If you're fair-skinned or sailing in the tropics, wear a long sleeved, lightweight cotton shirt (one with a collar to help protect your neck) and long pants. Guarding your skin this way makes your trip much more enjoyable. You'll be amazed at how tanned you'll get even when covered up all day.

If you do have severe sunburn, using aloe vera products helps soothe the skin. Drink plenty of cool fluids and try to wear loose-fitting cotton clothes to help your skin heal.

Defeating dehydration on a sailing holiday

Dehydration and heat exhaustion are two of the most dangerous illnesses for sailors because the body rejects the cure, which is to get cool and drink plenty of fluids...With severe dehydration, your body rejects any fluid intake by throwing up, making you further dehydrated. Severe dehydration can result in staying in a hospital hooked up to an IV to rehydrate. So try to drink as much fluid as you can while you're on the water.

In very hot conditions, you can get dehydrated even when you feel like you've been consuming fluids all day. One way to tell whether you're getting dehydrated is by how much you have to urinate...If you haven't had to use the head (marine toilet) all day, you need to drink a lot more water. For more about heat exhaustion go to: Heat Exhaustion

When you have to go, you have to go. But some people get nervous about using the head on bareboat or skippered yacht charters... How to use the head is well covered in your bareboat briefing. Understanding how to use the head, is better than using it and then discovering that you can't flush it. For a free rundown on using a marine toilet: refer to Marine Head (Toilet) System