An Activist's Guide To Basic First Aid

Action First Aid, From the Black Cross Health Care Collective:

Be prepared and take care - read this short guide to keeping safe at protests

» Preparation
» Medication in jail
» Blood, Bruises and Broken-bones

Preparation

What to wear:
* Comfortable, protective shoes that you can run in.
* Shatter-resistant eye protection (ie. Sunglasses, swim goggles)
* Weather-related gear (ie. Rain gear or sun hat)

What to bring:
* Lots of water in a plastic bottle, to drink
* Energy snacks
* A small medi-kit with bandages, plasters, tape etc.
* Just enough money for pay-phone, food, transportation.
* Watch, paper, pen for accurate documentation of events, police brutality, injuries.
* Inhaler, epipen, insulin or other meds if applicable.
* Several days of prescription medication and doctor's note in case of arrest.
* Menstrual pads, if needed. Avoid using tampons - if you're arrested you may not have a chance to change it (tampons left in for more than six hours increase your risk of developing toxic shock syndrome)

What not to do:
* Don't wear things that can easily be grabbed (ie. Dangly earrings or other jewellery, ties, loose hair)
* Don't go to the demo alone, if you can help it. It is best to go with an affinity group or some friends who know you well.
* Don't forget to eat food and DRINK LOTS OF WATER.
* Don't drink alcohol before a demo.
* Don't take drugs before a demo or carry them with you. This includes cannabis.
* Don't bring any ID, if possible.

Medication in jail
If you are risking arrest and take medication for any health condition that might pose serious problems were your medication to be interrupted ( such as: behavioural disorders, HIV, diabetes, hypertension) you should be aware that you may not have access to proper medication while you are in jail.

A letter from a doctor will help. Three copies are needed, one for the legal team, one for the medical team, and one for you. It should include your name, diagnosis, that you must have access to medication at all times, a list of all meds required and a statement that you can must be allowed to keep meds on person to administer properly, and that no substitutions are acceptable.

Since your name will be on the document, you may want to hide it on your body as a sort of insurance policy - perhaps you won't need it and then could eat it and participate in jail solidarity tactics, but perhaps you'll be worn out already at the time of arrest and will want to cite out in order to take care of yourself. Better to cite than pass out.

Make sure that your affinity group and the legal team is aware of your needs so they can help care and advocate for you.