First Aid Merit Badge

Requirements for the First Aid merit badge:

1. Satisfy your counselor that you have current knowledge of all first-aid requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks.
2. Do the following:
   1. Explain how you would obtain emergency medical assistance from your home, on a wilderness camping trip, and during an activity on open water.
   2. Define the term triage. Explain the steps necessary to assess and handle a medical emergency until help arrives.
   3. Explain the standard precautions as applied to bloodborne pathogens.
   4. Prepare a first aid kit for your home. Display and discuss its contents with your counselor.
3. Do the following:
   1. Explain what action you should take for someone who shows signals of shock, for someone who shows signals of a heart attack, and for someone who shows signals of stroke.
   2. Identify the conditions that must exist before performing CPR on a person. Then demonstrate proper technique in performing CPR using a training device approved by your counselor.
   3. Explain the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
   4. Show the steps that need to be taken for someone suffering from a severe cut on the leg and on the wrist. Tell the dangers in the use of a tourniquet and the conditions under which its use is justified.
   5. Explain when a bee sting could be life threatening and what action should be taken for prevention and for first aid.
   6. Explain the symptoms of heat stroke and what action needs to be taken for first aid and for prevention.
4. Do the following:
   1. Describe the signs of a broken bone. Show first-aid procedures for handling fractures (broken bones), including open (compound) fractures of the forearm, wrist, upper leg, and lower leg using improvised materials.
   2. Describe the symptoms and possible complications and demonstrate proper procedures for treating suspected injuries to the head, neck, and back. Explain what measures can be taken to reduce the possibility of further complicating these injuries.
5. Describe the symptoms, proper first-aid procedures, and possible prevention measures for the following conditions:
   1. Hypothermia
   2. Convulsions/seizures
   3. Frostbite
   4. Dehydration
   5. Bruises, strains, sprains
   6. Burns
   7. Abdominal pain
   8. Broken, chipped, or loosened tooth
   9. Knocked-out tooth
   10. Muscle cramps
6. Do TWO of the following:
   1. If a sick or injured person must be moved, tell how you would determine the best method. Demonstrate this method.
   2. With helpers under your supervision, improvise a stretcher and move a presumably unconscious person.
   3. With your counselor's approval, arrange a visit with your patrol or troop to an emergency medical facility or through an American Red Cross chapter for a demonstration of how an AED is used.
7. Teach another Scout a first-aid skill selected by your counselor.