Aside from having staff present and trained for immediate response, having the right equipment can literally be the difference between life and death for many gym injuries.
Based on the types of injuries that can potentially happen in gyms, owners and managers should be prepared with equipment for crushing and traumatic type injuries, cuts and scraps, and of course doing CPR.
Crushing and Trauma:
Here's a relatively comprehensive trauma kit that has tools for stopping life threatening bleeding, splinting musculoskeletal injuries, and even chest seals for treating potential penetrating chest wall injuries.
Cuts and Scrapes: Having access to things like rolled gauze or bandaids can help prevent the spread of disease within your gym. We recommend these Curad Heavy-Duty Bandaids since they will actually have a chance
of staying on the sweaty and active athlete who needs them.
Another option for larger scrapes would be gauze pads (https://amzn.to/3BzXHgD) or rolled gauze. An issue here its they don't have much adhering power, so be sure to also have some Coban (also called vet wrap, found here https://amzn.to/3JrAHCm). This material is fantastic since it sticks to itself and is very durable. Some gyms may choose to have antibiotic ointment for gym goers to use after they wash their injury with soap and water. This can help prevent infection, but be aware that some people are allergic to neosporin, so consider carrying bacitracin zinc instead. This has similar benefits with less risk of reaction.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation:
Outside of an ambulance or hospital, the single most important tool for a person with no pulse and no respirations is an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). These are pricey, but more than double the patients chance of survival. In addition to an AED, it's important to have a rescue breath mask, scissors for removing clothing (in trauma kit mentioned earlier), and a razor for removing chest hair and getting the AED pads to stick.
This kit has all of the tools mentioned and can easily be stored attached to the AED. If you are looking to get your staff trained and prepared to respond to accidents in your gym, be sure to contact Capital City CPR for a course!
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