With spring in full bloom, Butler Ambulance's Nathan Bacher wants people to have their first aid priorities straight as they spend more time outside.

A bee sting? You can treat that with an ice pack.

A dislocated shoulder? It's painful, but it will heal.

It's blood loss that makes the difference between life and death.

That's why Bacher, a Butler Ambulance operations supervisor, recommends people have a ready supply of bandages, gauze, tape and a heat blanket both in their house and in their car.

“That's what's going to save a life more than anything,” he said of being prepared. “Other things that cause pain are uncomfortable but aren't going to cause death.”

A heat blanket, or foil blanket, can be used to stop a person loosing blood and other fluids from going into shock and can also be used to signal for distress.

The tape and bandages, in addition to being used as a makeshift sling, can be used as a tourniquet.

“You basically tie it tight around your leg or arm or whatever extremity,” Bacher explained. “You put a stick in the middle, and then you can turn it until it gets tight, and you just tuck the stick underneath.”

But treatment for normally minor issues such as stings and bites should not be ignored. Bacher recommends stocking up on medicines such as aspirin, Ibuprofen, Benadryl and Neosporin.

And for people with serious allergies that can lead to the closing of their throats, they always need to have their prescribed EpiPens handy.

However, sometimes medicine only goes so far, and people have to step in to help each other. Bacher has recommendations on how people can be prepared in more serious situations.

One of these ways is “hands-only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).” CPR is a lifesaving technique used when someone has stopped breathing or their heartbeat has stopped.

“There's been a large push and focus on hands-only CPR,” Bacher said. “The reason for that is, whenever you're performing straight chest compressions, it creates a negative pressure in their thoracic cavity, which in turn, when the pressure's released effectively, makes the patient naturally inhale. So if you're doing 100 per minute you're making them breathe small amounts of air 100 times per minute.”

Bacher said this has been found to be more effective than mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“For lay rescuers trying to give a rescue breath, it's not very efficient,” he said. “It takes way too long to get a proper seal.”

Bacher emphasized the importance of someone doing CPR to keep a person alive.

“The key thing is the ambulance can get there with heart monitors and advanced care,” he said. “None of it matters if someone wasn't performing CPR ahead of time. The chance of survival decreases drastically.”

This is because, Bacher explained, with oxygen cut off from the brain for 6-8 minutes severe brain damage likely will be done.

When it comes to the Heimlich maneuver, Bacher said it can be done by yourself. This maneuver is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person's airway has been blocked by a piece of food or other object.

It can be done by yourself by getting level behind an object just below your rib cage and thrusting forward onto the object, whether it's a chair or the back of a tailgate, or any sizable object.

Always, Bacher said, call the 911 emergency center first because those dispatchers can trace the call to you.

With summer coming, Bacher has a caution for the people and drinking water.

“If you have been out all day and you don't have to use the restroom, then you're not hydrating enough,” he said. “Getting into summer we always have heat emergencies.”

Gene Troyan, Butler Ambulance director of operations, also has a warning sign for dehydrated people.

“They won't be sweating anymore,” he said.

Troyan recommended that a person should drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, and he cautioned against substituting sports drinks for water. He also said to make sure people break up their time in the sun with time in shade.

So if you want to take the heat, you have to stay cool.

Here are some items for your home first aid kit:- Bandages, tape and gauze- CPR barrier device- Medicines such as Benadryl, aspirin, Ibuprofen- Scissors- Hydrogen peroxide- Hospital gloves- Hand sanitizer- Sterile waterHere are some items for your car:- Heat/foil blanket- Cell phone charger- List of emergency phone numbers- Bandages, tape and gauze- CPR barrier device- Medicines such as Benadryl, aspirin, Ibuprofen- NeosporinHere are a few of emergency numbers to have at home or in your car:- Poison control: 800-222-1222- Butler County Emergency Center: 911- Your primary care physician or your child’s pediatrician’s number