DMNW’s Guide To Preventing A Trip To The First Aid Tent

Injuring yourself in general is the worst. Injuring yourself at a festival is double the worst. Breaking your leg sucks, but breaking your leg at a festival and missing your favourite set double sucks.  We’ll be honest – limb breaking at festivals isn’t super common, but there are a handful of issues that keep the first aid tents bumping (and not in a good way).

We talked to some lovely hard-working volunteers that dedicate some of their festival time in the first aid tent to figure out which problems they encounter most often. We’re going to tell you all about them and some simple tips to prevent them so you can keep smiling on the dance floor.

Issue: Dehydration

Tips : Water, water, water! Water is life, yo. Staying hydrated and cool is essential to a successful music festival.We promise you the only way to rage and rave four nights in a row is to hydrate like a crazy person. Dehydrate yourself on day one, and there’s no way you’ll be making it to the final evening. Dehydration can cause headaches, tiredness, and light-headedness. If you are severely dehydrated, you may even begin to have a hard time breathing or fully pass out unconscious. None of which are cool on the dance floor! We get it, you’re out there having the best time of your life, water is the last thing on your mind! Here are some helpful hints to keep you liquified!

• Locate all water-fill up stations! Find the one closest to your camp, the one closest to your favourite stage, and the one that’s on the walk to the bathroom!
• Have a (reusable) water bottle on you at all time. Tape it to your hand if you have to! Fill that baby up every single time you are walking by a fill-up station. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
• Although it may seem like pepperoni sticks and chips seem like the ultimate festival foods – try to incorporate more fruit into your meals because there is a HECK of a lot of water in fruit! (We’re not talking about vodka infused watermelon either folks…)
• Put an alarm on your watch or your phone. Have it go off every hour to remind you to chug that water goodness.
• Remember that alcohol, sunshine, and dancing all dehydrate you like crazy. In the sun for an hour? Drink another bottle of water. Drink a beer? Now drink a water. Haven’t left the rave tent in 3 hours? Go drink a river.

Issue: Foot Injuries

Tips: Foot injuries are the top culprit found in the first aid tents and depending on the injury they can put you out for an hour to a couple of weeks. Crazy statistic… Did you know there are more feet at festivals than there are people?! LOL. Sorry. Anyways, that is a lot of feet that could potentially get injured! Sharp things, hot things, someone raging at a dubstep show, rocks, tree stumps…. the list goes on and on of pain inducing things that can give you a gimp foot. Your feet carry you through the festival and it’s important to keep those babies safe! Keep reading to learn some helpful hints to keep your feet healthy.

• Footwear: NO FLIP-FLOPS ALLOWED AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BARE FOOT. Don’t even think about strap-on sandals! Get yourself some reliable runners (tennis shoes for y’all Americans) that cover the entire foot. Stop stressing if your shoes match your shirt and starting smiling knowing that your feet are going to go home in one piece.
• Start taking a multivitamin now to begin strengthening your nails. No this is not a joke. We have had too many first hand experiences with toenails cracking or completely falling. You don’t want your feet to resemble Shrek’s.
• Pack a foot first aid kit in your fanny pack or backpack. Bandages, moleskines, extra pair of socks and a tensor bandage. Don’t miss a set because of a bloody blister!
• If you do cut your foot – be sure to clean it properly in order to not cause some weird infection.
• Show those feet some love. Wash them and put on a fresh pair of socks. Stretch them out in a yoga class. Or our personal favourite – lay in a hammock and gently sing to your feet about how much you appreciate all they do for you.