First Aid Kits

As a retired Paramedic, I will tell you that most of what is in a commercial first aid kit is mostly cr ap and impractical . The best option is to create your own.

wa8yxm wrote:
I agree that home made is best here.. I can, however, tell you the single most important thing which you can not buy to put in a first aid kit... A WORKING BRAIN.. now, this may sound like either a joke or an insult but be assured it is neither.

I have known a lot of people, INCLUDING SOME POLICE DISPATCHERS, who when faced with a clear 1st aid life or death situation basically FROZE.. their brains locked up and ceased to work.. Now it may have been something as simple as an overturned travel mug (Don't just stand there, UPRIGHT IT) (that was my wife who froze by the way) or it may be "THE BABY's TURNING BLUE!!!!) the police dispatcher, that one was LIFE as it turned out (We won't talk about that other option since it was avoided) you see another dispatcher, who happened to be a fully trained EMT instructor, took over his phone, I took over her radio and business was taken care of.. The Baby was breathing and crying lustily by the time EMS arrived. And I can tell you a sweeter sound I've never heard than that baby's cry.

So, if you have not, Contact the Red Cross about a first aid class for everyone concerned. In my case.. Job requirement, so they taught it.. And glad I've been for some of the things my instructors taught me.

For e ample. Twice I've had someone collapse in my arms. The first time it was my instructor (Test time). The second time.. Was not a drill.

X2 Big Time.
Also you should take a basic first aid course at the least and never allow your ambitions to override your abilities.
I have seen a overambitious First Responder endanger a victums life once and as a EMT at that time I had to stop them from further injuring the victum.

I agree that home made is best here.. I can, however, tell you the single most important thing which you can not buy to put in a first aid kit... A WORKING BRAIN.. now, this may sound like either a joke or an insult but be assured it is neither.

I have known a lot of people, INCLUDING SOME POLICE DISPATCHERS, who when faced with a clear 1st aid life or death situation basically FROZE.. their brains locked up and ceased to work.. Now it may have been something as simple as an overturned travel mug (Don't just stand there, UPRIGHT IT) (that was my wife who froze by the way) or it may be "THE BABY's TURNING BLUE!!!!) the police dispatcher, that one was LIFE as it turned out (We won't talk about that other option since it was avoided) you see another dispatcher, who happened to be a fully trained EMT instructor, took over his phone, I took over her radio and business was taken care of.. The Baby was breathing and crying lustily by the time EMS arrived. And I can tell you a sweeter sound I've never heard than that baby's cry.

So, if you have not, Contact the Red Cross about a first aid class for everyone concerned. In my case.. Job requirement, so they taught it.. And glad I've been for some of the things my instructors taught me.

For e ample. Twice I've had someone collapse in my arms. The first time it was my instructor (Test time). The second time.. Was not a drill.

Shopped a bunch of them and settled on this one. Added a few items to it including some trauma shears, more bandaids and larger bandages, and a few medications. So far so good.

Adventure Medical Kits Weekender

Reminds me I'm due to go through it and check expiration dates an replenish.

When my kids were young and we would travel the wife thought it would be goo dot have a first aid kids just in case. We looked around for one that had a good price. I then took the list of what was in it to our family doctor and asked if it had everything we would need. He gave me some additional items to add that we would need. The wife then went out and purchased them. At that point we felt real comfortable with it and as I recall we always had what we neeeded to care for the kids.

I really like the Adventure Medical brand. You can get them at REI.com or MEC.ca. I like the Ultralight line the best, they are very compact (ideal for both hiking and fitting in a small trailer) but are packed with quite a bit of stuff, and range from small single person day hike kits all the way up to professional kits. I have the .9 size kit, and I have never needed anything more for day hikes, camping for a week, or even Disney World. I tend to keep extra BandAid's and Moleskin to restock though, they tend to go the quickest especially with kids.

The good ones are the kits sold at industrial supply places like Grainger's that are made for job injuries. I start with one of these and add a couple quick clotting packets and butterfly bandages and liquid bandage solution and rolls of tape, adhesive and compression. I also carry one of the rolled up leg splints. Duct tape has also been handy on a couple of occasions.

Get one of the flash card sets that quickly cover how to deal with an injury. It will make it faster and easier to respond to an injury.

Think about a broken limb or a serious cut and how worthless the average first aid kit will be in such circumstances.

From my doctor I also get a prescription for pain meds that do not have a NSAID added.

Costco has a good kit. We picked up a few for home, RV, and boat use.

Make your own would be best to suit your needs. Homemade or purchased, make sure your check it frequently for expiration dates. Also after storage, if medication or ointments are left in extreme temperatures they may denature and not be good. Many of those alcohol pads and iodine pads dry up after a while even when sealed.

Brett K wrote:
Can anyone recommend a good one? I already have a bottle of Makers Mark for the pain, but a kit with some more practical equipment is on the shopping list. Anyone have one the recommend?

I've never really been happy with the store-bought versions. Seems like it's easier/less expensive to make my own from all that expiration dated stuff in the various medicine chests of my home.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/05/make-your-own-diy-first-aid-kit-for-the-road.html

To the above list off the top of my head I know I add calamine/caldryl lotion and witch hazel.I store everything in a toiletry bag but that fish tackle box looks cool.