Basic First Aid Kits

[Buzzcut1]

I was asked to put together a short piece on first aid.

My Background, Retired Santa Cruz County Firefighter, Current EMT & Serivces Director of Arcadia Ambulance

I am not going to try and teach you how do do things. What I am going to do is show what I carry and why. I am going to split it into two parts; a kit that I carry in my day pack away from the TC and extra gear that stays in the camper.

All the gear in the world will do you no good if you do not now how, why, and when to use it. Most first aid kits come with a manual the time to read it is not when you or your companions is injured. You need to read it the day you buy the kit and go thought the kit as you read the manual to understand the tools and techniques.

Take a basic Red Cross or Wilderness first aid course it could save a friends life.

My thoughts on First Aid kits: if you buy the big deluxo kit it will never leave the TC and you will not have it with you on that hike when someone gets hurt as it is too big, bulky and a pain to carry.

Get a small compact one that will not take up too much room in the day pack and keep it there. Most kits come with a few bandages, scissors, some ointments, material for a sling, tape and an elastic wrap.

I like to add a few extras.

For lacerations: you have blood and a large area, Feminine Mini pads and Kotex work wonders, they are sterile, designed to absorb blood and can quickly be placed on a wound and taped into place.

Splints: I carry one, a SAM Splint. It is flexible and can be molded to fit any extremity

ABD or other large dressing to cover larger areas, CVS carries these

Medications: this is not a one size fits all. you should carry the basics, aspirin, ibuprofen, antacids, antihistamines. In addition carry meds ( clearly labeled) specific to any member of your party and know what they are for and proper dosage and how to give them.
(insulin, nitroglycerin, epi pens)

Gloves: to protect you and to protect your friends. Mine are Nitrile, many people have latex allergies don't use latex gloves. Hands have cuts, people can have diseases in body fluids, always wear gloves.

Gauze roll bandages: why because sometimes tape just doesn't stick and you can put a pad over the wound wrap it into place with the gauze roll and tie it off



LED headlamp: ever try to clean remove a splinter or bandage a cut in the dark? You need two hands to bandage use a headlamp rather than sticking a flashlight that your hands touched into you mouth



This is my First Aid Kit. It goes in the day pack, in the kayak, in my camelback, in the tc. Where I go it goes ( you feel kind of dumb when you get hurt and its an hour away sitting in the TC).




now I may or may not carry an instant Icepack. they add weight and I have had them go off in my pack before.

You have noticed that my portable kit is rather sparse and that is so I will take it with me.





Now as far as in the TC, I carry the kitchen sink but then again I am an EMT and I want to have my gear with me to deal with anything but what should you have?



Sterile water: to rise off anything chemical that is burning your skin or to flush the eyes.

Instant Ice Packs: for swelling, heat related issues etc

more bandages, pads, tape

Cortizone cream for stings

Now everthing here is available across the counter at a CVS, wallmart, Rite Aid

but if you are not comfortable putting together a kit by all means go buy the premade deluxe kit and keep it in the TC and get a small kit to put in your daypack.



Ivy block and technu to stop the rash from that evil green plant.

But most of all know that your first aid kit is for minor cuts and dings. For anything more call 911 and get the pros coming. Your kit with proper knowledge may just hold the fort until EMS gets there. Don't be afraid to make the call. It will not inconvenience them, its what they get paid to do. In these days of budget cuts, stations with many calls get to stay open instead of getting shuttered and the guys there know it

I will add more to this but feel free to pepper me with questions either here or by pm

Eric

[tad94564]

I had to do CPR earlier this year on a co-worker.

We had no CPR mask, so all we could do was chest compression. I'm told doing the breathes is no longer taught. The take way from this was/is we had no way to clear his airway.

Spent years having CPR busted in my head.. thought I would never ever need it, and BAM! We are breaking a guys chest, waiting for the EMT's to arrive.

[Reddog1]

I am trying to absorb all of the info posted. After the thread dies out, I will review all of the information, and decide what I should get. I am thinking my wife's vehicle, my truck/TC my Samurai and Home. I kinda think home should be covered if one of our vehicles is home, and use one of those.

I am very pleased to say, I am 71 years young, and have never needed a first aid kit or fire extinguisher, ain't that great?

Wayne

[c_traveler2]

Buzzcut1 wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:

Another thing I've thought about, but have not added, are some of the bleed-stopping first aid materials like HemCon strips or QuickClot. What is your opinion on that?

They work well

Funny thing, as an On Duty EMT in CA I cannot apply it, paramedic skill (roll eyes) but you as a civilian can...

I'm subject to nose bleeds and use the QuikClot kit for that, they do a great job in stopping nose bleed.

[Reddog1]

Mike,

I will take a look, thanks.

[Mello_Mike]

Reddog1 wrote:
I see a lot of Emergency First Aid kits for sale. Not knowing much about the subject, it would be easy to buy one with a lot of useless stuff or maybe the entire kit is just junk. Are there any kits that meet the basic requirements that you would recommend? I appreciate that you would probably add stuff to most of them, I'm thinking things like skipro3 added to his kit.

Wayne

Wayne,
I built my own FAK, but the Adventure .9 is is a pretty decent starter kit for the money. Highly rated, too.

Adventure .9 FAK

My FAK

[Reddog1]

I see a lot of Emergency First Aid kits for sale. Not knowing much about the subject, it would be easy to buy one with a lot of useless stuff or maybe the entire kit is just junk. Are there any kits that meet the basic requirements that you would recommend? I appreciate that you would probably add stuff to most of them, I'm thinking things like skipro3 added to his kit.

Wayne

[Ski_Pro_3]

In my kit I have some of those butterfly bandages to close long cuts.
A box of 100 is under $5
http://www.amazon.com/ECONOMY-VALUE-BUTTERFLY-CLOSURE-STRIPS/dp/B0013H53YW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=14...



Burn Gel is a god-send as most campers have or are around fire.
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Jel-Relief-Minor-Burns/dp/B0001KFXCO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1416374529&s...



Quick clot to control bleeding;
http://www.amazon.com/Quikclot-Advanced-Clotting-Bleeding-Package/dp/B001BCNTHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&q...

[Buzzcut1]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:


So Can anybody suggest everyday things that could substitute for first aid in an emergency situation?

Well, as a long-ago Ski Patroller.... our splints had to be easily-alterable and disposable. Cardboard is what we used - it's easily shaped to almost any situation, and when folded into a triangle around a limb - is remarkably strong. To immobilize a wrist injury, a magazine works nicely, wrapped around the injury and taped. And our go-to bandage overwraps: "cravats". Basically, 18" squares of cotton fabric. Can be tied around splints (or as padding inside a splint), hold gauze dressings in place, act as a sling, or be used as a tourniquet. Granted, this is all "old school" - but it worked.

We used cardboard splint on our engines and ambulances. They don't hold up well in the wet or in a backpack that gets dragged around the woods, A SAM splint can go though falling into the river and still work as well as day one..

That is the thing you have to keep in mind for a hiking first aid kit.
can I beat the snot out of it and its contents and still have an effective kit? Zip lock bags, waterproof pill bottles, ways to tie bandages and splits in place when it is wet , cold , muddy, snowing.

In a TC you still have to be mindful that you have limited storage space unlike a fiver, class A or a bumper pull trailer and you shouldn't go all out with a mega kit, but you can carry gear that would not survive in the backpack.

For the TC First Aid Kit figure out your storage dimensions before you go buy a kit it will same a lot of repacking and cursing when it fit that cubby shelf.

[twodownzero]

Thank you for posting. I really need to get both a small and a larger kit set up.

[silversand]

Very comprehensive! Superb.

I especially like the nitrile glove section. You have highlighted a few new items we will add to our "kit".

I used to travel with a surgeon (carrying a substantial portable "surgical kit" on major kayak expeditions through Latin America), however, this is not always convenient or possible :B

Cheers,
S-

[sabconsulting]

Many thanks for putting this together. The advice on what to take when hiking is priceless.

Steve.

[Bigfoot85]

Thanks!!! Great advice we will use!

[K_Mac]

Great Post. I,ll be adding the splint and sterile H2O, which I don't carry now. I also leave one in my boat and in the saddlebag of my bike. It was my job at work to check for expireation dates, (good tip)and restocking all our stations and Vehicles, weekly.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:


So Can anybody suggest everyday things that could substitute for first aid in an emergency situation?

Well, as a long-ago Ski Patroller.... our splints had to be easily-alterable and disposable. Cardboard is what we used - it's easily shaped to almost any situation, and when folded into a triangle around a limb - is remarkably strong. To immobilize a wrist injury, a magazine works nicely, wrapped around the injury and taped. And our go-to bandage overwraps: "cravats". Basically, 18" squares of cotton fabric. Can be tied around splints (or as padding inside a splint), hold gauze dressings in place, act as a sling, or be used as a tourniquet. Granted, this is all "old school" - but it worked.