first aid kit advice.

[Jenn]

Hey guys I am putting together my first aid kit. Can you give me some advice for things I should have in it? Thanks in advance for your advice.

[MSilvia]

Put simply, first aid specific to the injuries you're likely to sustain and health problems you're likely to encounter.

I think it's easiest to set up a kit by category. For example:

Cuts/stings

• band-aids
• gauze
• medical tape
• antibiotic ointment
• vinegar
• tweezers

Sunburn

• Sunscreen wipes
• Aloe burn cream

Sea Sickness

• Bonine tablets or the equivalent

Sprains/muscle injuries

• Triangular bandage or large bandana
• chemical heat pack
• Naproxen Sodium

Hypothermia

• Mylar blanket

Barotrauma/DCS

• Oxygen, if you want a comprehensive kit and don't mind it being large

General use

• Pencil & sharpener
• Waterproof notepad
• chemical light sticks
• pocket knife/EMT shears

If you have allergies, are travelling to malaria country, etc. You might want to make additions to your basic kit.

[John Yaskowich]

Good list by Matt. I would add a flashlight for treating emergencies that happen at night / low light conditions.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by John Yaskowich

I would add a flashlight for treating emergencies that happen at night / low light conditions.

That's why I have glowsticks... no need to check the batteries. Besides, I usually have at least one light with my dive gear.

[Rileybri]

Ya know having been a professional EMT in AZ and SAR tech for FEMA for many years it always seamed strange that we carried Band-Aids? They are basically useless in a first aide situation in the field. Any bleeding you encounter will be to much for a band aid and they are useless when wet. They are great for covering ur cuts you don’t have to look at them but they are otherwise useless.

that said my First aid kit contains CPR mask, different types of gauze and absorbident materials (bleeding of different levels), Med tape, duct tape (if ya cant duck it F#ck it!) mole skin, second skin, iodine, Neosporin, and splinting materials Tylenol Advil pepto, Antihistamine and Epi pin and calamine lotion space blanket. (if ya want to try and sue me for sticking your swollen hived out anaphylactic ass with epi go for it!). that is it .....I am going to add vinegar to mine for sea bore issues.

Remember you do not need to be a rolling ambulance just need to stabilize the patient/victim and stop the bleeding long enough to get them to definitive care. If you are more than a mile or more than 1 hr. away you are "technical" in a wilderness medical situation.

[Jenn]

Thanks guys great advice. I will start putting my kit together soon.

[Rileybri]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Thanks guys great advice. I will start putting my kit together soon.

I almost forgot rubber/laytex gloves! I dont care if you are my sister or a stranger if its just a splinter or arterial "flow" I am slapping gloves on EVERY TIME!!

Check out AMK they make some great kits for just about any situation you will find your self in and they do it all for you!

[MSilvia]

I like a few band-aids in the kit just because they help keep the antibiotic from getting wiped off of a small cut too quickly. It's still just a boo-boo patch though. Actual injuries, as Bri pointed out, require a more substantial bandage.

I have a dive kit that has the stuff I need for treating most minor dive problems, and a much more substantial kit for travel. That one has permetherin, emergency rations, water purification tablets, and a small field hospital worth of over-the-counter meds, bandages, splinting materials, and perscription medications. I generally stock up before major trips to out of the way places, and often leave a lot of those extras with the locals. I figure if I'm heading home the next day, a package of antibiotics, anti-malaria drugs, etc. will do a lot more good in a third world village than expired in my linen closet at home.

[Rileybri]

It is all about having the correct tool for the job! like Alton Brown (cheff of food network) says stay away from uni taskers! what ever you get and in what ever configuration you get it in think it out first. where are you going to be what are you likely to run into? they dont have to be complicated (especally if you do not have FA training or limited FA training).

Knoledge and preparidness are the best ways to avoid ever having to go into you FA kit.

on the side of "bigger" kits like Matt emntioned. Ya I have a large blue bin (think christmass decorations storage) full of FA supplys of all sorts, shapes and sizes. I will go through it before a rtip and only take the things I need (I always have a kit in my car and at my desk). One of rthe more useful pieces of kit that I have (aside from opiat pain killers!) is a dental repair kit consisting of bees wax oral numbing agent floss and a cap. That of everything I carry gets used the most strangely enough???

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by Rileybri

That of everything I carry gets used the most strangely enough???

Still? I thought you got those teeth fixed.