First Aid Kits

After years of using very basic homemade FAKs, I finally purchased a decent little store bought kit ($55). I like this one because it gives a good general supply of most things, and it has a small separable kit with basics in it, great for taking along while day-hiking.

I've also been toying around for the last few years (since Katrina) about making up a "master kit" using something like a "handy man" plastic tool box. My thinking is this kit would stay in the truck/TM and would have larger items in it, such as ace bandage assortment, maybe an ankle brace, SAM splint, emergency blanket, etc.

I'm curious to not only get feedback from what everyone else is carrying, but to also hear some past history from the more experienced TMers about the kinds of past injuries/incidents. Also any regional tips, whether it be for very cold weather, altitude, certain regional snakes or insects.

For the most part I'm prepared for cut knees, sprained ankles, etc,....basic hiking injuries, but again, am counting on the more experienced for issues that I may be missing. I don't want to bring up possible bad memories of a trip gone bad, but the info shared, could help others in the future.

[Wavery]

Couple of suggestions:

1. Butterfly stitches.
2. Kotex pad.

I once saved a guys life because I had a Kotex pad in my kit. I came across a car accident. The guy had a severe laceration in his leg. I held the pad on it until paramedics arrived. They told me that if I had not done that, the guy most certainly would have bled out.

Epi Pen for allergic reactions.
Water sterilization Tabs should you be stuck where there is no potable water.
Water proof magnesium fire starter bar. ( Wal Mart) Should you need a fire and you have no dry matches.
Small sealed container with a few cotton balls wiped in Vasoline. Make excellent fire starter material.
Small Crank flashlight in case you need to use this stuff at night and you have not light,

[Bill]

Originally Posted by harveyrv

1. ...
2. Kotex pad. I once saved a guys life because I had a Kotex pad in my kit. I came across a car accident. The guy had a severe laceration in his leg. I held the pad on it until paramedics arrived. They told me that if I had not done that, the guy most certainly would have bled out.

This is a good suggestion, and an old one. It has appeared in a number of survivalist forums, as well in Internet Iraq War (etc) stories. I'm glad you were prepared to actually use it when needed, and prove it out.

This is a great thread. I'll say that I carry a small first aid kit with a bunch of band-aids, butterflies, some gauze squares, adhesive tape, aspirin, alcohol wipes, sting wipes, swabs, triple-antibiotic cream, and so forth. But I know I should beef it up. Should I add ipecac for poison ingestion, for instance? How about powdered charcoal, for the same purpose? Tincture of iodine as an antiseptic (I have a jug of bleach under the sink for water purification)?

Our son has a nut allergy, severity unknown (meaning he has never tested it). I've asked him to carry an epi-pen. He won't do it, but he no longer travels with us much, so I haven't pressed it. Our son-in-law has a peanut allergy, but not severe, he says, so he carries nothing for it. But still, an epi-pen might be a good thing to carry, just for the benefit of my unknown campground neighbor (wink wink).

How about printing the 800-number for a posion-control center in the lid of the kit? Maybe a How-To-Treat-Common-Emergency-Conditions pamphlet?

Naturally, some specific conditions require specific items. If you have severe diabetes, for example, you might want to throw some sugary candies into the kit, and an emergency insulin injector. If you have severe asthma, an emergency inhaler would be good. Some nitrogylcerin tabs for angina sufferers. But I think this thread addresses the items in a general purpose kit, and I'm anxious to see what the membership comes up with. Thanks, Ed-n-Kel, for introducing the topic.

Bill

[Wavery]

One could go to all sorts of extremes with this stuff and IMHO it is justified if you are really boon-docking or even winter camping in an area where you could get snowed in for weeks.

When my wife and I sailed around the world, we had a full-blown medical kit, Morphine, scalpels, suture stapler, medical books....the works. We could actually perform surgery at sea (we took classes) with the aide of a Coast Guard Dr on SSB radio. I have actually heard this being done over my radio, at sea twice. Once was a guy that got his hand in a cable driven winch and the cable cut his hand in two. A crew member was on the SSB with a Coast Guard Dr for about 4 or 5 hours. They were 5 days out from New Zealand. The other one was a husband and wife team on their way to South Africa and the wife had to remove the husband's appendix, or watch him die. The guy survived and we met them in Richard's Bay, South Africa about a month later.

We include some common OTC drugs as well - ibuprofen, Imodium AD, Gaviscon/Tums, Benedril, etc.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Al-n-Sue

We include some common OTC drugs as well - ibuprofen, Imodium AD, Gaviscon/Tums, Benedril, etc.

Benadryl spray works great on insect bites. That's a "Must have" in your kit.

[B_and_D]

Meat tenderizer for insect stings. Vinegar for nettles. Plus all the other stuff (except for the surgical supplies ).

Originally Posted by harveyrv

Couple of suggestions:

1. Butterfly stitches.
2. Kotex pad.

I once saved a guys life because I had a Kotex pad in my kit. I came across a car accident. The guy had a severe laceration in his leg. I held the pad on it until paramedics arrived. They told me that if I had not done that, the guy most certainly would have bled out.

EXACTLY what I was looking for! The butterfly bandages are already on my "to add" list, but the Kotex is an excellent suggestion and will be added immediately. THANKS Wayne!!

Great stuff everyone. Keep the ideas coming..

Many of the normal suggestions given are also in the great little manual that came with the kit I bought. They have a great section in the back on OTC add on, as well as prescription add on's for more elaborate groups/trips.
I have already added the Benadryl, Calamine, Imodium, Saline solution (for eyes), Peroxide, alcohol, butterfly bandages, liquid bandage, Aloe Vera lotion, and many other common over the shelf items to my list for the "master kit".
I wasn't sure if the "Epi-pen" was over the counter or not. We've never had any allergies of any kind so this is not something we've dealt with before, but then we've never been bitten by a scorpion or other such critter.
This big kit would also contain the larger items mentioned in my first post.

My thinking is, say you fall and cut your leg on a 3hr hike... you can patch it up good enough with the small kit until you can get back to the TV/TM to then do a more thorough job with the master kit.
Having the extra room in the master would also allow you to adjust the contents, depending on the type, location, or length of trip. As HarveyRV says, you can go to all sorts of extremes depending on the who, what, and where's, so my thinking is if the kit/box has plenty of room, you can shuffle internal packs (separate ziplocs with trip specific contents) in and out as the trip changes. For example, my 17yr plays rugby and we do make a few out of town trips, so I can add a ziplock with items more specific to this activity for these trips, etc. Basically the extra room allows you to bring along what's in the home medicine cabinet when needed.

Any input on snake bite kits? We've never been bitten, but have certainly seen our share of snakes, both poisonous and non-poisonous.