Buying First Aid kit components

[grouse]

sure this will have been covered somewhere (cannot find the search button from mobile device!)

Please could somebody advise on best place to purchase first aid components, need to make up a kit for an event in the Brecon Beacons.

Is Amazon a good place?

Cheers Grouse

 

[bopdude]

Amazon, Ebay, Tesco, Boots, GoOutdoors, buy a basic / mid kit and add your specific items into it.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Define "best" and what sort of components are you looking for? "Best" could mean "cheap", it could mean "easy", it could mean "quality" or "hard to find elsewhere".

What components are you looking for? What sort of event and what is your role?

Steri strips, sticking plasters, blister pads, small burn pads, tape, crepe bandage and the like? Between bigger super markets, Boots, Lloyds and/or a local independent high street chemist you can get all that sort of stuff without the hassle of internet searching and postage. Actually, you can get most of it in any one of those places. You only have to shop around if you get picky about brands, or packaging.

The very cheapest prices may come from on-line chemist. I have used ChemistDirect (they have good prices on pills and potions, not so great for things to patch you up.) However to benefit from those slightly lower prices you often have to be buying enough stuff to qualify for free postage, which could start at £40, so might not be a saving for you after all.

If you want more specialised stuff, really big burn dressings, Israeli shell dressings and arterial tourniquets come to mind, then the internet is probably the only realistic option, but I can't suggest one source as cheaper, more reliable or better quality than the others.



Amazon is only a good place for anything if you absolutely cannot find it anywhere else.

 

[TinkyPete]

depending on the amount for quality items I use the ST John's Ambulence site. and some other stockists who supply hospitals and other institutions.

 

[Wayne]

SP Services and Boundtree. Depends on what your looking for and your level of training.

 

[Buckshot]

Sp Services can be expensive if you look at the website but if you phone them and ask for the best price they will often give good discounts
I bought some clear plastic medic bag insert type bags and a lapel torch from them and they knocked a load off
I was able to use my CFR credentials though. might work with the Blue Light Card if you have one of those too? worth a try

 

[C_Claycomb]

Went and looked at the Boundtree site and WOW. So much cool stuff...then I realised why...it is US based

I have never bought a pre-packed FAK. I have made pouches, although some of the MOLLE mounted stuff is great. I tend to feel better knowing exactly what is in the kit, and where it is from, than going with whatever generic stuff has been bundled together.

 

[Bishop]

For the the basics, stuff like blister & regular plasters, cohesive bandage, ointments, steri-strips , small dressings, roll of duct tape etc any Wilko's on the high street. Beyond that you need to evaluate the risks of the 'event' and the strengths/weaknesses of your companions. A spare old-school dumb cell-phone is also probably worth getting, keep it in a ziplock bag just in case.

 

[grouse]

Apologies for not clarifying the event.

It’s the AEE Fandance load bearing 24km race over Pen Y Fan.

Within my pack I need to take a personal first aid kit.

Will try local chemist or Amazon.

 

[Bishop]

AEE Fandance load bearing 24km race

Good luck! suspected it was not the Green Man Music Festival

 

[Jared]

Went and looked at the Boundtree site and WOW. So much cool stuff...then I realised why...it is US based

I have never bought a pre-packed FAK. I have made pouches, although some of the MOLLE mounted stuff is great. I tend to feel better knowing exactly what is in the kit, and where it is from, than going with whatever generic stuff has been bundled together.

Think they renamed or something and now are... www.medtree.co.uk

Same people also have www.tactree.co.uk

Based in Telford.

 

[Janne]

Do they specify what should be in the kit?

 

[grouse]

Pretty standard,
2 wound dressing
4 sterilised wipes
1 bandage roll
Micropore tape
1 triangular bandage
Scissors
Plasters
Blister treatment
Painkillers

In waterproof container/bag

 

[Janne]

I would go to the nearest pharmacy to get that.....
You know what you are buying, and the saving buying online will be small.

 

[Robson Valley]

Talk to the professional suppliers and users. I asked the vehicle repair shop people what they had on the shelf.
With all the metals, glass and heat sources, I was guessing they had their share of minor accidents.
So that's what I bought. Rides in my Burb. BC Gov issue #3 First Aid kit in the house.

 

[Wayne]

Pretty standard,
2 wound dressing
4 sterilised wipes
1 bandage roll
Micropore tape
1 triangular bandage
Scissors
Plasters
Blister treatment
Painkillers

In waterproof container/bag

Any standard health and safety style first aid kit will have the majority of that.
Switch the scissors for tough cuts.
You will need to buy the blister plasters a seperately. Remember to warm them to body temperature before applying they stick better.

Pain killers. Only take what you have used previously know your dosages and ensure they are for your personal use only.

I would add a small satchet burn gel.

Use vetwrap instead of bandage roll. Cheaper and more effective.

 

[Janne]

It is a 24 kilometer run? Supervised?
If yes, why all this equipment?
Burn dressing? Why?

 

[Wayne]

It is a 24 kilometer run? Supervised?
If yes, why all this equipment?
Burn dressing? Why?

Not burn dressing burn gel. Can be used for a multitude of applications as it contains aloe and t tree plus a mild local anaesthetic. Good on burns, Blisters, chaffing, bites and stings.

 

[Janne]

Thanks, I learn something new each day!

Yes, that can be handy.
Do not laugh now, but I would take a small tube of Vaseline, in case you get a chafe between the legs ( if you get my meaning!)

 

[Alan De Enfield]

My FAK is pretty much sourced from Boots, etc, it fits into a 'Chinese Takeaway Tub' (it was in a 0.9 litre Ice cream tub but I've slimmed it down)

The contents are 'medical 1st aid', other stuff like torches, whistles, glucose tablets etc are store in my pack in other quick access pockets. My whistle is actually attached to my pack chest-strap and can be reached if I fall in a ditch and end up stuck upside down.

1st Aid Kit weighs 279 grams and contains :

16 Asssorted plasters
Tick Removal Tool
2x ‘Blister’ Plasters
Tweezers
Roll Zinc Oxide tape
Insect Repellent (Deet)
Bisocodyl (7x5mg) Laxative (1x day)
Disposable Gloves
Co-Codamol (22 x 30/500mg)
Germolene Antiseptic (Tube)
Day & Night Flu Capsules (x 8)
Lipsyl (Stick)
Dioralyte ( 2x Sachets)
Jelly ‘Toe-Tector’,
Cetirizine Anti-Histamine (10 x 10mg)
Finger Stool (rubber, 2 of)
Colchicine (12x500 Microgram - Gout)
3x Safety Pins
Orajel (Tube)
Sterile Bandage (1x Small)
Scissors
Cotton Buds (2 of),
Scalpel Blade
Tube of Moisturiser
Loperamide 6x (Diarrhoea)
Narrow ‘Sling’ Bandage
Roll of Zinc Oxide Tape