Buying First Aid kit components

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grouse

Member
Mar 6, 2011
43
0
derbyshire
It is a 24 kilometer run? Supervised?
If yes, why all this equipment?
Burn dressing? Why?
It’s a load bearing event (packed Bergen) as per special forces selection march in a four hour time.

So whilst supervised first aid kit required just in case...
 

bearbait

Full Member
A couple of bananas waiting for you at the end may be good too. I like them as trail food on a hike.

I've seen piles of bananas waiting for our military boys at their pickup point after a night or so of them running around all over the Brecon Beacons carrying all sorts of interesting gear.

Hope the run goes well for you.
 
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SCOMAN

Life Member
Dec 31, 2005
2,583
452
53
Perthshire
For sterile bandage/dressings I use the Israeli dressings. You can pick them up on eBay directly from Israel quite cheaply. They may be a bit of an overkill but they're quite adaptable, I have a 4'' in each of my first aid kits and a 6'' in my larger kits.
 
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Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
With the heat we're getting i'd stick a couple of sachets of dioralyte in, they call for 1 per 200ml of water but i have it a bit weaker unless im in clip.

Otherwise the standard kit should do. Painkillers, blister kit, crepe bandage, couple of different sized plasters, zinc oxide tape etc..

A good tip is get some tinc benz and apply it to any area on your feet you plan to tape up. Let it "dry" for a bit then put the tape on. It'll act like glue on the skin.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Ahhhh - you mean 'chubby-rub' !!!

Sudocrem

Get some of those yellow plastic containers from Kinder eggs. Very useful.

Put some Sudocrem in one, some Vaseline in another.

Vaseline is handy to forestall various sores you get between your toes, heel, under your arms where your shirt might pull, crack of your backside, chafing in the parts generally, and so forth. Also very useful as a poultice to suck the junk out of large grazes from tree bark or hard, dry ground etc. Also, stopping sweat running in your eyes, if it is hot and exerty. And, of course, it'll help start a fire.

Sudocreme is excellent for rashes and soreness of all kinds. It has lanolin in it to soften skin. It has an antiseptic effect, but is also mildly anaesthetic. Don't leave home without it. Not even for a foray to the all-night petrol station for munchies.

Benadryl as cream or spray is very good for all bites, stings, itches, irritations, rashes which could worsen with friction or scratching. In pill form it works very well if you have a bad, swelling reaction to a bee sting or any similar for instance

For all other conditions ... improvisations around electrical tape and paper towel will be adequate. Splints, tourniquets, strapping, staunching etc. :) A 10x loupe and a pair of sliver grippers will be handy for digging things out. Some mosquito juice and suntan lotion and you are set :)

Don't take painkillers with you. If you have a headache, drink a litre of water. If you really give yourself a bump, the kind of painkillers that are going to help will also make you a bit daft. :lol:
 
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Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
Best thing to stop chaffing between the legs is to buy a cheap-ish pair of under armor like longjohns and then cut the part below the knees off. You can also get the proper long under armor boxer shorts for a bit more. Sports direct and costco sell them too.
 

bearbait

Full Member
Best thing to stop chaffing between the legs is to buy a cheap-ish pair of under armor like longjohns and then cut the part below the knees off. You can also get the proper long under armor boxer shorts for a bit more. Sports direct and costco sell them too.

I use Johnson's Baby Lotion for chafe in the southern regions. Also good for soothing dry flakey skin arising from sun tan on my follicly-challenged head.
 

Ascobis

Forager
Nov 3, 2017
141
75
Wisconsin, USA
Best thing to stop chaffing between the legs is to buy a cheap-ish pair of under armor like longjohns and then cut the part below the knees off. You can also get the proper long under armor boxer shorts for a bit more. Sports direct and costco sell them too.

Um. The only time I get chafed is when I wear a kilt. I then rely on a name-brand anti-chafe stick. ...Socks and shoes...

That same anti-chafe stick works well to prevent blisters from occurring on one's heels and toes. That might be useful if one were to go on a speed-hike with a loaded bergie.

On the FAK, pack 10cm gauze sponges, not 5cm. One can fold a large size down, but not stretch a small size across. "...Procrustes, paging Dr Procrustes..."

While agreeing in general with the recommendation to avoid analgesics, do include some of your personal standard product. Pain is nature's way of telling us to "Stop doing that, you moron!" Don't mask the warnings whilst you are packing a bergie. Afterwards, though, do relax around the bananna pile with 800mg of ibuprofen on board, along with rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Do pay attention to the principal effects of any given OTC analgesic: do you want to reduce inflammation or relieve muscle pain? Ibu or naproze? Do the research before you leave home. Ask your pharmacist for advice if you can. (I once used a left-over root-canal post-operative medication to survive a solo desert hike in the Big Bend of Texas. Do not get yourself into such a situation.)

On Israeli bandages: a co-worker with recent military service told me that some fellow soldiers disliked the bulk of that product and preferred one of the other similar products.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
The most important part is to practice walking using exactly same gear as you will later on.
Feet get used to socks and shoes. You will see if the chosen clothes chafe, and so on.

Before my team did the Nijmegen 4 day march, we practiced for a couple of months beforehand, as we were not used to walk/march on tarmac.

First year we did get a few blisters, the other 4 years none.
 

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