first aid

[trikey]

evening all it`s my first posting so give us a break ):
i was just wundering what size first aid kits you carry and what you all recommend to carry, i`ve just brought an ex army ammo belt pouch and i`m trying to narrow me stuff down, But i`ve got two lads one 5 and one 8 so i like to be prepared, thought it about time i asked instead of just sitting here reading.
cheers all

 

[TheViking]

I actually need a decent small kit. One of the most common accidents I think, is with cutting tools. Especially knives, because we love to use and have them, more than anything else. The only thing I really carry is some plasters, sterile wipes, a pincet in the SAK, and some soap. Soap is the best cause it's simple and sterile.

 

[Little Mole]

I have a large first aid kit in the car. It contains about 20 small and medium sized dressings, three large, a packet of plasters, sterile wipes, gloves, triangular bandages, eye-washes, scissors, usual stuff...and a bio-hazard disposal bag. It's a pretty good one, designed for use in a small business or factory.


When we go off into the woods, I bring a couple of dressings and handful of plasters and wipes.

 

[Gary]

Trikey - I would recommend you carry a small cuts kit on your person when you carry your knife and then have a larger (not over the top) first aid kit in your pack.

Hopefully your first aid kit will always be a just in case item.

 

[Tantalus]

welcome trikey

pull up a log and grab a coffee

first aid for youngsters would be a little diferent, very often it is superficial scratches and bites that cause em the most misery

little tube of savlon and antihistamine cream would be my essentials, along with plasters for skinned knees etc. Arnica cream is good for reducing bumps that could turn into bruises, and some kids painkiller tablets too i guess. and iodine the kids pet hate cos it nips in a wound but it really does help heal and keep a cut sterile for an extended time

this on top of your normal first aid stuff, sterile dressings adhesive tape, couple of safety pins maybe include butterfly stitches in there just in case

elastic bandage for sprains

some stuff can be improvised in the field, scarf to make a sling, a stick for a splint etc

i think the most important is to think about what injuries "could" occur and find a simple solution

at some point , especially with kids, it stops being first aid (ie basic life saving skills) and starts being about keeping them comfortable and comforted

my nephew (6) fell and skinned his knee the other day and was starting to bubble when i scooped him up and gave him a hug. this wasnt quite enough as he was still upset so i asked him if a docken leaf would help which he thought was a great idea ( i knew it wouldnt help but he thought it would :roll: )
an hour later when he charged back into the house still with docken leaf, he was inspected all over by very puzzled parents who couldnt find a nettle sting anywhere :rolmao:

Tant

 

[Stuart]

Dressing material and equipment for 1 man x 1 day basic first aid kit:

Large plain wound dressing No. 15 X 1
Crepe bandage 10cm x 4.5m X 1
Triangular bandage X 1
Release non-adherent dressing 10cm x 10cm X 1
Elastoplast – waterproof and fabric dressings X 12
Adhesive tape 1.25cm x 5m X 1 roll
Antiseptic swabs (for cleaning small wounds) X 6
Steri-strip adhesive sutures (6mm x 100mm) (note 2) X 1 sheet
Blood lancets (for blisters or splinters) X 2
Safety pins X 2
Scissors X 1 pair

 

[Andy]

I have a fairly large first aid kit (and indeed a huge one) which I took items from specific to what I am doing. For kids I'd up the number of plasters and small dressing. St johns supplies are very good

 

[trikey]

Cheers tantalus and all who answered, i will now go and practice. :You_Rock_

 

[Viking]

Carry knowledge, go ona firsta di course or similar and then you will know what you need to carry and you will also know how yo use it.

 

[mick]

I carry:

2x triangular bandages
2x crepe bandages
4x non adherant pads 2 10cm & 2 5cm
antiseptic wipes
plasters
moleskin
scissors
2 roles of tape 1 micropor and 1 zinc oxide

and most importantly gloves (latex) and a resuci aid

 

[Little Mole]

Moleskin?

 

[Martyn]

For my little carry along FAK....
Something for little cuts
something for big cuts
something for blisters
something for athletes foot
something for an antiseptic
something for a painkiller
something for diarrhoea

I've a monster FAK in the car, including stethascope, sphyg, a multitude of instruments, a small operating theatre and a surgeon - well perhaps not quite, but it is a bit OTT.

 

[leon-1]

I've a monster FAK in the car, including stethascope, sphyg, a multitude of instruments, a small operating theatre and a surgeon.

All you require now is a mad scientist called Frankenstein

 

[boaty]

As I've said before, I'd carry Martyn along as my FAK ): (I'm sure that's the first time anyone has used the word "sphyg" on these forums too!)

Failing that, I take the first aid kit I bought from Aldi a while ago, to which I added tweezers and painkillers

 

[Motorbike Man]

I carry the Life Systems Compact kit, with extra antiseptic cream, a few extra large plasters and a face mask for artificial ventilation. It's a nice little kit, but with usefull stuff in it and I can put it on my belt, or rucsac strap so it's always there. Vikings's comment about doing a first aid course is a good one, I would reccomend the St. John's Ambulance courses, but then I might be a bit biased as I was a member for ten years

 

[Little Mole]

I did St John's Ambulance first aid at work last year. I'd recommend it to everyone. There's not much point in having triangular bandages for example if you don't know how to use them.

 

[jakunen]

I carry:

2x triangular bandages
2x crepe bandages
4x non adherant pads 2 10cm & 2 5cm
antiseptic wipes
plasters
moleskin
scissors
2 roles of tape 1 micropor and 1 zinc oxide

and most importantly gloves (latex) and a resuci aid

I thought you weren't supposed to carry zinc oxide in a first aid kit any more? I seem to remember a few years ago some kids had a violent reaction to it??? :?:

Also be careful with arnica cream. I for one am allergic to it...
Only found out after using it on a large area om my legs...

 

[Andy]

I did St John's Ambulance first aid at work last year. I'd recommend it to everyone. There's not much point in having triangular bandages for example if you don't know how to use them.

Even better join up, I'm trying to get back into it in nottingham. They had trouble with not enough members and such but some of the stuff you cando with them is great. Cadets can also do some very useful fun stuff. If you join them you get kept up to date and get to use the knoledge so become much better at first aid.

 

[Little Mole]

I have been meaning to join. I'd love the opportunity to practice what I've learnt. I worry at this stage that I may have forgotten something important if I am confronted with a real emergency.

 

[Andy]

I always found that people who had done a course but not used it much got it nearly eright but lacked the practise that makes things work so much better. Timing with mouth to mouth and chest compressions was always way off. (I tested one preson who did ten breaths in about 30 seconds instead of 60) Bandges were often not tight enough so didn't contain the bleeding so well. It also took them longer to adapt what they knew from the textbook to what they had infront of them.
When I was training cadets we did a lot of simulation, the mothod was to split them up into two groups. One group would the come up with a situation as far from textbook as possible. The other team would then have to sort it out.
The other thing I noticed as a cadet (I trained to the same or higher level then adults) was that people wouldn't like this young person taking over (I ften ended up been frst on sight), that wasn't the case when I got there to find a man who wasn't breathing and had callasped hitting his head on the way down. He'd had aan epileptic fit hit his head on the way to the floor and was choking on blood. after tilting his head he started breathing and came round quickly.
I enjoyed me time in St Johns a lot when both been trained and training others. I found something that I had a natural ability at and this was reconised many times.
I also seem to remember that while the standard mark for a pass for the FAW is one thing. St johns wont let people go on duty unles they have a higher pass then that