Inside your fist aid kit

[Black Sheep]

Interestingly when I was trained First Aider I was not allowed to stock or give out items such as Aspirin or paracetamol which are usually found in kits sold in the high street today. I do not know if this ruling remains the same.

The current guide lines say that you should not have any medication, tweezers or safety pins in a public accessible FAK as they could be wrongly used and cause harm (?).

My advice is keep any tablets/medication seperate to your FAK and carry a card with details of your medical needs/medication.

I carry items frowned upon (not medication) in all my FAK but hopefully I'll be the only one using them.


Rich.

 

[Zammo]

I notice quite a few people carry superglue, which I presume is to seal cuts. Is it actually OK to do this and if so can it only be used on small shallow cuts?

Also would steri-strips replace the need to manually stitch a cut?

 

[basha]

The current guide lines say that you should not have any medication, tweezers or safety pins in a public accessible FAK as they could be wrongly used and cause harm (?).

My advice is keep any tablets/medication seperate to your FAK and carry a card with details of your medical needs/medication.

I carry items frowned upon (not medication) in all my FAK but hopefully I'll be the only one using them.


Rich.

That is the sort of guidance I got; If I gave someone complaining of a ‘headache’ an aspirin etc., I may inadvertently be masking a much serious condition. Similarly I was warned about applying various ‘remedies’ to cuts and burns as they may be ultimately scrubbed off in A & E…. OUUUCHHHH !!!

 

[big_swede]

I notice quite a few people carry superglue, which I presume is to seal cuts. Is it actually OK to do this and if so can it only be used on small shallow cuts?

Also would steri-strips replace the need to manually stitch a cut?

Super glue was originally developed for sealing cuts (at least according to a friend who is a physician), I've seen it been used to seal gaping eye brows, and I've had a sliced finger, and at another occasion a gaping wound between the long and index finger) patched up with the stuff. The only difference between the ones the use at a hospital and the ones you get in a hardware store is the package (and the price).

Steri-strips is the thing an unskilled person should use. Don't consider stitching yourself unless you have the training or if you don't have any choice (what I've been taught at variuos courses, and told by a ER doctor).

 

[FGYT]

The current guide lines say that you should not have any medication, tweezers or safety pins in a public accessible FAK as they could be wrongly used and cause harm (?).

My advice is keep any tablets/medication seperate to your FAK and carry a card with details of your medical needs/medication.

I carry items frowned upon (not medication) in all my FAK but hopefully I'll be the only one using them.


Rich.

yep HSE at work FAK are fairly restricted as is what the First aider can or should Do for practical and mainly Legal reasons this is why they cover a lot of paperwork in the course for accident books RIDDOR forms etc you might be lucky and be shown a how to tie a bandage buy an old fashioned instructor

However those and most First aid courses these days assume your only 15-20mins etc from an ambulance / paramedic etc your job is to stabalise if ness and say "there there there" while calling 999
ie Get em breathing stop the bleeding stop them screaming if you can and wait for the blue lights

if your going to be a little further out of the Emergancy Medical Rescue reach then a bit more training is advisable

also i dont count pills n potions etc as FAK they are personnal medical stuff and will give them to others but only if they ask and they are the sort of stuff you can freely buy over the counter etc i count plasters as this as well

ive never bothereed to much as you can improvise a fair bit in normal life ie car crash
if its out in the Boonies and far from home etc and you doing adventurous things its best to have a group Medic and the extra stuff they can bring as well as your own sets of stuff i do like triangular bandages though

or specialized situations
ie as a diver and instructor i often have Oxygen kits in the car But am only trained to give to Divers in Diving accidents.

ATB

Duncan