Stuff to carry on the Tube in London

[Quixoticgeek]

A C-A-T is the only other thing I'd consider taking.

http://combattourniquet.com/

Not so sure if others without experience could use it to be beneficial however.

Given the OP has mentioned lack of training, can I highly recommend that you really DO NOT take a CAT with you. The moment you put a tourniquet on a limb you are basically saying that this limb is lost. Are you qualified to make that call?

You're better off carrying proper dressings, I have a SP Services T4 dressing that lives in my handbag. Most small first aid kits are little more than a pack of plasters and are useless in the scenario the OP is considering.

Water and torch have been suggested by most people (I use a Petzl E+lite). I also find a small compass really useful, not so much in an emergency, but when coming out of a tube station and needing to work out which way I'm going with no way to see the sun... oh, and carry more water.

Assuming you've survived any event happening on the tube, and you've made it to the surface, you're likely to find that the mobile network is down. I have a Delorme Inreach Explorer satellite communicator. Even if the cell network is down, I can still get a message out (even if just to twitter) so that people know I'm alive. I bought it for use when hiking, but it's now become a permanent fixture on my backpack.

Oh, and yes, you are being preppy

J

 

[mousey]

I grew up just outside London. Used the tube to get in, but once there walking between places in central London was easy enough. I always had a 2 litre bottle of water, a couple of bits of fruit, waterproofs, gloves and hat [even in the summer] Being young and stupid I never new if there was an impromptu night out which might occur...

Even when I went away to college and Uni I still carried water, fruit, waterproofs and hat - ditched the gloves. Only when I moved to live and work in the same small town I've stopped carrying a bag with a few bits in it.

 

[Jared]

Given the OP has mentioned lack of training, can I highly recommend that you really DO NOT take a CAT with you. The moment you put a tourniquet on a limb you are basically saying that this limb is lost. Are you qualified to make that call?

Think the saying the limb is lost is an exaggeration.

If someone is bleeding out then potential loss of a limb is the least of their worries.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Think the saying the limb is lost is an exaggeration.

If someone is bleeding out then potential loss of a limb is the least of their worries.

How do you make that call? How do you decide when just pressure and a bandage is enough, and when a CAT is needed? There is a reason that SECAMB only issue CATs to Paramedics, and not to lower pay grades.

Unless you are a professional with the training to back it up, I wouldn't suggest a CAT should be carried.

J

 

[GGTBod]

I'd say the best thing to take on the tube with you is a sense of perspective and make sure you have a valid ticket

 

[EddieP]

The biggest concern with TQs is not putting them on tight enough and increasing bleeding.

The TQ=lost limb is very outdated teaching. This has been debated elsewhere though.

 

[Jared]

How do you make that call? How do you decide when just pressure and a bandage is enough, and when a CAT is needed? There is a reason that SECAMB only issue CATs to Paramedics, and not to lower pay grades.

Unless you are a professional with the training to back it up, I wouldn't suggest a CAT should be carried.

J

Whitehouse campaign, Stop the Bleed

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pres...leed-broad-private-sector-support-effort-save

https://www.dhs.gov/stopthebleed

 

[Charlz9mm]

Small roll of duct tape, bandanna, flashlight (torch), large Sharpie felt pen. This is what I carry to Mexico. The weapon's laws are quite strict there and it is prudent to avoid doing any time in a Mexican prison. My revolver and switchblade would certainly be unwelcome in that country. The large Sharpies make fine Kubatons and a Sharpie makes a good tourniquet windlass in combination with a bandanna. Duct tape has endless uses including first aid. A keyring tool with a Philips and flat head screwdriver bit would be an excellent addition. All of these can be carried on most airlines as well. Note: I did have a roll of masking tape taken from me by the Mexico City Airport security forces. I guess they had a rash of masking tape assaults. (??) I did not ask for an explanation from the hombre with the M16.

 

[Terryt]

How do you make that call? How do you decide when just pressure and a bandage is enough, and when a CAT is needed? There is a reason that SECAMB only issue CATs to Paramedics, and not to lower pay grades.

Unless you are a professional with the training to back it up, I wouldn't suggest a CAT should be carried.

J

Rubbish statement ......not just paramedics ...trained staff are able to use it ....

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Tourniquets are effective and appropriate but only if their use is warranted and the person applying the tourniquets properly understands what they are doing, how to do it and why they are doing it.

D.B.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Rubbish statement ..

Hmmm - well your statement wasn't exactly a beacon of enlightenment and reason.

Quote Originally Posted by Blundstoned Love View Post
Did I feel like a prepper? A bit.

Did I save myself from minor to medium levels of grief when things went wrong (like contractors pumping concrete into a tubestation control room). Yes I did.

Thats all that matters then isn't it?. Prepping doesn't need to be full on chicken little paranoia. It can be done in a sane pragmatic fashion.

Yea, but the other odds and ends I mentioned were a machete, a gas mask, crampons and a pith helmet.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Rubbish statement ......not just paramedics ...trained staff are able to use it ....

I'm happy to be proved wrong, but last I checked (~18 months ago), not all grades were trained in their use, but all paramedics are.

Tourniquets are effective and appropriate but only if their use is warranted and the person applying the tourniquets properly understands what they are doing, how to do it and why they are doing it.

D.B.

Much better wording of the point I was trying to make. Tourniquets are an advanced bit of kit that needs proper training to use. This is not the sort of training you get on a FAW course.

J

 

[Jared]

Still not getting it.

Incident happens, someone is about to die from blood loss within minutes. You seem to be saying just give them their last rights. What else are you going to do, if you can't apply enough pressure to stem the bleeding?
In this situation, you're in London, so it's going to be a very extreme set of circumstances more advanced medical aid can't get to the casualty within an hour or so.
The point of first aid is to keep the patient alive for long enough that happen. And loss of a limb is more preferable than dying.

 

[Hoodoo]

flashlight
dust mask
water
energy bars
knife
small fak
whistle
duck tape
sewing kit

Pretty much what I carry in my pack to work every day, except for the dust mask and energy bars. I keep these in my office. In case of a fire, the dust mask can reduce smoke inhalation. You might not use the sewing kit on the tube but if you get a tear in your clothes or lose a button, a needle and thread is always handy.

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Jared, with all due respect you are the one 'still not getting it'...the OP in their original post says they do not have 'first aid training' let alone further skills and knowledge and asks for ideas and advice on what to carry......they are not qualified to use or to know when to use something like a CAT and again with due respect if you think that the worse that can happen by incorrect use is that the person will lose a limb then neither are you...... I would agree that for someone qualified or with the knowledge of when, where and how to use a CAT it 'might' be a useful addition to an emergency kit but certainly not for the OP who by their own admission would not know what to do with it.

D.B.

 

[TeeDee]

Given the OP has mentioned lack of training, can I highly recommend that you really DO NOT take a CAT with you. The moment you put a tourniquet on a limb you are basically saying that this limb is lost. Are you qualified to make that call?

And that is why i wrote " A C-A-T is the only other thing I'd consider taking" AND "Not so sure if others without experience could use it to be beneficial however."


If your opinion or experience differ - great.

 

[Corso]

Still not getting it.

Incident happens, someone is about to die from blood loss within minutes. You seem to be saying just give them their last rights. What else are you going to do, if you can't apply enough pressure to stem the bleeding?
In this situation, you're in London, so it's going to be a very extreme set of circumstances more advanced medical aid can't get to the casualty within an hour or so.
The point of first aid is to keep the patient alive for long enough that happen. And loss of a limb is more preferable than dying.

Chances are if your in the middle of it all there wont just be that one person needing the CAT in your bag - assuming your not panicking or injured yourself how would you choose? The buity of propper 1st aid is you dont need much to be able to apply it to a single or multiple casualties...

 

[Wayne]

Lots of good comment and strong opinions on here. The OP has no first aid training my recommendation would be that everyone gets first aid training and has it regularly updated.

The 2015 Resus council guidelines are as follows:

5. Haemostatic dressings and tourniquets are to be used when direct pressure cannot control severe bleeding.Following extensive use and research in combat, there is a wealth of evidence that tourniquets are effective, save lives and have a relatively low rate of complications following application. Similarly, haemostatic dressings have also undergone significant improvements in recent years, have low complication rates and have saved many lives.
The balance of complications versus possible outcomes if not used have led to both tourniquets and haemostatic dressings being introduced into main-stream first aid. Of course, a small office workplace is unlikely to find that catastrophic bleeding is a significant risk to their employees, so they wouldn’t necessarily have to rush out and buy this new equipment. A waste recycling plant or tree surgeon on the other hand may wish to consider having these available.
The good news is that the guidelines are very clear that “training is required to ensure application is safe and effective”.

So learn to control bleeding and learn to use a tourniquet effectively.

 

[Jared]

Lots of good comment and strong opinions on here. The OP has no first aid training my recommendation would be that everyone gets first aid training and has it regularly updated.

The 2015 Resus council guidelines are as follows:

So learn to control bleeding and learn to use a tourniquet effectively.

Yes, that the ideal scenario.

Others are

a) Without experience, you're fortunate to be in a situation with someone else who can use a tourniquet effectively, (perhaps even to apply it to yourself) so you give them the tourniquet.
b) You have to use the tourniquet.
c) Worse case is having to improvise a tourniquet when you need one.

 

[oldtimer]

I too carry a compass in a strange city. It is particularly useful when emerging from the underground or subway, particularly as some stations have several exits: do I go left, right, straight on, cross over the road?

+1 to this. I always have a mini-compass on my EDC key ring. I seem to use it fairly often in cities. It may be because there are few long views to orientate oneself and the sun and moon are harder to locate where the buildings are so close and high making it hard to see the sky. My OH is a Londoner so she navigates in cities, I navigate in the countryside. We are about even on getting lost.

I also feel the need to carry water is more important in cities. It is harder to locate- and very expensive!