What is in your medical/first aid kit, show and tell

[GGTBod]

I fight this following internal argument every time i pack to go out and it is based on what i didn't use last time out (not just medical).

As i am unpacking i note all the things i carried for no reason, from that extra spork to extra underwear right up to my medpack, being that i am just not the accident prone type i really have to make myself pack my first aid kit the next time i go out, my last activity related injury was in 2006, this was on the way to work where my bike frame snapped (see below image) and i went over the handlebars and broke two of the metacarpal in my right hand, i had med kit in my bag and everything it in was totally useless to me as i hadn't even broke the skin other than grazes so only the pain killers got used and they only took the edge off, also my bike repair tool kit was useless to me as the bike was beyond repair without a tig welder and even that would have only been a temp fix.

So I am taking a medkit as a precaution against things i can treat not anything that could possible happen to me or anyone with me or i happen to accidentally come across, same as my bike kit it does not have a tig welder in and never will even though i can weld, what i am getting at is even if i could use a lot more extensive medical equipment it is very unlikely i'd take it and if i did carry a defibrillator or a medical chest and neck brace or TCAT (or any other piece of equipment with a long name that needs an acronym and special plastic box) when i was unpacking it after not using it i'd be giving myself a hard time for giving myself a hard time by making myself carry it for nothing, i'd almost be willing someone the injury it assists just so i was vindicated in carrying the thing.

The bike that could have killed me

 

[cbr6fs]

I think the other thing to take into consideration on this forum is how people interpret their "outdoor time"

For some it's just being out enjoying nature and relaxing, for others it's covering distance and height, others see it as some sort of fantasy play acting type thing.
To the last group taking a condom, tampon, snare, emergency fishing kit is part of the play acting, it's the same with their first aid kit.

In their minds the "army" carry certain items and so will they, not because there is a need in reality but because in their mind it's part of the play acting.

Nothing against folks like that it's their choice and as long as they're not harming anyone or anything good on em.

But i do find that when talking about kit they spend more time and effort "justifying" their choices rather than doing some real world thinking.

As an example i've had mates that pack tampons in their FAK, after i'd stopped laughing enough to talk, they "justified" their choice by explaining they make good bullet wound dressing.
Of course they must have read that in some ex special forces type survival book, so it must be true.
In reality getting shot is extremely unlikely and if they do it's more likely to be with a shotgun, so even IF a tampon worked well (which it wouldn't) it's a pointless extra that is only added to fuel the persons fantasy.

For me personally my FAK changes depending in what i'm doing, this is the kit that tends to be in my rucksack though.

If i'm likely to be wielding a knife then i'll pack a Israeli type bandage

That's really to make bandaging easier for me personally though a normal bandage and elevation will do just as well.

 

[Ruud]

when out and about in a more remote area we take the stuff with us which is needed to stop an axe-cut from bleeding.
Field-dressings, oxygen-water, blood-staunching cotton wool.
Duct-tape has anti-septic capabilities, waterproof
Medicine to prevent or cure stomach-pains and diarrhea.
Burn gel
Sterile gloves

Every member of the group has band-aids and a field-dressing on them.

Giving instructions about safe knife- and axe-use before wandering off is the minimum of instruction that must be given to those who are not used working with these kind of tools. (which is why we promote the use of saws )

 

[Triplestitch]

My kit generally contains the following:

-antiseptic wipes, gauze, and tape (can be cut to cover most wound sizes)
-burn cream
-butterfly closures
-tweezers, a needle and a Victorinox classic (scissors)
-a lip balm tube filled with antiseptic salve
-a credit card sized mirror and fresnel lens
-dental floss and cotton swabs

all in a clearly labled hard plastic case kept in the top pocket of my pack. Some other items I carry could be pressed into first-aid service (duct tape, bandannas, etc.)

 

[cranmere]

It depends what I'm doing and where I'm going. When I've been travelling in strange places I take a lot more stuff. For ordinary bushcraft type things in the UK I take very little on the grounds that a small cut only needs a bit of plaster mainly to stop getting blood all over the place, and a major wound needs immediate control but will be dealt with properly by the nearest A&E.

 

[cbr6fs]

Duct-tape has anti-septic capabilities, waterproof

Speaking from experience here i can't stress strongly enough on how bad an idea it would be to use duct tape on a wound.

Not only is it not sterile, the gum used can set off a very bad reaction.
Worst of all though is that it's an absolute nightmare to remove, you'll likly cause more damage to a wound removing it than you would patching it up, plus once you've removed it it often leaves a non sterile sticky residue around and in the wound that's literally acting like a bacteria magnet.

If you are putting together a FAK then my advice is to use the proper treatments for the proper injury.
Duct tape, superglue, tampons and the like are going to cause more damage than they could possibly fix, use the correct equipment.

 

[GGTBod]

I love duct tape it has a million uses but none of those are on the human body in skin contact, even Mythbusters never went there

[video=youtube;wVw-fc_1Xd0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVw-fc_1Xd0[/video]

 

[John Fenna]

Some of the spots I go to are difficult to locate by anyone who has not been before... so I carry enough gear to cope with anticipated "possible/likely" incidents for as long as it might take to get a paramedic on site or move a casualty to where a paramedic can get to easily. The kit I carry is in line with my training and each kit is different to deal with different scenarios (group size, duration of trip etc) my Van Kit and Group Bushcraft Kit being the largest, my Day Bimble kit being the smallest. Personal medication travels separately.

CPR works fine - for what it is intended for
I have had to use CPR twice .. the first time was a no hoper and when the paramedic turned up I was congratulated on my efforts but the fellow was eventually pronounced dead on scene. The second - after a defib could not locate a heartbeat and said "do not shock" a paramedic and I managed to use good old CPR to get the casualty to give spontaneous output but once the ambulance arrived and drove off to hospital. with him he needed defib twice before they got him less than 20 miles. The guy never recovered consciousness and died (permanently) after about a week.

 

[GGTBod]

Heavy stuff John, how were you after that mentally?

 

[cranmere]

I've twice used CPR. Once for my Mum who had a heart attack at home and was pronounced dead on site and the post mortem said that there really wasn't anything that would have saved her. A few days later someone collapsed on the street in front of me and he lived, with the paramedics saying that I had probably made the difference.

In both cases I was glad that I could at least make the attempt, it would have been awful to wonder for the rest of my life whether there might have been something I could do if only I had learned the skills.

 

[John Fenna]

Heavy stuff John, how were you after that mentally?

Sort of messed up for a while.
The first was someone I knew as a "nodding acquaintance" in the village, the second was someone I knew pretty well and liked as a person though not a close friend - and they were far too young to go.....

 

[xylaria]

I love duct tape it has a million uses but none of those are on the human body in skin contact, even Mythbusters never went there

eo]

Warts. Either the solvents in the glue or the waterproofness soften and kill the skin, making the salycilic acid work faster. Sloffy gooey skin generally isn't a good idea otherwise. I carry fabric tape if my ankle goes again, and that blue sticks to itself straping stuff.

 

[janso]

+1 for tampons in my kit!! Useful for female members when taking groups out on walks or overnighters and they forget to pack these little blighters - aside from this, they are good for packing wounds not necessarily ballistic of nature!
CAT and celox dressing in my kit for catastrophic trauma ( C ABCDE) proper nitrile gloves and resus mask; everything else as per norm really


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[cbr6fs]

+1 for tampons in my kit!! Useful for female members when taking groups out on walks or overnighters and they forget to pack these little blighters - aside from this, they are good for packing wounds not necessarily ballistic of nature!
CAT and celox dressing in my kit for catastrophic trauma ( C ABCDE) proper nitrile gloves and resus mask; everything else as per norm really


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

If you ever come across a fat balding middle ages bloke (me) that's bleeding, please please please take your tampons and just walk past me.



In all seriousness it will be worth spending some time talking to some trauma professionals before you really screw up a person with your urban myths of wound treating.

Carrying tampons for your Mrs is fine, but if you insert one into a wound you really will be doing more damage than you will fix.
Not only are they not sterile, the cotton will stick to the clotting surface making retrieval painful and adding to the trauma, by inserting you are also going to holding the wound open, a very very bad idea.

Likewise celox is going to trap in any dirt and bacteria into the wound making infection a high probability, it will also make tending to the wound extremely difficult when the person is seen by a health professional.

Applying pressure on a would together with elevation is cheaper, lighter weight (kit wise) and it's not going to cause traumatic complications further down the line.

So before you cause someone some real harm and get yourself into a lot of trouble both legally and financially please please please get some real world training from a civilian health professional and save the war zone fantasy for "survival" books and games.

 

[janso]

On a catastrophic bleed; ie, arterial, I would be glad for anything going in to pack it out - I would love a few extra minutes of living by a tampons use! Do whatever and let the surgeons deal with it.
We can all believe what we want or plan from what we're taught by others who have had to use it. In my case, by those under fire and those who have had to deal with massive blood loss from chainsaws


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[janso]

By your comments, and likewise not knowing me and my history, I feel slightly offended at the mention of too much fantasy? Still I suppose it's easy to judge others on personal narrow opinions mate


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[janso]

And I'm pretty sure I mentioned tampons primarily being used for females on outdoor expeditions...


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[cbr6fs]

On a catastrophic bleed; ie, arterial, I would be glad for anything going in to pack it out - I would love a few extra minutes of living by a tampons use! Do whatever and let the surgeons deal with it.
We can all believe what we want or plan from what we're taught by others who have had to use it. In my case, by those under fire and those who have had to deal with massive blood loss from chainsaws

A tampon would be absolutely useless to stem a arterial bleed, again it would be more of a hindrance than a help.
Pressure and elevation are the best options.

Problem with gaining knowledge from the armed services is that in a war zone compromises HAVE to be made, medics do not have the luxury of keeping a casualty still, many of the products the armed forces use like celox is to make the best of a bad situation.

In civilian life these procedures don't translate well and by using them you will be doing more harm than good.

The other thing is that armed forces doctors and medics know how to deal with products like celox, they have been trained and taught how to clean the wound, what chemicals to use, so understand the product, that's very very unlikely to be the case in civilian life.

Lastly a solider that was shot or severely wounded in a war zone isn't likely to sue his mates for malpractice or complain about severe scaring, scaring that's come about as a direct result of using bad practices, poor judgement and the wrong dressings.

By your comments, and likewise not knowing me and my history, I feel slightly offended at the mention of too much fantasy? Still I suppose it's easy to judge others on personal narrow opinions mate

I'm not judging you as a person, i am challenging your opinion on poor training and kit choice.

I used the word fantasy that's were this sort of bodge job treatments are created, in some fantasy land.

If you treat someone with severe bleeding the scarf in your pic and elevation would be far far better than a tampon and celox.

I can understand that you wouldn't take the word of some stranger, that's why i suggested you get some proper professional training, failing that please try to at least have a talk with a paramedic, run your fantasy scenarios and treatments past them, i'd bet me underpants it would be received by either uncontrollable laughing or a stern head shake.

Again pressure and elevation weight absolutely nothing, take no space and ave a track record of working in real life.
Leave celox and tampons for combat medics and play acting soldiers.

 

[cbr6fs]

By your comments, and likewise not knowing me and my history, I feel slightly offended at the mention of too much fantasy? Still I suppose it's easy to judge others on personal narrow opinions mate

First off i apologise as i am going to have to be a bit pedantic here, you specifically stated

they are good for packing wounds not necessarily ballistic of nature!

I disagree so questioned your opinion.

In fairness you did state

Useful for female members when taking groups out on walks or overnighters and they forget to pack these little blighters

Which although is extremely sexist and offensive (never met a woman that didn't remember to carry something with her at that time of the month, so why would a woman HAVE to have a man to be her knight in shining armour (the Mrs words btw not mine)).

She also said that even IF she was caught short not in a million years would she use a product that had been god knows how long in a bag getting banged about.

As a bloke i tend to pack what i need and trust that my Mrs and the kids pack what they believe they will need.

Been hiking with the old gal since i was in long trousers, then girlfriends, then wives then the kids, can honestly say in all those hours days and weeks out with the female of our species i have never once packed a tampon, never been asked for one and i've never had any of those fantastic woman complain they didn't have one.


So as a medical treatment = very very very poor solution
Knight in shining armour = In my experience woman know their bodies better than us blokes and take offence to be told other wise, but even IF cut short the lady and young lady of the house here wouldn't use a tampon pulled out the bottom of some ones rucksack.

 

[janso]

Can I ask your current or previous experience of treating casualties or indeed patients? I can understand your statements and indeed the theories behind them but the topic did start in what forum members carried; I'm unaware it meant to chastise others for what they carry. MY med kit is what I carry for several vocations in a professional context; I carry some tampons for the inevitable under 18 who simply forgets to pack them in for expeditions, I carry a cat and several celllox dressings for use IF needed; I would have no issues in applying either to myself IF needed.
I appreciate your right to disagree but you do sound more hostile than that. As said, if you could enlighten me on the basis for your statements, it would be appreciated.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk