Emergency First aide kit

[Roseonathorn]

When I was a kid anyone could buy suturethread and needles and stuff for destillation at the apoteket ( prescription medicine store ) and sow little or bigger wounds temporarily or instead of paying the doctors. It was handy when one was out in nature or at sea.

 

[Roseonathorn]

The USA has the CERT program and I would suggest any reader to sign up and take the course! It's a government course Community Emergency Response Team... I joined mainly because I became educated in what the government plans to do and I have access now to the emails and behind the scenes info and propac supplies in bulk..... but I've always been a Citizen Emergency Responder type person. I believe the CERT course still gives a nice durable backpack with search and rescue tools, and helmet, gloves etc. More advanced courses are also available.

American Red Cross does have good first aid courses (I used to teach some of them). I think taking water safety is good too, and perhaps small boats. You never know when you are caught in flood or at a bay/beach/lake element.... Try some ACA (camp) courses.

A reminder to download everything you want now. The internet will not be available for one reason or another, if it's up it will be overloaded with users or the sites will be removed and inaccessible.

Is not a bigger boat better than a few smaller boats in a flood or a storm? At least here the small boats risk sink. We once sailed to Estonia in a stormy weather and many boats had gone under but we had a bigger boat and although the waves were 4 metres at times we were fine. Seaguard had been busy all night and I and the sailors wife were the only ones not seasick or sleeping so we had the engine on the whole night and held the course right. But I thought it was fun, I had no idea people were out in small boats because we saw nobody nor heard anybody. We were probably too far away at open sea in the bigger waves.

 

[Francis Drake]

Back in the 70s when I was into mountaineering and rock climbing, I did a first aid course which was led by an ex military medic.

He started off by getting everyone to empty their various proprietary first aid kits out. He then dismantled the whole ethos of these first aid kits.

Most small first aid kits contained a range of band aids, antiseptic cream, aspirin, small bandages etc.

As he rightly pointed out, if your problem can be treated by aspirin, then live with it.
If it can be treated by a band aid, then live with it.

However, if you come by a real life threatening emergency, then the average first aid kit is about as useful as a chocolate tea pot!

His serious advice back then was to dump the band aids and use a 100 yd roll of sellotape, and a bunch of triangular bandages and gauze. A 1 metre roll of sticky plaster will disappear in an instant at the first real accident, and sellotape is obviously sterile anyway. Also forget trying to do properly taught Red Cross style bandaging, you won't have time for that, just lash everything together with as much sellotape as needed.

I took it to heart and dumped the superfluous junk, and added the sellotape roll and more triangular bandages and field dressings.

A short time later when half way up a rock face in the UK Lake District, I was alerted by someone running along the cliff face yelling at the top of his voice, "First aiders, any first aiders...... any first aiders..... please help we need help now."

I quickly descended, grabbed my stuff and ran after him. Apparently his friend had been half way up the rock face and had fallen, ending up tumbling another 100 foot down the sloping base of the cliff. He was badly gashed and looked a mess and most likely concussed.
That was the first serious call on my meagre skills and I can say easily that a normal first aid kit would have been utterly useless. Thankfully, the Mountain Rescue team had been called and we were not too far from road access.

The value of that roll of sellotape was proven beyond doubt that day.

Since that time, whenever I cut myself, I just wrap sellotape around it, much to the amusement of my wife.

 

[drjean]

OH I agree. I guess I wasn't clear enough. My bad.

I actually have 4 "First Aid" kits on my van. The handy one is for basic cuts and scrapes and slight burns... for day to day to keep out infection etc.

I have a larger grab bag one that is to work accidents with, and that's true there are but a few bandaids and antiseptic wipes on there. That one has the temporary splints, gauze and wraps for bleeding control etc. Yes a few bandaids because children need them.
Adults too-- once, after a head on on Alligator Alley, I was first on the scene as usual, and there were 4 people in the car but the driver was so smashed up you almost didn't know there was a person in the driver's seat. The others were stuck in the car but conscious and belted in--in shock and didn't realize their driver was gone. One of the backseat riders had a little bitty glass bit cut on his knee and was very concerned about this little bitty cut; I gave him a bandaid from my pocket and it helped him calm down.

I have another CERT bag with a kit inside with the tools etc. Could be a bug out if I wanted to use it but I tend to leave it alone for any community emergency potential.

The last one is for me, on the van, for any bigger emergencies and I guess is more of the bug out from the van type survival kit. Bleeding, bites, burns, broken bones...

While we're talking about it... I recently removed the aspirin from my kit. It's allergic to me and I'm thinking if it is in my kit they might think it's ok to give me one?

 

[Explorer55]

OK.

 

[Explorer55]

Ok.

 

[drjean]

....still thinking about that chocolate tea pot..

 

[pat34lee]

While we're talking about it... I recently removed the aspirin from my kit. It's allergic to me and I'm thinking if it is in my kit they might think it's ok to give me one?

If you have any severe allergies or medical conditions,
I would recommend getting a bracelet that lists them
and any prescription medication you're taking.

 

[drjean]

They don't work. I have had necklaces, bracelets, even someone with me yelling not to give me a certain drug... but NO ONE looks for a medical device/jewelry... nobody. SOME times a nurse would find it and read it afterwards, the calm one who comes in a few hours later to check pulse etc. LOL worthless items. BUT that's South Florida so maybe in other parts of the country... ?

Besides, I have 2 typed pages of medicine allergic list and reactions... carry it in my wallet with ID... but they still don't believe it. ER folks have even argued with doctors who had nearly killed me because they hadn't believed me either! They say NO ONE is allergic to epi or this or that... huh.

Plus generics are allergic to me. The compounding pharmacist says it's the fillers they use that they don't use in brand.
I'm wired backwards

 

[drjean]

Took the life jacket for my previous service dog out of it's package.... it was way too long for this service dog last year but ALAS it fits him perfectly now! Plus it folds up much smaller than I have folded it in the past so I'm keeping it available once living in the van... it will be a great insulating jacket in the snow Eager to see him see snow.

 

[drjean]

Just a reminder to have ALL sizes of bandaids in your first aid kit.... even the tiny ones. I swung open the screen door because I'm selling the house and put the door closer back onto it... had to pull it hard (for me) and my foot was in the way and it bounced right back and whacked me on the eye bone... nice 1/2" gash... but since it was on bone, not any deeper than that so i just cleaned it and closed it with the tiny bandaid strip. Gonna be a shiner though kek

 

[BravoM]

I was a medic in the Army and was deployed twice.
I do not like kits and the few that are good are still flawed. IMO and experience:
Everyone should have an IFAK. They are small enough and lightweight.
Medicine and medical supplies don't mean as much if you don't know the Why and How.
Your medical skills are limited if you don't know both.
Each squad, roughly 10-14 people had 2 First Aid/Life Saver bags and and one medic minimum.
I carried at least 30lbs of medical supplies and while being the most trained and experienced everyone was trained and certified as a First Responder.
Any cut can get infected and make someone sick. You can't throw any antibiotic at something without knowing what it is.
Anti-virals do not work on infectious microbes.
Antibiotic drugs do not work on viruses.
Neither work on necro and neuro toxins.
A book can't teach you something well and it can't correct mistakes or bad habits.