View Full Version : first aid
evening all it`s my first posting so give us a break :o):
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
17-10-2004, 20:31
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. :wink: 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
17-10-2004, 21:09
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.
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
18-10-2004, 08:42
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
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
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
Cheers tantalus and all who answered, i will now go and practice. :You_Rock_
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.
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
19-10-2004, 03:26
Moleskin?
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.
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 :lol:
As I've said before, I'd carry Martyn along as my FAK :o): (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 painkillershttp://boaty.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fak.jpg
Motorbike Man
19-10-2004, 11:21
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 :wink:
Little Mole
19-10-2004, 13:09
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.
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... :cry:
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
19-10-2004, 13:39
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.
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
Used to be in the Red Cross until I joined up, since then I've done a number of medic courses, usually prior to operational deployment abroad. Going on another one in a few weeks, Team medic, apparently it's changed since the last time I did one as you are no longer allowed to give IV's or morphine. To stay qualified I have to do a refresher every 3 years and during that time we are continually exercised to keep up to speed. If you don't continually practice you will get skill fade and when it comes to the crunch you will have forgotten what to do.
Moleskin?
:o): :rolmao: :lol:
:You_Rock_
Moleskin?
Doesn't look like anyone answered this one...
Its a self-adhesive, hypo-allergenic(sp?) felt-like material used to cushion tender areas, such as where boots or packs straps may rub. It's called moleskin because the non-sticky side is very soft, like moleskin.
I always have a load in my main FAK as its fantastic stuff. Especially when you've just got a new pair shoes...
(Yes, I am wearing some on my little toe...:sulk: )
Trikey,
Tweezers are a must for getting splinters or thorns out of your skin & an anti-histamine for bites & stings. I think the rest has been covered.
cheers
Can anyone reccomend some good steristrips as the ones I have are pretty naff!
swamp donkey
09-09-2005, 23:15
QUOTE=swamp donkey]Heres some purposeful wanderings around the personal first aid kit. Its not supposed to be egg sucking just my own thoughs born out by experience, It may A bit late for this thread maybe but just might interest someone :rolleyes
IMHO All of us that work alone or go down to the woods ;) alone should have a personal first aid kiit. It also needs to be on our person or very close . This may seem obvoius but it can often be hard to get it right.
They do not need to be very large small belt pack will surfice. They do need to have 2 other attributes :-
1.`You must be able to open it with one hand. Pound to a pinch of salt when you need it you will be hanging on to something that hurts or is leaking :eek:
2. It needs to be in a truely waterproof container. A First aid kit, that got wet last week will be absolutly useless when you want it.
So heres what I carry and why and some alternatives .It should be ok for most people but check allergies
1. A good strong pair of nail scissors not clipers. problems with toe and finger nails can cause misery. I use fiskars nice and strong.
2. Some thing to remove splinters . could be splinter tweezers , a wide bore hyperdermic needle (my choice) or even a good strong sharp sewing needle.
3. Something to plug a big wound . Army first field dressing , bloodstopper or even a couple of sanitary towels and a 3 inch /75mm crepe bandage (easiest to put on with one hand) Do not go for the ambulance dressings you get in HSE kits as they are very compressed and hard to get out with one hand.
4. Betadine paint, a good all round anteseptic comes in a tough little bottle (squash proof).
5. .Assorted plasters, Good quality fabric ones, cheap ones just do not stay on. I use the strip type and precut into a different sizes.
6. a plastic bag big ehough to put a burnt hand in .
7. A J cloth to mop up and clean.
8. a small roll of 1 inch / 25mm zinc oxide tape . White not skin colour as it sticks so much better. lots of uses,
9. a couple of squares of melalin wound dressing or simalar.
This collection will it into a pretty small container.
This collection has not let me down so far , mind you I always seem to be using it on other folks who dont have a first aid kit :rolleyes:
Hope this helps some one other than me.[/QUOTE]
As you can see I have transfered this across from another thead (lazy or what :rolleyes:
I did forget one other thing that I have used a few times which is a sam splint but its in the bag as it is to big for a belt kit.
I do have a bigger kit depending what I am up to . (which also includes a syphg and hand suction :p )
.
Bardster
09-09-2005, 23:48
As a reenactor using blunt steel weapons the injuries we most often get are crush and sprain style rather than cuts etc. As a group within a society it has been decided that every group must have its own first aider and a first aid kit. because of the nature of the injuries the society H&E officer has soourced first aid kits specific to the task. these kits are 50 person kits and should cover all eventualites and I shall have one in the car at all times. hmm i seem to have rambled a bit and forgot my point... oh well :) will post this anyway - may remember later and edit :D :D
MitsosOSougi
10-09-2005, 20:04
Always remember that you must know what you are doing. Get some training in first. The red-cross/St. John's training is fine, but it is only the beginning.
Then what do you expect to happen to you? Do you want a kit for just comfort, every-day stuff or for something bigger, like a car accident? How much time will you have to care for the patient?
I have 3 med-pouches. One for the car, one "delux" portable pouch and one small boo-boo kit.
The one in the car is a much-larger version of the "delux" portable.
The small kit has stuff in it to make every day accidents comfortable.
The Delux kit is what I will depend, have depended on, for major incidents:
(of the top of my head)
6 pairs of Nitrile Gloves (always 1 size larger than what fits)
2 Tqs one ellastic, one static
1 roll 1 inch tape
1 small roll of duct tape
10 small 0.5 ml IV Vials
2 Hemostatic Bandages (1 small, 1 large)
2 Elastic Bandages
1 Asherman Chest Seal
1 Nasal Airway Tube
20 m paracord
1 Wound Closure kit: 1 Scissors, 1 Forcept, 1 Tweezer, 1 Chromic Gut 3-0, 10 3M Steri strips. Note: these are not for Closing Skin, these are four stiching up mafor wounds.
1 Medic Shears
Many Alc. Pads
1 Betadine Ointment tube (the 5% not the common 2%)
1 14 gauge needle with cath.
1 Penknife
1 Led Flashlight
1 Tikka Headlight
6 small satchels of water gel
Safety pins (to pin the tongue to the lip)
1 facemask for mouth isolation during CPR
1 Large zip-lock bag (which can turn into an Ashermans Seal with some duck-tape)
Meds:
1 Vial of Epi + Syringe and needle
10 Atarax (antihestamine)
10 Ciprofloxacin (antibiotic)
10 Nurofen (ibuprofen)
50 Aspirins (as anti-inflematory/painkiller)
3 Vials Bemerol
10 Imodium
1 Aerolin Inhaler
This is the stuff I have in my delux kit (I might have forgotten something).
On the car kit I have also IVs Needles and tubes, as well as 5 Sams Splints.
But the best tool is training!
Note: I am not allowed to use have of the above stuff in the UK. I can use then in the US or in Greece. From experience: you can always find a doctor nearby that is allowed to use the kit!
Edit: I took a pic with a £5 note for refence of the delux kit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/MitsosOSougias/IMG_3129.jpg
bogflogger
21-01-2006, 14:51
I have been looking around for a comprehensive first aid kit, like some of the ones above. Does anybody know anything about the Adventure Medical range of kits from the USA? I think it would be much less hassle to buy a complete kit rather than make one up, and I have seen these on special offer from Outdoorcode over on the British Blades site. If anyone has one of these what do you think of it? Or does anyone know any good alternatives?
I have been looking around for a comprehensive first aid kit, like some of the ones above. Does anybody know anything about the Adventure Medical range of kits from the USA? I think it would be much less hassle to buy a complete kit rather than make one up, and I have seen these on special offer from Outdoorcode over on the British Blades site. If anyone has one of these what do you think of it? Or does anyone know any good alternatives?
Adventure medical kits were designed for them by Dr Eric Weiss ER Doctor at Stamford Medical Center. First rate kit I have the following and reccomend them
Fundimentals, Day tripper, and a small kit from A****er Carey thats EDC with my PSK. the books in the AMK kits is first rate highly reccomend them.
Lee :cool: P.S. In a recent issue of backpacker magazine first aid section ask Buck a Dr.. He has treated hundreds with nothing more than whats in a ziploc bag 1 qt size I think (from memory).