whats in a good first aid kit?

i personally think i might be over doing it. i keep a military surplus surgical kit and manual. a supply of medicines that range from over the counter cold meds to prescription pain meds antibiotics, lidocain and the means to apply. braces for every joint on the body sutures. tons of gauze tape and several raps. chem lights, knives and sharpeners and a few quarts of water. The list of what I don’t have is probably shorter. its basically a hospital in a bag. it is about 30lbs of gear.


I was wondering if anyone had ideas on what i might could cut back on?

i really dont want to lose any of it. but with that much med supplies if i was going solo it greatly cuts back on other gear i would be able to carry. although i have many weapons if i needed i could cut back to just my rifle and pistol.

any help would be great.....

Well I am set up for survival in my home, and I have a back pack ready to go if I need to leave.

This may sound goofy but I put in a mickey of whiskey in the back pack with my med supplies. Whiskey had many purposes in the ole days. Everything from anastetic to a sterilizer. So that is my suggestion. It really can have many purposes.

reply to post by Zaimless


it is also a good cough suppresent.
not a bad idea that is something i dont have, but i dont really drink that often and i dont keep it in my house, although thats an addition i may have to add..

i have another question to add to this:

is there any good sound way to prolong the shelf life of medication as well as supplies such as band aids and ointments?

it would seem to me that when "sit x" does happen medical supplies and all supplies for that matter wont be easy to come by. i have most of my kit vacume sealed but that in its self only does so much to help.

im a total gear junkie. i would like my equipment to last as long as possible. i guess this in a major research task i need to partake in.

I would get a pocket CPR mask, just in case you would need to do CPR on a close friend or family member.

I am a medic so I will carry a full medical kit w/ oxygen, OPAs and NPAs for restricted airways. But, it sounds good so far.

Also, anti-biotics would be a must out there.

reply to post by jhill76


i have a cpr mask a pretty good one.

im no medic but i was our squad combat life saver when i was in the service so my first aid traning is ok. i also keep a trach kit. and some other goodies. i keep some saline solution as well for irrigating wounds and other such tasks.

[edit on 15amu12007 by DaleGribble]

reply to post by DaleGribble


Don't know about medications in a situation like that. We are just taught to throw it out and get more. But, band-aids and the such would last longer vacuum sealed like you have said and just free from generally moister and extreme heat.

Tea Tree Oil

One of the most important things in my opinion besides bandages, etc.

That stuff is cure-in-a-bottle. I have a bottle of it and wouldn't live without it after what I've seen it can do.

It's taken away itch and swelling after bug bites, removed some sort of nasty infection/growth on my hubby's knee and all sorts of other skin problems, like acne.

Some people, like myself, can take it full strength with no ill effects. But I highly suggest it be diluted in a carrier oil, like sweet almond, in case someone might be sensitive to it.

It's anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. Never to be taken internally or used on pets in a place where they can lick it off.

You can, however, put a few drops in some steaming water and breathe the fumes for upper respiratory problems.

Above all, do some reading on it. Many sources online talk about the do's and don'ts of this plant essential oil.

No home should be without it in my opinion.

It stinks, with a very medicinal smell.

reply to post by Ceara


where can this be found a GNC or something like that. natural cures come in handy. along with my field sugerical book i keep a book of indian cures that go into great detail and even describe the plants used and where to find them in the USA...

you might also keep in mind that willow bark is natures aspirin so you can keep a little of that in a zip lock bag and suck on it like a cough drop or make a tea with it, Pine needles make a good tasting tea and has many nutrients..
sphagnum moss is also good it can be boiled or even just soaked in water and is considered to be natures iodine and could be useful for many things..
there are countless uses for the plants around you you just have to be diligent in your research a lot of what we consider weeds in our yards are actually edible plants that could help to sustain you..

always do you research and remember if you aren't sure to try it in small amounts and that way if you are wrong it may make you uncomfortable but shouldn't kill you..

We keep a basic first aid kit for use in the house that's packed in a back pack if we need to get out fast so we can take it with us in an emergency.

Here's the bag we use and it weighs about 10-12 lbs.




Here's a picture of most of the contents.



From top to bottom and left to right the contents are:

Top Row

Strip bandages
Wound packing or covers
Elastic bandage
Stitching kit with scalpels, needles, thread, scissors, etc....
Hydrogen peroxide
Isopropyl alcohol
Q-tips, absorbent pads, cotton balls


Next Row

Thermal reflective blanket
Injection needles
Irrigation syringe
Asst. needles & pins
Hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes
Mild sedative
Iodine
Super Glue
Boric acid
Infazinc
Acetaminophen 650 mg


Row Three

Vaseline
Matches (strike anywhere)
Latex & plastic gloves
Barrier cream
Calamine lotion
Nail polish remover
Tampons and pads (they stop bleeding in more than one way)


Last Line

Surgical masks
Small bandages
Water
Doggy mask for kids (a child in distress loses all vision except line of sight when wearing the mask and they can't see what may be going on around them in a bloody situation. It can really help focus their attention)


The kit also has a couple towels, wet naps, a few prescription items, a small bottle of Whiskey and topical anesthetic.

The contents are water proof to the point that you could swim a river and the inside stays dry.


Over all it's a good kit for emergencies, but if you have any suggestions on what I could add please let me know.
Keep in mind that I don't have a lot of room in the bag to add much more...

Here is my partial list of a ''Home-base Medical/Health Kit''. This is only partial as I am currently updating and adding to it.

CONTAINER
Medium to large plastic sealable container
Several small plastic sealable containers

GENERAL HEALTH
Sphyganometer
Stethoscope
Thermometer - Tympanic (Aural) or Digital (Oral)

CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR)
Pocket Mask (or face shield)

WOUND CARE
Wound Dressing Pack
Sterile Gloves (Non-Latex)
Sterile Field
Sterile Galley Pot
Saline
Sterile Scissors

Dressings
Must be sterile, these are applied directly to wound
Sterile Burn Dressings
Sterile Eye Pads
Sterile Gauze Pads
Sterile Non-adherent Pads

Bandages
Adhesive Bandages
Elastic Bandages
Gauze Bandages
Plasters (Assorted types)
Steri-Strips (Adhesive Sutures)
Triangular Bandages

INSTRUMENTS
Adhesive Tape (hypoallergenic)
Forceps (Spencer-wells)
Lighter - Sterilising purposes
Sterile Scissors
Syringes - Assorted sizes from 2ml to 50 ml.
Trauma Shears
Tweezers

EQUIPMENT
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Eye shields, face masks
Gloves - (disposable non-latex)
Sterile Gloves - (disposable non-latex)
Eye cup or small plastic cup
Torch
Penlight
Headlamp
Instant-acting chemical cold packs
Sterile eye wash (commonly saline)
Sterile saline (used for cleaning wounds where clean tap water is not available)
Swabs, sterile non-woven
Space blanket (lightweight plastic foil blanket, also known as "emergency blanket")
Alcohol rub (hand sanitizer) or antiseptic hand wipes

MEDICATIONS (Drugs)
Analgesics
Aspirin (Acetylsaliclic Acid) (Soluable)
Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) (Capsules)

Antihistamine
Piriton (Chlorpheniramine Maleate) (Tablets)

Anti-Inflammatory
Ibuprofen (Capsules)

Anti-Itch Ointment
Hydrocortisone cream
Antihistamine cream, such as benadryl
Calamine lotion

Constipation
Senokot (Senna) (Granules or Syrup)

Diarrhoea
Imodium (Loperamide Hyrochloride) (Capsules or Syrup)

Incidently, you can buy small CPR face shields that fit on a keyring and weigh next to nothing.

You may ask why have a face mask?

In my experience as i am sure a few others on here will back up, I have lost count of how many 'patients/clients etc' vomit whilst CPR is being performed on them - Not something you particulary want in your mouth.

PS: For those of you not in the know - Compressions are 30:2 in the UK now - 30 compressions to 2 breaths.

[edit on 30/6/08 by Wotan]

Sorry double post.

Sorry double post.

[edit on 30/6/08 by Wotan]

Originally posted by Wotan

In my experience as i am sure a few others on here will back up, I have lost count of how many 'patients/clients etc' vomit whilst CPR is being performed on them - Not something you particulary want in your mouth.

I'll back you up on that, I had a kid regurgitate into my mouth while I was was trying to save him from drowning. He happened to blow just as I was inhaling and it caused me to choke mid-breath.

In an emergency you don't have a lot of choices, but for mouth to mouth I learned the hard way to turn my head before I inhale.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


here is a list of what i have(in no particlure order):

Stethoscope
Thermometer
Wound Dressing Pack
Sterile Gloves
Sterile Field
Sterile Galley Pot
Saline
Sterile Scissors
CPR mask
Adhesive Tape
Forceps
Lighter - Sterilising purposes
Sterile Scissors
Syringes - Assorted sizes from 2ml to 50 ml.
Trauma Shears
Tweezers
Headlamp
Vaseline
Matches
chemical cold packs
Thermal reflective blanket
Injection needles
Irrigation syringe
Asst. needles & pins
Hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes
Mild sedative
Iodine
super glue
Stitching kit uper Glue
two field manuels

the medication i keep:
lidocane,orajel,tramadol,prednisone(im allergic to motrin,tylenol cold,hydrocodone,zovirax,mupirocin,bacitracin,promethazine,lamisil,goldbond medicated,delsym,cephalexin,amoxicillin,doxycycline,clindamycin,halls with vitamin C,campho phenique,benadryl, valum. and many others i have at least 100 medications i keep..

and everything else ive listed in my above posts.
thanks for the imput so far i can already see there are a few things i need to add...




[edit on 15pmu12007 by DaleGribble]

Dale,
It sounds like you have got a pretty good kit going there... and regarding your question about storage of bandages and dressings etc... I keep all of mine seperated into little ziplock baggies. Quite a while back, my FAK was stored outside in my shed.. and when I was taking inventory one day, I had noticed that a rather large bottle of antiseptic treatment had broken open (either frozen or had gotten crushed) and it ruined all of the dressings I had... so note to self there.

I used to think that I was a little off by having the Special Forces Medical Handbook (Manual ST 31-91B) and a field surgery kit... but it's better to be safe.

Outside of the additions that the others have provided, the only thing I would suggest is to pay close attention to the storage of of your goods... it is pretty easy to have a mishap and end up with a bunch of cotton waste at the least opportune time.

My C.02
T-

Dale, looks pretty complete. I agree with you, the weight of your med kit might make it seem too much, but you might not be able to find those things.... better to make slower progress IMO and have it.

Couple of things you might want to think about.. SAM splints are lightweight, foldable and are really pretty amazing as to their potential application.

Duct tape. Good for many things medical.

Last thing..... check your suture pack in your medic kit. Seems like even foil/mylar sealed, they degrade after a year or so. I don't know why that is, but I restock that portion of the kit about every two years.

cheers

reply to post by argentus


i didnt know that about sutures. ill keep that in mind. most of the more "advanced" medical gear i have is pretty hard to come by. as i do not work in the medical field.


telemetry, its a very good idea to keep every thing individualy wraped and its something i do not just for preservation but orgiznation as well.

i donot however trust ziplock. great in the freezer but they have a tendincy to leak some times so i generally seal things with a vacume sealer.

i must pose another question.

tips and tricks?

i have read many first aid books, but i still never seem to get it all.
i recently took a white water rescue class and a wilderness first responder cource. both very good. i learnded alot about how to treat victims in the wilderness. something one needs to know for "SIT X"....