View Full Version : First Aid Kit
OK - I put my First Aid kit together. I was able to find a red "shave kit" bag at Sportsman’s, which I added a perfect sized Plano plastic box to for storing everything. It is just the right size to store the kit contents, and will fit great on my sled behind the seat. Inside the kit I have:
Vinyl gloves
Various sized bandages and band-aids
Various sized gauze pads
Scissors
Tweezers
Triangle bandage with safety pins
Medical tape
Long wood q-tip
Extra hand warmer
Alcohol pads
Tear-open Purell packets
Antiseptic pads
Neosporin
Burn ointment
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
Benadryl
Spare zip-lock bag
Everything is packed in a few zip lock bags, keeping it dry and fresh. I thought about an ace bandage, but haven't added it yet. I also would like to get some nitrile gloves to replace the vinyl ones.
Any other suggestions on kit contents?
Ben
flak mover
09-30-10, 06:30 AM
Great list (Add the ACE), due to the cold and some tape not sticking well, i would add kerlix also. Worst case scenario would be some Quick Clot to stop bleeding (used with your bandages) and a Commercial tournaquet. With the amount of clothing, and cold temps, this will allow you to stop the bleeding and keep the patient warm while evacuating, or waiting for EMTs etc to arrive
I'd throw in a sam splint too, they take up very little space and work well, especially for broken upper extremities...
http://www.sammedical.com/sam_splint.html
An Ace and the SAM splint are good ideas, the commercial tournequet... ummm... not so much, I'd never put one on unless there were (perhaps) a fully severed limb, and then right at the stump if needed. Bleeding should be controlled by direct pressure and or pressure dressings, yes you can briefly apply pressure to the artery flow proximally (closer to the body) than the severly bleeding site to help with initially stopping the blood flow, but only briefly. Trauma shears may be better than the scissors for cutting through chest protectors and all the gear we typically have on, rule of thumb is to use the zippers first (obviously) then cut fabric only if needed as anything you cut off makes it very hard to then keep the person warm during the extrication.
Throw a few Aspirin in there too, (take one) for chest pain/suspecting heart attack, but not for trauma/injury.
Koban or Vetwrap may work better than tape as it will still tend to stick to itself if cold and your basic medical tape will be hard as a rock and all but useless if frozen.
Shovel handles and AVI probes work well as splints, the aluminum clutch cover on some sleds can be pulled off and bent on site for legs ect... think outside the box, use what ya got, get creative!
Best bet, take a basic or advanced first aid class, and then a wilderness first aid class.
My background:
9 years Paramedic
12 years ICU RN
6 years Recovery Room RN
And a smattering of cardiac cath lab and ER in there over the years.
Oh, and past skills proctor at regional Paramedic training program back in CA.
Ford428CJ
10-03-10, 05:38 AM
Are you giving your age away here!?!? LOL J/K. On a serious note, this is very good info for anyone! First aid/cpr class's are a good thing to have under your belt!
For what we are doing, the wilderness first aid class is probably more important. Most first aid/cpr classes teach you skills to stabilize until the ambulance gets there in 5 minutes. The wilderness first aid teaches you to think outside the box and use what is available to stabilize and if necessary, to move a patient, sometimes having to care for hours or even days. Great info to have in your brainium.
Me? I just make sure that half the guys I ride with are paramedics ;)
LOL, no age give away, before I more or less fell into the medical field I was a fry cook, a house painter, a construction grunt, a hardware store guy, worked salmon processing up in AK one summer, and whatever else paid the bills and got me through college!
You can go as basic as you want or you can carry a full blown trauma pack, personally I carry some bulky dressing material, some kerlix, koban, a few aspirin, ibuprofen and a couple of vicodin (for me if I'm injured) a couple of antibiotic ointment packets and some bandaids, the rest of it comes from what's available on hand at the time. I carry this all in my "oh sh*t" bag which is in my pack, which also has a small bit of food, some bullion cubes, a car flare, a couple of glow sticks, 2 rescue blankets and a couple of spare batteries for my LED flashlight (with laser). The laser can be seen for miles BTW and is an arrow pointing directly to you so long as it's not howling down snow, snowing lightly actually helps allot and will illuminate the entire length of the beam.
As BCDan said, a wilderness first aid class will provide you with your best tools/skill set for dealing with injury in the back country, summer or winter, in my opinion AT LEAST as important as AVI training for snowmobiling in central OR.
Sure, take a Paramedic snowmobiling, the beers on you, LOL!
BTW, I'm 51 and praying for snow.
Thats ok Dan, cause if those paramedics u ride with don't work out us Landscapers know how to dig a hole!!! :) But then after our last ride I think u have the hole thing covered. Can't wait to bust some powder with u guys this year.
Ford428CJ
10-03-10, 04:07 PM
For what we are doing, the wilderness first aid class is probably more important. Most first aid/cpr classes teach you skills to stabilize until the ambulance gets there in 5 minutes. The wilderness first aid teaches you to think outside the box and use what is available to stabilize and if necessary, to move a patient, sometimes having to care for hours or even days. Great info to have in your brainium.
Me? I just make sure that half the guys I ride with are paramedics ;)
Kind of like an Airmens Manual then..... Think outside the box when it come to combat/work area injuries and how to treat the individual! ;) I'll have to show it to you Dan. But it doesn't make up for a paramedic.....
Ford428CJ
10-03-10, 04:14 PM
LOL, no age give away, before I more or less fell into the medical field I was a fry cook, a house painter, a construction grunt, a hardware store guy, worked salmon processing up in AK one summer, and whatever else paid the bills and got me through college!
BTW, I'm 51 and praying for snow.
Jeesh!!! You blew it!!! LOL
But you didnt have to give out your age. I just like making people think is all... Jack of all trades. Like myself LOL.
Thats ok Dan, cause if those paramedics u ride with don't work out us Landscapers know how to dig a hole!!! :) But then after our last ride I think u have the hole thing covered. Can't wait to bust some powder with u guys this year.
I would think after that last ride, you would be running for the hills at any suggestion of riding with me! Dang, those were some IMPRESSIVE trenches! I would think they would do any landscaper proud!! Any deeper, you would need to bring the Case 580 with the Extend-a-hoe ;)
Heck no, I'm sure one of these days I will be paid back but if not that is a bonus.