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First aid box, what to put inside?


Glenn

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There was a thread about a minor injury that happened in the field that resulted in 6 stitches. It got me to thinking about putting a first aid kit together (several actually) to put one in each car, the ATV, tractor, shop, etc just in case of an accident.

 

The box should be about the size of an ammo box or dry box for ammo so it would not get wet etc.  It should be able to handle both small scrapes, abrasions, small punctures etc, as well as some provisions for a major incident such as lacerations, deep wounds, broken bones, and bites from spiders and snakes.

 

What do you put inside in order to handle most medical emergencies?  AND we need to keep it light weight so you can grab and go,   

 

=====================

 

 

The contents should be sectionalized. If it is a small scrape, then pull out the small scrape bag. If it is a deep would pull out the deep wound bag. 

 

Label each bag as to the useful application and contents. All bags of items should be sealed in clear plastic. This way you can pull out different bags and not contaminate the contents of the unused bag.

 

The top item should be a loud whistle. This will alert others that there is a problem. Use your cell phone if it is available. Getting help moving in your direction is most important if you have a problem. Do not hesitate in calling for help as seconds and time can be critical.

 

Next in the box should be a notebook with 2 non-smear pens a sharpie marker is good. For general injuries this will not be used. For a major problem it will be very useful as you need to write down the patients name, what you did, or what medications were given. The hospital needs this information.  Write it on the patients arm or body with arrows on the hand, neck, etc pointing to the information. Add the *info - look here* so they can not miss it.

 

What sectionalized bags do you suggest?  What should the bags contain? What extra items should be included such as a bic lighter or fire starter, space blanket, large sheet of plastic or drop cloth, trash bag(s) etc.

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First up, we need a burn kit, an old clean pillowcase, bandana etc, and a bottle of sterile saline ( look for non buffered by the contact lense cleaner) wile your there get a bottle of eyewash, it's neirly the same but it has a special head to was out your eye better.
For a big deap burn, cover with gauze (I like nonstick) and the pillow case, then wet it down.
This goes in the shop,

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For a small wound kit I carry a cloth finger bandage assortment, a pair of forceps (tweezers) and provadine 7% iodine solution. This can be had in a bottle or as wipes.
I also carry superglue, your media all proffesinal may not approve.
My normal large wound kit is horse exentric, but if it can deal with a 12" lasseration on a horses leg it will work on Peaple.
I use a red soft side beer cooler, 6pack size with a hard insurt.
I carry premi diapers, and duck tape for hoof bulb and sole injories, I carry cheap maxi pads for trams dressings, as well as 4x6 nonstick pads, and vet wrap ( it is a coadhesive dressing, bu bigger and cheaper than what they sell for humans) I store it in a small hard side takel box (if it gets squeezed it sticks to its self, so inspect it to make sure kids and careless strockers haven't squashed it) I also carry padding, old hand towels, cotton batting or shipping boots to pad the lim (not important for a 30 min trip to the ER but important for long turm wound management)
Don't use ointments on any wound you may have to have stitched up, wash the wound out. I carry "vettrician" ( it is used for managing ulcerated wounds in Peaple, but you need a prescriptian) Chlorhexdine salution ( used to tray skin infectians and as a wound wash for animals, used in anti plac mouthwash) or I make up a .5% provadine iodine .5% saline (salt) and water salution (lea gal to use on Peaple) I use a spray bottle on stream to flush out the wound. Irrigating the wound really keeps down your chances of infection, the sooner the better. Even if its just drinking water. If blood is gushing you got some time, but not if its squirting. This is what the doctor dose with the kidney shaped bowl and the Serengeti befor he sewes you up.
Splints can be made up of a lot of things, but heavy duty aluminum foil works well and is conveiiant.
I would talk to your doctors about clotting agents, some are way cool, like the stuff the military and EMS is using, some not so much, as its made from clay and the doctors have to scrape it out befor they patch you up.
The small "nose bleed" size would have stoped Vaughn's blead fast.
Ad to this starry strips (butterfly bandages) ask for the glue that you use with it. And you doing good.
As to drugs, even over the counter, it's against the law in the US to give them to some one, except you minor children unless your a licensed doc, or working under ones license. You can take it your self, the wounded party can take it, but you can't "administer" it. That said. Benadryl, Tylenol, Advil, Aleve and aspirin all have a place, as dose amodium and peptmalbisml.

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Glenn,

 

I am a bit lazy as to typing so I am posting this site as it has about everything you need for different types of First-aid kits that I have built using their bags and tweaked them to suit my & my families needs .

 

http://beprepared.com/essential-gear/emergency-kits.html

 

Sam

 

I also have a Military version of a Trauma kit  sutures included

http://www.nitro-pak.com/products/emergency-preparedness/1st-aid/surgical-kits

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With some sterile gauze and a half dozen cravats, you can bandage just about anything.  The cravats work well with splinting, you can improvise on the splints themselves.  This would allow you to get somewhere to doctor the wound properly whether that be the hospital, minor emergency clinic or home. 

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From recent personal experience.....  :D

 

It depends on what you're dealing with.

 

In the smithy, I'm looking at cuts, certainly, but also burns.  In the woods, I'm not seeing a lot of burns, but the chances of a good cut have increased dramatically.  Splinters and junk in the eye are about the same risk factor for both locations, imo.

 

Things I noted:  The medical tape I used to secure the gauze didn't have hardly any stickiness to it, and came loose after about ten minutes.  Water is needed to flush a wound, but it takes up a lot of space.  An eye-flusher kit would be a great addition to the medical kits, regardless of what vehicle they're going in to, because it can serve two purposes.

 

Questions I had:  What is the shelf-life of medical supplies kept in un-heated conditions?  If you keep the kits in your house, moving them to the vehicle only when in use....  will you really have it with you when you need it?  Or, will you be cussing up a storm while you're bleeding because the medical kit that was supposed to be with the atv or tractor is back at the house where you forgot it?

 

This is a big one for me, because I know my dad won't take a medical kit out into the woods with him if I don't bolt it to the tractor.  Of course, I don't want to waste supplies if they won't last.  Can a sealed ammo can full of supplies last through the freeze-thaw-hot-cold-wet of sitting on a tractor for months on end?  

 

Things I'm looking to use for future kits:  Duct tape instead of medical tape.  Eye flushing kit.  Neosporin anti-biotic gel.  Gauze by the ton, in patches and wraps.  Band-aids in all sizes and shapes, most especially those designed for knees and elbows.  Betadine solution, maybe, if it has a shelf-life.  Focus is on hard-goods that won't degrade over time.

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Betidine will freez, and the cheap wrappers on gauss and bandages come apart in the heat. But if stored in plastic bags will be a heck of a lot cleaner than the old rag dad uses to wipe the dipstick. There are mor durable packaged products available at medical supply houses and safty supply houses. As to water, you should be carrying drinking water anyway.
Duck tape certainly has its place, but I don't like it for holding a primary dressing. When it comes to tape, ther is tape and then their is Tape! As my patients are usually hairy curlex gauz and vet rap are the ticket.
Cravats are very useful. Make them yourself. First off you want a tough cotton fabric, the long edge goes with the worp of the fabric (same direction as the salvage) and the short sides are cut diagonal. Make them 36-45" on the long side. Another exultant use for old sheets.
As we're to have the kit. One in the car, one in the house, one on the tractor, one in your pocket.. (Or in Vaughn's moms purse ;-) each one tailerd to what your likely to face. One other thing their are two types of kits, your kit, to be used to save your life, to he used on your wounds. Then their are kits for treating others.

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