Why this Forum is Important and Boring

Cool I look forward to learning!!!

 

Same for me, I've just had basic CPR and first aid from when I worked for the state. Always ready to lean more on this cause I spend so much time in fairly remote areas for work and recreation.

 

@Rook52 Here are a couple of items that I did not see in your kit. I always have tweezers, eye wash, and Benadryl. Eye wash is different than stuff like Visine that is designed to remove redeye. Eye wash is easy on the eyes and can be used in copious amounts without ill effect. I buy Walgreens house version that is simply called Artificial Tears. The Benadryl can be used for all kinds of bug bites in addition to the allergy benefits.

 

Thanks @JAD that's why I'm always reluctant to buy a made kit. Knowledge is power and my FAK needs some help

 

@DYSPHORIC JOY I sustained the very ring finger trauma you mentioned. I was climbing on a belay and fell as I lost the grip with my right hand. My left hand was hooked over a small rock handhold and took my full weight, only mometarily, on the joint of my finger with my wedding band on it, before being caught on my belay. The damage was done. The gold band deformed to out of round. The rock nicked the edge of the band like a knife blade struck on a rock. But the worst damage was to my finger. The band itself was driven into the bottom of my first knuckle cutting a circular line into the soft tissue. Just think about it this way. Try to take a wedding ring off when it is a little tight from a swollen finger. Now think in terms of it being sharp enough to cut you and the cut line it might make if you continued to force it. Fortunately we were just bouldering about 20 feet off the deck. So I got to the ground and believe it or not managed to get my ring off using dish washing soap that was in my pack. The cut was not overly traumatic nor deep and there were no broken knuckles or bones.

Sidenote to all of this is that I later put my wedding ring in a vise to squeeze it back into something resembling round and then filed off the chipped edge. My wife was kind of pissed but you know how guys can be. "Jeweler? We don't need no stinkin" jeweler". I'll try to post a picture of the ring when I get home. Second note, I quit wearing after that. She still loves me anyway.

 

Anytime I'm doing anything active, my ring comes off. The wife understands, luckily. The new QALO bands are pretty interesting for these kinds of things as well, and I might get one if I can get over wearing an o-ring on my finger.

 

HA, I've definitely eaten a good bit of Plantain! And I wish we had scorpions here!

I have seen some of that research, very intriguing stuff! I

 

Some more thoughts on this topic and a few pictures. I will generally buy an assembled kit and then build up from there.



You can see I labeled this kit Feb 2014 when I bought it. Like DJ stated, this is one of the most important parts of my traveling kit, whether it is by car, watercraft, or backpacking/camping. As such I don't abuse it. It is always carried in either a ziploc baggie or a sealskin clear drybag. This kit has already been on 4 float trips this summer and still looks new. I make everyone in the group aware of where it is located. There should be no delay in finding this kit if someone is in need of medical care and beginning administration.

Inside pictures of pouches and storage. Alongside I've added latex gloves and a heat reflective blanket. Not seen are medical scissors and additional tape and ace wraps. This kit also came with a fairly extensive paperback first aid book.



These are the tweezers I like to carry.



And a link to finding them on Amazon in a two pack.

https://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Bills-...474061175&sr=8-5&keywords=uncle+bills+tweezer

My perishables are usually carried in waterproof pill pouches. These mini ziplocs can be found in most drug stores. I do this because they pack easier (flat), I can see how many I have left, and I only have to change an index card to change my expiration date on the medicine (instead of writing over the original packaging pill bottle with stamped exp. date).



When the pouch is packed and ready for going in the kit.



Lastly, I am dogmatic about going through the kit before every trip. If one of my kids borrow it I make them go through it with me before they leave. They roll their eyes but they damn well do it. I want them to know what they've got before they are trying to use it under stress.

 

This is why I always overpack. And probably always will.

 

DJ, thanks for starting this thread. I am a registered nurse here in Alabama and have been for several years now. I retired from our local fire department in 2010 with over 25 years in the fire service. I had also been a paramedic for about 27 years when I retired. I let my medic license go after retiring because I knew I wouldn't be riding an ambulance or medic truck anymore. I have a few thoughts I would like to add to your thread, if I may.

First of all, as for personal first aid kits or jump kits. If anyone is thinking about buying a pre-assembled kit my advise is to really look to see exactly what comes in the kit and the quality of the contents as well. There are lots of different kits a person can buy right off the shelf and so many of them contain tons of bandaids, little tiny bandaids, they are totally useless. Some contain all kinds of ointments and creams, such as burn creams. Others have stethoscopes and BP cuffs that are cheap junk. That's why I prefer to build my own kit.

I also encourage anyone that has an interest in becoming a first responder or EMT to look for local classes and get as much education as you can get. I remember when I went and took EMT Basic, that's all I was after, EMT Paramedic had not even crossed my mind. lol. I can promise you that when you pass the class and have that license in hand..... you earned that, nobody gave it to you. It's a challenge but a worthwhile challenge.

One of my pet peeves that I always passed on to my students in EMT class during our firefighter rookie schools, concerned checking all the equipment on the trucks and the trucks themselves at the start of every shift. I always emphasized how important it is too make sure they ALWAYS check every piece of equipment to be sure it is where it should be on the truck and that it is in proper working order. It's a bad day when you pull up on a full arrest and your cardiac monitor won't power on because somebody forgot to put fresh batteries back in it after using it during the shift before yours. Or maybe you roll up on a auto accident in your mini-pumper/ rescue truck and the driver of one of the vehicles is pinned in and there are flames coming from under the hood. Your partner puts the pump in gear and you open the nozzle to put the fire out but..... yep you guessed it, no water comes out because there is no water in the tank because you were too busy eating breakfast and didn't get your truck checked before the tones went off. Yep, another bad day. While either of the scenarios may seem a little far-fetched, they are not. These are just a couple of examples of what can very easily happen if we don't do our jobs and check our response vehicles and every piece of equipment on them.

This post is just some food for thought on several topics and I hope that maybe it will help someone in some way. Whether you are someone just thinking about starting out pursuing your EMT license or you are a seasoned veteran, my hats off to you.

 

Great thread! I carry a very limited first aid kit on my adventures. I'm always a bit concerned that I should carry more.

 

This is really great thanks dysphoric joy

 

Does hornet venom make your penis big? If so can i get some please.

 

I thought I'd bump this thread, for a variety of reasons;

1) Because gear is all well and good, but fairly useless without training, ideally topped-off with hands-on experience.
2) It's already been pointed out, but I'll say it again - don't just buy a 1st aid kit. Know how to use it. And contrary to what some people tell themselves, you aren't just going to "instinctively" know what to do in most cases.
3) With training and experience, a backcountry first aid kit doesn't need to be massive - a lot of it comes down to knowing how to improvise, stabilize and get the person out if needed.

If you are interested in getting backcountry-specific med training, I would highly recommend the Wilderness Medicine Institute.

My work in a previous life required a minimum of Wilderness First Responder certification (80-hour course, re-upped every 2 years)), and I was a WFR for 13 years. I always found WMI's instruction to be top-notch and based on the most up-to-date research.

At the very least, check out this book. I believe it belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who regularly spends time in the backcountry - https://www.amazon.com/NOLS-Wilderness-Medicine-Schimelpfenig-2016-07-01/dp/B01K16O0PI

 

Falling asleep in the hammock after a 14 hour day.
(Saturday. Weekend. Wait ... What's a weekend? )

But glad to see this thread alive and informative.

 

I don't like carrying a lot. I already carry a lot of extra weight. I have Patrick and Randall on my speed dial. I would just call them to come get me.

 

Depends a lot on where you are, and how far you are from help if you need it.

I think a lot of us, if we take a critical look at what we carry in the backcountry, could easily pare down enough weight to carry a reasonable IFAK. Maybe it's just me, but I would never trust my safety and well-being to a cell phone.

 

Great topic! I’ve been a paramedic for nearly 30 years, and I’ll be the first to admit the kit I carry is minimalist. I used to carry a trauma center in a bag and still keep it available at home. Over the years I’ve scaled back what I carry. Pretty much just to stop bleeding and provide relief from mosquito bites, splinters, etc. I recently picked up a well designed, inexpensive bag made by Condor as I found it the perfect size for what I carry. Contents are: tourniquet, a few gauze pads, a military bloodstopper, Quickclot gauze, space blanket, a few bandaids, splinter forceps, Vaseline gauze, Benadryl cream, and a micro LED red map light. There are a multitude of injuries I would fall short of treating. But, over the years, I’ve simply weeded it down to a bare minimum of items I’ve truly needed over the decades. Come to think of it, I should dump the Vaseline gauze. I’ve never needed that
Oh yeah... if you’re not carrying a tourniquet ~ FIX THAT!