First Aid Kit

[GPSGuided]

Can't believe I couldn't find a dedicated thread on this. Let me know if I am wrong.

Q: What do you all carry for your first aid kit?

For me, it's 3-4 medium sized square bandaids, tube of betadine ointment/powder, a small heavy weight crepe bandage, a strip of Panadeine Forte tablets, a strip of Voltaren tablets. a thermal blanket and two differently sized guedel airways.

[Davidf61]

Add a safety pin or two, tweezers, Imodium tablets, handwash-- [see Imodium tablets!].....

[Joomy]

Definitely should be a sticky thread!

I recently revised my "survival" kit. I bought an Equip Rec 2 and modified it to suit. I took out a few redundant items and added a few things like betadine (use for disinfecting wounds and water treatment back up):

15ml Betadine, mefix/fixomull (adhesive open weave dressing, great stuff for burns or scrapes or holding wounds closed), 8-10 band aids, gauze bandage, burn gel, neurofen plus, aspirin, anti-histamines, immodium, hydralyte, alcohol swabs, scalpel blade, (x2), tweezers, mirror, survival bag.

Since mine doubles as a survival kit I also have WP matches, a couple of fire starters and cord in mine. Total weight is currently 225g in a cuben stuff sack.

[Strider]

Im quite sure that this has been previously covered in great detail in an existing thread. Might I suggest a search?

[Picaro]

I checked the tool shed and the pantry...no thread.

I even typed 'first aid kit' in the search box for zero hits.

I usually have the items already listed, plus those little tick removal mini pinch bar thingies.

[Strider]

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=489

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12700

[wayno]

kathmandu first aid kit topped up with several blister plasters

[Strider]

Just had a look through mine:

1 x compression bandage
1 x triangular bandage
1 x emergency blanket
1 x mosquito click
10 x paracetamol
4 x bandaids
2 x hydralyte sachets
2 x salt sachets
5m x 25mm leukoplast tape

All fits in a 1L StS drysack, which also contains a few other small things (downmat repair kit, spare battery, extra guyline).

[GPSGuided]

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=489
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12700

Thanks Strider!

I too searched for "first aid kit" and came up with nothing? Is there a problem with the search engine? Searched just now, even this thread didn't come up. How weird!

"First Aid Kit" with capitals didn't make a difference either.

[Strider]

I've struck that issue before too. A bit weird that it cant find something that 100% matches the thread title. I searched "triangular bandage" to find those as I remembered the discussion between AndrewA and myself about taking them or not!

[Tortoise]

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=489
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12700

Thanks Strider!

I too searched for "first aid kit" and came up with nothing? Is there a problem with the search engine? Searched just now, even this thread didn't come up. How weird!

"First Aid Kit" with capitals didn't make a difference either.

Yep, I have this trouble often. Sometimes I do better with Google, and threads come up from here that don't come up on site searches. But some guys here can find the ones I can't. Maybe they search their own posts if they know they've contributed to something on the topic - kinda like the inside info that helped Strider.

[Joomy]

Just had a look through mine:

1 x compression bandage
1 x triangular bandage
1 x emergency blanket
1 x mosquito click
10 x paracetamol
4 x bandaids
2 x hydralyte sachets
2 x salt sachets
5m x 25mm leukoplast tape

Yeah I should say I also carry leuko but don't include it in my first aid kit. Also my snake bite kit is separate and only taken when needed.

[GPSGuided]

1 x mosquito click

Love this! I'll have to pinch my son's "mosquito click" in secret and have it in my "First Aid" kit. It's obviously for a life and death situation.

[GPSGuided]

I recently revised my "survival" kit. I bought an Equip Rec 2 and modified it to suit. I took out a few redundant items and added a few things like betadine (use for disinfecting wounds and water treatment back up)...

Interesting method.

How were you planning to use the Betadine to "treat" the water? A squirt dab of ointment into suspect water and stir it up? I have never thought about this method but Betadine certainly have been sloshed in and out of all parts of the body with good effect, so it's all safe to the body. Guess it'll work in suspect water too. Need to Google this mode of usage.

[Lizzy]

Betadine is just iodine- we used to use it all the time to treat water. Do check but I think it may have been 3-5 drops for a litre of water & then leave it 30 mins. Tastes blah- but some vitamin C improves it

[GPSGuided]

On Betadine water treatment.
http://www.high-altitude-medicine.com/water.html

[Strider]

Just had a look through mine:

1 x compression bandage
1 x triangular bandage
1 x emergency blanket
1 x mosquito click
10 x paracetamol
4 x bandaids
2 x hydralyte sachets
2 x salt sachets
5m x 25mm leukoplast tape

Yeah I should say I also carry leuko but don't include it in my first aid kit. Also my snake bite kit is separate and only taken when needed.

All the First
Aid training I've ever had said to treat snakebites with a compression bandage. What else is in your snake bite kit? As to knowing when you need it, summer only?

[Strider]

1 x mosquito click

Love this! I'll have to pinch my son's "mosquito click" in secret and have it in my "First Aid" kit. It's obviously for a life and death situation.

First Aid doesn't necessarily mean life-or-death, otherwise I wouldn't have band aids or paracetamol in there!

But yes, mozzie click weighs next to nothing so why not. Another member here suggested it so I ran with the idea

[GPSGuided]

It's never life and death until that Killer Mozzi comes along!

[perfectlydark]

Must brush up on my snake bite training again..always my number 1 fear in bush

[GPSGuided]

Must brush up on my snake bite training again..always my number 1 fear in bush

Textbook always say to keep the victim calm as a racing heart rate with just speed up the spread of the venom. Now, I can't imagine how I can be calm if I just got bitten by a snake. HR would be 160bpm just lying on the ground... It'll probably "slow down" when in the last leg of life. Ouch!

[Joomy]

On Betadine water treatment.
http://www.high-altitude-medicine.com/water.html

Yes, many people I've hiked with have used betadine for water treatment. I learned it from them and thought it was common knowledge but I guess not! I've come across that site before and it has some really good info. As he says: "My own preference is to use Betadine® (10% povidone-iodine) in a small dropper bottle, and a one liter nalgene bottle. I fill up the bottle from a stream, drop in 4 drops of Betadine®, screw on the lid, and put it in my pack. Half an hour later, it is ready to drink."

Just had a look through mine:

1 x compression bandage
1 x triangular bandage
1 x emergency blanket
1 x mosquito click
10 x paracetamol
4 x bandaids
2 x hydralyte sachets
2 x salt sachets
5m x 25mm leukoplast tape

Yeah I should say I also carry leuko but don't include it in my first aid kit. Also my snake bite kit is separate and only taken when needed.

All the First
Aid training I've ever had said to treat snakebites with a compression bandage. What else is in your snake bite kit? As to knowing when you need it, summer only?

Yep elastic crepe/compression bandages but I take 2 large ones usually rather than just one. Some people reckon you need 3 but I think 2 large ones is sufficient. I also include some of those little clip/hook thingys to make it easier to lock off under tension.

[Joomy]

...And yes, I generally don't take one in winter.

[Strider]

What happens if you need a compression bandage in winter then?

[LandSailor]

Yep elastic crepe/compression bandages but I take 2 large ones usually rather than just one. Some people reckon you need 3 but I think 2 large ones is sufficient. I also include some of those little clip/hook thingys to make it easier to lock off under tension..

Rectogesic is something else to consider for snakebite too.

[GPSGuided]

Rectogesic is something else to consider for snakebite too.

I would suggest caution on this one at this point.

[Mark F]

Also my snake bite kit is separate and only taken when needed.

How do you know when it will be needed? Crystal ball?

[GPSGuided]

A comment on "snake bite kit".
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124208165196508345.html

[LandSailor]

I would suggest caution on this one at this point.

Not sure how "caution" would work? You either use it or you dont. If you are suggesting we not use it till more evidence is in then that will never happen as far as I can tell because nobody is going to perform clinical trials using real venom for the obvious ethical, legal and financial reasons.
What we can say is based on the same clinical testing method using a mock venom that was originally used for testing bandages, rectogesic provides a similar outcome in terms of inhibiting the movement of venom through the body.

Common sense would suggest that rectogesic should never be used as a replacement for bandages/immobilisation but might be worth risking using as an additional treatment. But either way read the original thread and make your own judgement.

[GPSGuided]

Not sure how "caution" would work? You either use it or you dont. If you are suggesting we not use it till more evidence is in then that will never happen as far as I can tell because nobody is going to perform clinical trials using real venom for the obvious ethical, legal and financial reasons.
What we can say is based on the same clinical testing method using a mock venom that was originally used for testing bandages, rectogesic provides a similar outcome in terms of inhibiting the movement of venom through the body.

Common sense would suggest that rectogesic should never be used as a replacement for bandages/immobilisation but might be worth risking using as an additional treatment. But either way read the original thread and make your own judgement.

Common clinical and research practice simply dictates that one must not jump to conclusions over one limited study. That's where caution needs to be applied. If it's truly effective, then experts in the field will provide their recommendation officially, outlining all potential indications and more importantly, potential contra-indications in use. And certainly in this case, I hope someone has at least purchased the full article or read it in a library in full. Abstracts are insufficient on these decision matters.