Building a couple first aid kits...Need feedback on contents

[GKoenig]

I would say 3 things:

1- Training trumps gear. Do you have any first responder training? Most community colleges offer inexpensive EMT classes at night. Various outfits offer training to get you some more advanced skills without the EMT-P path. I would also add a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff and yea, I had to check my spelling) along with the skills to use them (pro-tip; annoy your friends by taking their blood pressure in strange environments!). You will be the finest layman medic if you can properly hand off the patient with a clear, detained report of what happened, the vitals and a rundown of exactly what you have done.

2- I might throw in a SAM splint. Nice multitasking piece of kit. Stores easily. Can be used as an improvised C-Collar on almost any size patient. In life, you are FAR more likely to encounter situations where you need to stabilize a C spine as well as you can till the calvary arrives than you will need to be plugging gunshot wounds. I bought a 6 pack of fake SAM Splints off of eBay for around $10 and used them to train with while my real SAM splints are in the kit. You definitely want to be familiar with them before trying to **** with them on the side of a rainy, windy road trying to get the thing around a motorcyclist's neck (ask me how I know...).

3- Big Point; separate the booboo kit from the trauma kit. Two totally different bags. Married or have a girlfriend? I guarantee you every time you take a car ride that lasts for more than 30 minutes, she is gonna probably want something out of the boo boo kit for a headache, or cramps, or a minor cut that a man would ignore, or itchy eyes or some such bullshit. You don't want your trauma gear fagged up with care bear bandaids and menstrual cramp pills because this junk gets in the way when the shit hits the fan.

[NinjaMedic]

Please dont use a SAM Splint for spinal motion restriction. Even with a proper C-Collar, if you are concerned about the need for SMR you should be holding manual inline stabilization until the pt is securely packaged on a long spinal board. A SAM Splint doesnt come close to adequatly stabilizing the cervical spinal column and you are very likely to cause movement in the cervical spinal column while attempting to apply the "C-Collar". Do what is best for the pt and stop the bleeding, call 911, hold manual C-Spine, and reasure the victim. If you are trained and have help you can apply a real c-collar, trust me they dont take up much room. That being said I only carry a c-collar for post advanced airway placement SMR. The rest of the time we hardly ever apply a collar to a pt prior to bringing over a backboard and bag of c-collars/headblocks as they all go together. Manual C-Spine is the way to go.

[Iraq Ninja]

Burns-

Gel packs are getting mixed results over here. We carry them, but also carry the LSP burn towels. You can pour an IV solution (sterile) or water (not) onto the towels to cool it. Once the gel packs get hot, I don't know of a way to cool them down after they are applied.

http://www.spservices.co.uk/product_...oducts_id=1453

We also have a roll of saran wrap for burns as well. It works very well from what I have seen.

Can you purchase emOx in the States? We use it instead of bottled O2 due to the IED threat.

[NinjaMedic]

emOx is FDA approved but probably difficult to locate.

[MIKE G]

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[justpete]

A Tac-Pack or Individual Battle-Pack (option 1 or 2) http://www.tacticalmedicalpacks.com/ take up very little room and seem to cover all the possible trauma first responder situations one might reasonably expect outside of a war zone I think. I just carry the former as the latter requires much more training than I have and I'm never that far from first responders who do.

Additionally I pillaged some Johnson&Johnson first-aid kits and some stuff from Chinook Medical Supply to put small wound and burn supplies in a vacuum sealed bag like those made by Hefty and sold at wallyworld. Some paper towel, some wet-naps, bion tears or the like, etc. and pretty much everything's covered. One thing I forgot was a mirror, kinda hard to fit a bandaid where the scope bit me once. Betadine wipes, antibiotic packs, burn gel, Tegaderm, gauze squares, bandaids of various types - all cloth, and I forget what all else.

The Tac-Pack and the vacuum sealed ziplock take up very little room and doesn't cost much of anything really. Without experience and training much more seems close to useless or even dangerous so I've tossed the quick-clot (whichever variant it was) and don't bother with splints, cold packs, etc.

FWIW, Pete

[PPGMD]

A Tac-Pack or Individual Battle-Pack (option 1 or 2) http://www.tacticalmedicalpacks.com/ take up very little room and seem to cover all the possible trauma first responder situations one might reasonably expect outside of a war zone I think. I just carry the former as the latter requires much more training than I have and I'm never that far from first responders who do.

The Tac-Pack and the vacuum sealed ziplock take up very little room and doesn't cost much of anything really. Without experience and training much more seems close to useless or even dangerous so I've tossed the quick-clot (whichever variant it was) and don't bother with splints, cold packs, etc.

I wouldn't consider anything but the IBP, and even then I would go with the bigger one. The lower levels don't contain the best items for dealing with gunshot wounds. But the price is rather high at $120. You can put together a better kit for about the same price.

And the pressure dressing they use is one that few recommend because the hook isn't secured very well.

But I agree training is very important, a little training, and you can improvise what you need. But having the right tools makes it easier. Read the story of the medic at Fort Hood, he first attempted to improvise a tourniquet on Munley's leg, that didn't work so he used the CAT.

[drrufo]

If I might I would suggest two small changes.

1.Use the eye wash that comes in the single use tube, Rite Aid carries them, if you open a large bottle you lose all sterility. With the little tubes you always have a sterile one available. I've never needed a full tube to wash out my eyes.

2. Look at flashlights that use AA's not c123 batteries. AA's are all most universal, the other ones may be hard to find. Pelican has a good light, model name is Stealhlite. It carries 4 aa batteries and if you upgrade the light module it will be very, very bright.

[PPGMD]

2. Look at flashlights that use AA's not c123 batteries. AA's are all most universal, the other ones may be hard to find. Pelican has a good light, model name is Stealhlite. It carries 4 aa batteries and if you upgrade the light module it will be very, very bright.

CR123 aren't hard to find. They are at almost any half descent store.

The issue with alkaline batteries is the shelf life, it's much shorter then lithium batteries.

[kerplode]

Training is definitely high on the list. The local community college has a first responder course, but I need to see when it's offered again and how it fits with my work schedule. My girlfriend has a WFR cert, but I only know what I've been reading in manuals and on the internets. Need to fix that for sure. For now, though, I see no harm in collecting the gear.

I'll also look into separating the boo-boo stuff and trauma stuff into two bags. I'd like this entire setup to be as compact as possible, but the two-bag idea has merit and I think my existing bags are going to be too small for everything anyway.

What do y'all think of the Tourni-Kwik TK-4? I was considering using one CAT/SOF and one Tourni-Kwik in the kits to reduce the cost a little. Just outfitting both kits with two SOFs, a G2L, and a decent headlamp in each kit is going to eat about $300. Replacing one SOF with a Tourni-Kwik in each kit saves about $50 I can put towards other components. I might go with incandescent G2s, instead of the LED version as that will reduce cost a bit as well.

Oh, and FWIW, there are very good Lithium AA and AAA batteries available these days...