First Aid Kits, and Nitrile Gloves

[Lynn LeFey]

Just wondering, for those of you that carry FAKs (first aid kits), do you carry Nitrile gloves?

The thinking being that using latex gloves could cause an allergic reaction in some folks.

Or is this not even a concern? Both carrying gloves and whether or not they're latex?

Not a big matter. I was just curious.

[Higgins617]

The one I carry is pretty small and basic so I doubt I would be able to help in a case where gloves would even be of concern, but personally I wouldn't carry them as EDC. Just when I have to once I start as an EMT.

[Aloha]

Nitrile for me as my youngest has had reactions from latex.  I have also been made aware that a pair of gloves or pairs is not nearly enough when gloves are needed.  I have a larger FAK in my truck and have 2 boxes of Nitrile on board.  For personal carry I don't carry gloves as my FAK is limited to minor cuts and scrapes. 

[Ando]

Nitrile is a must if you are intending on using your FAK on others. If you can fit them, take more than a pair. Make sure they are the right size too. I use gloves every day at work and go through at least 6 pair a day. How are you carrying your FAK? Just curious.

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[Lynn LeFey]

Right now, mine isn't much above a boo boo kit. It's built around a $2 FAK with a lot of redundant stuff removed, and a lot of more important stuff (IMO) added. OTC painkillers, water purification packets (Chlor-Floc), Antibiotic spray, and a pair of nitrile gloves. I mostly bought the $2 kit for the relatively small and secure white plastic container, about 4" x 4" x 1" that it comes in. It fits into a pouch in my purse.

It's not hardcore by any stretch of the imagination. The one I have in my get-home bag in the car is much more serious (CPR mouth shield, bandages, etc, etc.)

[Millhouse]

I switched to nitrile gloves a couple of years ago. Each of my kits has 5 pairs.

[Higgins617]

Hey Lynn, that FAK doesn't happen to be made by Johnson&Johnson does it??

[Lynn LeFey]

I think so, yeah.

[derekmac]

I keep a box of nitrile gloves in my Jeep, but no FAK.  I really should put something in there incase anything happens on the trails.  I think I might move my FAK in my garage into the Jeep, though it is a little big!

[Higgins617]

Derek what about the side cubby in the cargo area of the Jeep? Still too big to fit in there? But I highly recommend having at least some sort of first aid kit available. Lynn, that is the same kit I keep in my backpack just with different items swapped in and tied closed with paracord.

[derekmac]

Yeah, it was a warehouse kit, and it's in an aluminium case that's about 12x12x4".  It has just about everything you would ever need though.  I'll figure out someway to mount/store it in there.

[ironraven]

My EDC FAK carries 2 pairs of nitriles, various kits have more. I have a very mild latex sensitivity, my mother's is anything but mild, but also they are just that much better than latex. They don't get weaker if they freeze and they are more chemically less reactive, but I do replace them every year.

[Spatha]

I preferred latex. They fit better because latex is much more elastic than nitrile. However, because of the allergy risk, at work we switched to nitrile exclusively some years ago. I can't remember the last time I saw a pair of latex gloves in the NHS. It's worth carrying a couple of pairs if you don't want other people's various bodily fluids on you. I find them handy for little jobs on the car as well.


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[derekmac]

I find the brand you use makes a big difference with nitrile gloves.  The best overall ones I found are the Kimberly Clark ones, and the TNT Blue by Ansell are good also.  The KC ones have good stretch to them, and are more difficult to break compared to others I've used.  If you want almost indestructible nitrile gloves, give Grease Monkey Nitrile Gloves a try.  They are pretty thick for disposable gloves though, so not as well suited for fine tasks.

[Aloha]

I find the brand you use makes a big difference with nitrile gloves.  The best overall ones I found are the Kimberly Clark ones, and the TNT Blue by Ansell are good also.  The KC ones have good stretch to them, and are more difficult to break compared to others I've used.  If you want almost indestructible nitrile gloves, give Grease Monkey Nitrile Gloves a try.  They are pretty thick for disposable gloves though, so not as well suited for fine tasks.

These are the ones I use as well.

[Cupboard]

I only have a first aid kit in my car, and that's a British Standard portable kit which a little bit of most things in like a CPR face sheild, couple of various bandages etc. It came with a couple of vinyl gloves which, if the ones we have at work are anything to go by, will probably be pretty terrible. I've added nitrile gloves to it.

For my use, I've found nitrile gloves to be much tougher than latex gloves which just seem to disintegrate at the first available opportunity. At work, they use vinyl gloves in the cheese making, normal blue nitrile gloves in the milking parlour and thick black ones in the workshop. When I'm working on our digester I use the thick black ones or two pairs of the blue ones. We carry a first aid kit in each tractor and each of them has about 5 pairs of extra large nitrile gloves, the thought being that its better to have a pair that are too big than too small if you can only have one size.

[Zed]

I carry nitrile gloves in my backpack as dont fall apart as much when cold,at work i wear latex xl 

[derekmac]

I carry nitrile gloves in my backpack as dont fall apart as much when cold,at work i wear latex xl 

Are they ribbed?? 

[derekmac]

Here's my kit, now in the Jeep.

[Zed]

I carry nitrile gloves in my backpack as dont fall apart as much when cold,at work i wear latex xl 

Are they ribbed?? 

  : yeah and raspberry flavoured 

[lowtech]

As a FAK I only carry a few bandaids.
But, and maybe this is of interest to some, I do carry a pair of Latex gloves in my workbag (for the toilet or gutter related tasks I stumble upon as a Janitor) and keep them in one of the very practical containers 35 mm films used to come in.
Anybody remember those? They make really good small containers.

[Toolslinger]

I carry Nitrile as I have family who are allergic to latex. Plus I can get the Nitirle gloves in bulk pretty easily.

My main EDC FAK has several pairs in it and rides in a 5.11 6x6 med pouch in my backpack. It is pretty comprehensive and anything it can't handle is probably beyond my ability to help with anyway.

My car kit is larger as it tends to go car camping and needs to handle extended stays for larger groups. I have a part box of gloves to go with it. They also double for repairs or the car if I need/want to keep my hands clean(ish).

I have several boxes located around the house (garage, workshop, with the main FAK) so that there are some handy in the places they are needed most.

[glorn]

I keep 3 pairs of thicker black nitrile gloves in a Raine EMT glove pouch in my EDC bag.

I actually did need gloves once when a guy came in off the street with a head wound asking me to call the cops on the random thugs that had jumped him. I put on my (then latex) gloves and got him cleaned up and the wound dressed.

But mostly I keep them around for the times when one needs to deal with something one would rather not touch. Disgusting things, things that stain hands, plants that cause rashes, chemicals that should not get on hands... there are thousands of uses for disposable gloves. The universal precautions application in an emergency is secondary to me but certainly worth noting.

Let's ignore my OCD here. I wouldn't waste a pair on a doorknob. 

[glorn]

Side note: some folks here and elsewhere seem to put down their EDC FAK as a "boo boo kit". Why?

While I would applaud you for carrying a SAM splint, Israeli trauma dressing, Celox gauze, nasopharyngeal airway, suture kit, syringes, and so on.. it has to come to some logical conclusion sooner or later. Otherwise we start pricing an EDC neckbrace and normal saline.

Your "boo boo kit" with plasters, antibiotic cream, a CPR mask, and some OTC meds is perfect! Add some gloves and make sure you have scissors and tweezers and you are good to go with a kit that you are qualified to use. It suits 99% of the situations you will come up against, is easy to carry so more likely to be there when needed, and provides the bits that are hardest to improvise.

I'd rather have a bandage daily and have to use a shirt as a tourniquet once in my life.  Know what I mean? I can make a splint out of just about anything. I cannot make antibiotic spray or antihistamine.

So keep that small FAK! You are better off reading First Aid books and taking a course than upping its size.

Now a car kit? Hey, whatever you feel like packing and that you know how to use.. But better to have more of what you need often than a few items you may never need ever.

[nervium]

i prefer nitrile on sar missions and for faks but i use latex on clinic and operating theatre.

[JAfromMn]

I'm biased because I am allergic to latex

nitrile .

[comis]

On my EDC FAK, I do have two pairs of Nitrile gloves with me.  I think the brand is called Hart, and the quality is decent.  I like them better than some thin off-brand gloves, since if it is a big boo-boo that has blood everywhere, it's better to have good protection than false protection.

On the same FAK, beside the usual bandage, non-alcoholic wipes and tribiotic cream.  I also included 2 3x3 gauze pad, leukostrip, hand-torn tape and a St-John CPR mask.