first aid kit

[flbeachbum]

A few days ago my fishing buddy had a run-in with a salsmurfer catfish. For those unfamiliar, they are slightly poisonous evil creatures that serve no purpose in life.

This got me thinking about my first aid kit. All I had with me is a few band aids and antibiotic cream. I have been intending to put one together for some time now, but it always seems to fall to the bottom of the to-do list and never gets done. I have looked at a few of the prepackaged ones but they look  under supplied and like the priority of the manufacturer was marketing and not first aid, especially the tools. I don't think I would be comfortable trusting somebody's life to them.

What would you suggest to put in one other than the obvious band-aids, antibiotic cream, meds, scissors? I am looking for something small enough to put in the end pocket of my tackle bag or day hiking bag. A kit to leave in the truck or for the house is a discussion for another day.

EMS type scissors: some are functional and some just look good. What would you recommend that is actually useful?
What do you carry yours in? I can't find anything I like. I want something small enough to fit in my space requirements but also would be obvious as a first aid kit if I needed to send someone else to get it.

[Millhouse]

I bought a decent off the shelf kit but added a few items to it. Kit contains:

Plasters
Bandages
Wound dressings
Antiseptic wipes
Burn Gel
Sling
Nitrile gloves
Antibacterial hand gel
Scalpels
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Antihistamines
Anti diarrhoea
Micropore tape
Sterile eye wash
Fenix E05
Victorinox Explorer
EMT Shears
Tweezers
Foil blanket

[Poncho65]

Salsmurfer catfish

They still sound horrible

  Sorry but you need to type it in as 2 words salt water or the language filter changes it to smurf

[Poncho65]

Couple good threads in here about first aid kits

I will go and round a link or two up

[Poncho65]

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,36936.0.html

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,66429.0.html

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,60250.0.html

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,36936.0.html

Here are a few links for FAKs

They are varying topics but give you a good idea of what you may want in your own kit

[flbeachbum]

Thank you.

I have been wondering what some people here had against smurfs. I didn't realize the board did that on its own. It's very strange that it has a problem with salt water though.
The catfish are pure  no matter what you call them. I don't even throw them back in the water anymore. I toss them up on the beach for the Great Herons that are stalking your catch before you can even get it reeled in. There is no excuse for allowing those things to multiply.

Does this mean I don't have to edit my thoughts and can just type in anything the way it comes to mind? If so I would love to have one of those for my mouth.

[TazzieRob]

Yeah, you have to watch what the smurf you say around here or all your smurfing swear words get changed to smurf. Even when you don't think you're swearing, like smart watch as one word ends up as Smarsmurfch

[TazzieRob]

It's all good though, after a while you'll stop saying smurf all the time and just say smurf 

[Aloha]

It's in your daily life you'll get strange looks when you filter yourself and say smurf instead of smurf 

[Toolslinger]

It's all good though, after a while you'll stop saying smurf all the time and just say smurf 

It's in your daily life you'll get strange looks when you filter yourself and say smurf instead of smurf 

I self-censor in real life with smurf...

[Poncho65]

It's all good though, after a while you'll stop saying smurf all the time and just say smurf 

It's in your daily life you'll get strange looks when you filter yourself and say smurf instead of smurf 

I self-censor in real life with smurf...

Sounds fine to me

 

[flbeachbum]

It's all good though, after a while you'll stop saying smurf all the time and just say smurf 

It's in your daily life you'll get strange looks when you filter yourself and say smurf instead of smurf 

I self-censor in real life with smurf...

Perhaps an indication of too much time spent here?
J/K 

[David]

In FAK's that go into the pack, range bag, truck etc. I like to throw in a tourniquet such as a CAT or SOF-TT. Putting a good  FAK that suit your needs can be a interesting journey. Hope you find what you need.         

[Aloha]

Guess I should offer something up as well.  I like adding in self adhesive wrap.  I don't have to fuss with pins or tape and I can hold gauze onto the wound yet still am able to use my hands for other things.   I also cannot stress enough to bring gloves.  You don't want to treat open wounds with dirty hands and lets face it we cannot always wash out hand when in the field. 

[eamo]

theres a few words that get through - have we had a non family friendly thread about defeating the filter ? 

[Obi1shinobee]

It's all good though, after a while you'll stop saying smurf all the time and just say smurf 

It's in your daily life you'll get strange looks when you filter yourself and say smurf instead of smurf 

I self-censor in real life with smurf...

Sounds fine to me

 

Where First Aid Badge 

[lshaw]

It's a good question especially in the context of a catfish spine injury. Im a paramedic and currently in the latter part of a medical degree and I have a particular interest is wilderness medicine. Wilderness or backcountry medical equipment is something that's quite a conversation for both outdoors people and medicos. Companies like Adventure Medical Kits, Lifesystems and Wilderness Medical Systems actually make very good off the shelf kits and id recommend them. Especially AMK. For a catfish though the best thing for someone like yourself is to clean the puncture thoroughly, including thorough irrigation, dress the wound and watch over subsequent days for signs of infection. Some sort of non-prescription pain relief also seems appropriate. For venomous fish spines (non lethal ones) in Australia the best treatment is a long acting local anaesthetic infiltrated along the tract the spine has created. This can bring a great deal of relief. We have a particularly painful freshwater fish called a Bullrout and this is a splendid solution for that fish spine injury.


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[JBW1]

Thanks for the recommendations, I need a few kits,  I was planning on building my own with this. 

[Poncho65]

Thanks for the recommendations, I need a few kits,  I was planning on building my own with this.

Looks interesting If you do make a FAK with that could you post a few pics

[JBW1]

Yeah for sure, found the bag for $30, and figure I'll build it a bit at a time.....where to start?? Duct tape and clean rags, check.


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[Poncho65]

Yeah for sure, found the bag for $30, and figure I'll build it a bit at a time.....where to start?? Duct tape and clean rags, check.


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Band aids and triple antibiotic ointment, hydrocortizone cream and some alcohol wipes are a good next step that I always start with

[Aloha]

Here's a good video of a doctor's FAK.  Some of the items may not be readily available or pricy so adjust accordingly.  I was able to build a nice FAK for camping based off his kit.

[Etherealicer]

I'm currently evaluating rescue knives

Not all is gold that shines as you can read in this thread

I ended up giving these to a paramedic a while back. She reported they didn't hold up very well on the job.

Scissors are no easy choice either. There is a huge problem (at least for me) with access to decent shears. My basic conclusion was: the bigger the better
I have settled for the Vic Classic (tiny kit), Dovo (medium) and blunted Kai (full sized).

[JBW1]

Thanks for posting those links

[flbeachbum]

Well it took me a lot longer than I hoped to get this project done. Sometimes real life has a PITA way of getting involved where it is not wanted.

I made two identical kits because I have a bad habit of removing things from one place and not returning them to their original location. Then I either can't find them or forget to take them. Out of sight, out of mind you know. So I have one in my fishing tackle bag and one in my hiking / travel day bag. I am probably going to put together a third one for the center console of my truck so I don't have to break into the trauma kit for boo boos.

Interested in any feedback you have. Did I forget anything obvious? Questions and suggestions are more than welcome. Please keep in mind that this is basically a boo boo kit for minor accidents. I am currently working on a more in depth trauma kit to keep in the truck.

 

[Aloha]

 

BooBoo Kits need only the basics.  They really don't need to be over thought.  Yours looks great.  Better later than never. 

[MadPlumbarian]

I got to get mine set up, I got my wallet ER, my mini, and my pouch, I just have to get everything organized.
JR

[flbeachbum]

Thanks. I do think I probably over thought this.

[powernoodle]

You can click on these med kits, and look at the supply list for each kit to get some ideas.  Basically, I break my prep down into 1) boo boo kit with bandaids, anti bacterial wipes, gauze pads, advil, tums, Imodium, etc., and 2) major bleed stoppers including thick pads and feminine hygiene pads.  Consider also a few pair of latex gloves with each.  Boom.

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/medical-kits.html

You can also make a mini boo boo kit using a 3x3 or similar craft-type ziplock with just a couple of band-aids and wipes.  You can give this to a stranger as needed.

[MadPlumbarian]

Here's a pic of what's on me 100% of the time, unless at home where it is not needed, cause it's in my wallet. It doesn't take up much space pretty much as two credit cards, if that. All it is, is one of those picture holders, just one window and stashed with two alcohol wipes and three of two diff size bandaids. Pretty simple, and very useful..
JR