Posted by Abby Normal The one thing I plan to add is instant cold packs. They provide a lot of pain relief and help reduce swelling. |
Posted by OriginalJynx I agree with all of this, but if you live in a place with a lot of venomous critters, snakes, spiders, etc. |
Posted by Steed I've never had to carry anything more serious than bandages. The best first-aid kit is the one at the nearest medical center. If someone is immobile and can't get there on their own, time to bite the bullet and call the emergency number. |
Posted by Steed If someone is immobile and can't get there on their own, time to bite the bullet and call the emergency number. |
Posted by 2Xplorations True. Aside from minor cuts and scrapes anyone thinking about self treatment of more serious injuries instead of evacuating and or seeking medical care is just fooling themselves. Case in point: Snake bites. The kits and so called venom extractors. Read what medical experts say, theses are pretty useless and generally acknowledged to be bunk. In the case of North American pit vipers (rattlers, copperheads, cottonmouths) the venom begins attacking the tissues and red blood cells immediately and no matter how much blood you extract the venom is already working on the tissues, it wont get "extracted". If it makes you feel safe by all means go ahead and buy one and carry it around but a simple Google search will tell you its bunk. THE only effective treatment is anti-venin, injections, thousands of dollars worth of injections. You can stabilize the victim clean the visible bite wound maybe even slow the spread with ice or cold packs but sucking blood out wont help you. Very few pit viper bites in the U.S. result in death. Failing to get proper treatment and d.i.y. cures might. |
Yikes. I missed the line about your brother on my first read. That's terrible. I am sorry for your loss. |
THE only effective treatment is anti-venin, injections, thousands of dollars worth of injections. You can stabilize the victim clean the visible bite wound maybe even slow the spread with ice or cold packs but sucking blood out wont help you. |
Posted by Mr. Bitey My first aid kit is shared with my bug out bag that travels in the Jeep at all times. It gets pulled out of the BOB and dropped in my Camelbak before each explore. Since it is a bug out kit, it is super overkill, but I cannot see that as being bad. It has all your standard band-aids, gauze, and tape. I also carry Tylenol, Imodium, Pepcid, and an anti-histamine. Finger splints, a triangle sling, and an Ace Bandage. Tampons for gun shot wounds, and of course the more traditional use should a travel companion be ill-equipped. Medical grade super glue, butterfly closures, and sutures. I actually used one of the sutures just last weekend when a drunken fool refused to go to the hospital. It wasn't pretty, but it did close the wound and stop the bleeding. I gave dumb ass 7 stitches after he was playing with an ax. Burn gel packs and chemical ice packs. Scissors and clamps. First aid book. CPR mask. Non-lubed condoms for water proofing a finger or even your entire hand, should you need to keep a wound dry. Gloves. Eye cup, tourniquet, blood clot pack. Personal radiation exposure card, and potassium iodide tablets should I/we survive a blast and be exposed to irradiated dust particles. Ammonia inhalants. Emergency Mylar blanket. Alcohol wipes, antiseptic wipes, bee sting ampules, ear plugs, antibiotic ointment, Q-tips, cotton balls, and 4 airline bottles of vodka to use as an antiseptic, ease pain, or shut you the hell up. Ambesol - works great for a toothache, and can help numb flesh before stitching. And finally, and old cell phone. By US law, even a phone without a service MUST still be able to dial 911. My kit started from a 200pc kit from Amazon for $31. I replaced the crap plastic band aids with nice flex-fabric ones, and built it up from there. Everything still fits into that original 200pc bag. I set alarms in Outlook to remind me when items are about to expire and need to be replaced and to check the cell phone battery. If the phone stays off, it usually lasts pretty close to a year before I charge it again... |
This thread is in a public category, and can't be made private. |