Posted by UrbanDK I would definitely recommend carrying some kind of anti-bacterial agent. Alcohol, hand sanitizer, whatever. I was climbing a rusty fence once, and a couple minutes after I got down I noticed my knee was hurting. I checked on it and there was a huge cut. It wasn't that deep, but I was pretty concerned about tetanus. I WISH I had some kind of anti-bacterial stuff with me but it didn't result in anything at all; it was just a normal cut that bled for a while. Still, I got lucky. I've added hand sanitizer to my first aid kit ever since then. |
Posted by Mr. Bitey Tetanus is no joke! |
Posted by Aran Lockjaw is a pretty terrible way to go. |
Posted by Mr. Bitey Every explorer should get a Tetanus shot! They are good for 7-11yrs. If you aren't sure when the last one was, there is no harm in getting another. Ask your Dr. at your next check up! If you haven't been inoculated, and do get ripped on some rusty metal like UrbanDK, get yourself to a Dr. or clinic within 48hrs and get the shot. Tetanus is no joke! |
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Posted by DarkAngel 1. Receive training even if it's a generic Red Cross First Aid certification. 2. Understand the use, service or sterility lifespan, and storage of said gear. 3. Prep on an explore basis for what you expect could be injuries, and worst case ones. For example the odds of needing a SAM are pretty low if you're exploring a single floor concrete block building. Absolute bare bones kit for people with minimal training: -3-4 pairs of nitrile gloves -alcohol or iodine wipes. Never use inside tissue wounds. -assorted bandages/bandaids -1x can of irrigation saline -antibacterial ointment -marker -trauma shears (just all around useful) -sterile gauze and kerlex wrap -1x roll of koban -hemostatic agent (Celox, QuickClot ACS, etc) |
Posted by UrbanDK ...it was just a normal cut that bled for a while... |
Posted by NMPatriot The wound bleeding actually helps to remove bacteria that would have been present on what injured you. Provided it's not bleeding so bad that you deem it life threatening there's absolutely nothing wrong with letting it ooze and bleed for a few minutes before you apply pressure and a bandage (or clothing item) to stop the bleeding. Deep cuts that -don't- bleed very often end up infected if not properly cleaned. Ric |
Posted by blackhawk ... squirting blood isn't fun... |
Posted by NMPatriot (bit off topic) You aint kidding! I got dispatched one night to an "unknown injury" at a local hotel. Arrived on scene to find a mid-twenties guy walking around the lobby of the hotel with defensive slash wounds to both forearms where he'd held his arms up to protect himself. Turns out he got into a fight with his BROTHER over a hooker they had in their hotel room. The hotel was a fairly decent 4 star. The kind of place that had marble floors and close to 12ft ceilings in the lobby. Poor guy had not only sprayed blood all over the lobby but had managed to get the ceiling. Hotel security guard was "rendering aid" when I got there and was literally covered nose to shoes in blood, wasn't gloved up and was absolutely freaked out by the whole ordeal. The hooker was following the patient around the lobby saying things like "It'll be okay honey, just come back to the room". I suspect there was more than a bit of mind-altering substance coursing through her veins and I'm relatively sure that a stimulant like methamphetamine or cocaine was the only thing that kept the patient vertical and speaking based on how much blood he'd lost. I'd called on PD when I arrived on-scene and discovered the nature of the call (because I didn't know where the brother was, what his mental state was or whether he was still armed). When PD arrived the first words out of his mouth when he walked in was "Where's the body?". The worst part (for me, and I'm sure the hotels cleaning staff) was that it was mid-winter and the hotel had boiler heat which made the air super-dry. The blood that had been sprayed around the marble floor had dried. Whatever polish or treatment they'd used on the marble floor had made it hygrophobic and the dried blood had come loose from the floor as little curls that looked like paper-thin red wood chips. They were wafting around the floor with every breeze and you could literally taste iron in the air. That was the absolute worst bleeding type call I've had in 20+ years in EMS. Ric |
Posted by NMPatriot ... Other than band-aids, the most used items in that kit in the past have been the excedrin, gloves and alcohol wipes. Gloving up and wiping down with the XL alcohol wipes have saved me several times after realizing that I was wearing shorts knee-deep in poison ivy while backcountry hiking. It doesn't completely get rid of the oil, but it does a good job in getting the majority of it off. After showering if I end up with small reactions from the ivy the following day I wipe it down with a stick of anti-perspirant deodorant (then discard the stick, accidentally transferring urushiol oil to your armpits would suck). It helps dry it out better than calamine and reduces the length you're in misery. Not really something I have to worry about now that I'm living in a desert climate. ... |
Posted by Dee Ashley I'm still holding out hope for a vaccine against these plants one day... Plenty of animals in the wild are immune to it so why can't we be immune too? Some of my most miserable moments of existing have been due to poison ivy (chiggers are a close second if I'm fed upon by enough of them at once). I always keep Technu (not sure on the correct spelling) in my Jeep and have had to use it a couple of times. It's abrasive like an exfoliant - I'm assuming to help get all of that wretched oil off. It's used like a soap and can be bought over the counter. I also use rubbing alcohol but mostly on anything I think might have touched the oak/ivy/etc. Items like my backpack, shoes, gloves.... The offending oil can easily stick around for a year or more if it's not removed from items. I highly suggest keeping Technu or something similar. If you can use this or alcohol or whatever within a few minutes or so of contact with the plant, you might save yourself a lot of agony! *Fun fact: Every part of the poison ivy plant contains urushiol (the oil that gets on your skin and makes you want to die), even the roots underground and they can still get you even when they die! Evil bastards. |
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