Calling all SHTFers...

[thereisnospoon]

A recent incident has mewondering...

I was wrapping my wife's Christmas presents the other night and twisted my ankle stepping over/around a present (you know, trying NOT to step on it and break it...BEFORE she opened it!):banghead: . Walked it off and didn't think anything about it. Woke up the next morning with a larger than life purple ankle, almost couldn't walk on it. After church, we found an open drug store and bought an ACE wrap. Had this been after a SHTF scenario, what would I have done?

So here's the question: What medical supplies and training have you worked into your bugout plan?

I for one have updated my packs with a few more goodies and my tupperware with still more.

 

[HighVelocity]

Well, if you have trouble walking now then you're already doomed.

I just have a standard automotive type first aid kit in my BOB. It has a little bit of everything inluding instructions on giving yourself stitches.

BTW, hope your ankle heals soon.

 

[trueblue1776]

I would have shot my atropine into my thigh and threw a mack truck at someone

 

[JamisJockey]

Training? USMC's standard medical training.

I have an ankle brace and a couple ace bandages in my 72-hour kit. I'm probably going to add some form of a leg splint, as well.

 

[trueblue1776]

no atropine?

 

[JamisJockey]

no atropine?

Nope.

 

[R.H. Lee]

I have Blue Cross, with a high deductible. Seriously, there's only so much you can have on hand. First Aid kit, some bandages, peroxide, polysporin. You could always make a splint in an emergency. It would be great to have a wide spectrum antibiotic available and some prescription painkillers, but they have limited shelf lives. And what if you have a stroke or heart attack? Not much you can do about that without professional medical help.

 

[Mnemesyne]

For the average person, I'd suggest a good selection of gauze pads, some of the gauze wrappings, various sized ace bandages, baby asprin, some form of antibiotic ointment, mercurocrome, rubbing alchohol, bandage tape, butterfly bandages of various types/sizes, a couple emergency space type blankets, betadine or another similar solution for wound cleansing, sterile sponges/brush (also for wound cleansing) and of course pick yourself up one of the first responder guides (it will give you basic instructions on first aid techniques etc) to keep in your kit...as well as a box or two of latex gloves (it's always good to be prepared)...I'd suggest keeping your supplies in a moisture/water free environment and try to keep your items as sterile as you can.


I've got the typical EMT-Basic first out bag with one or two extra goodies then what's listed above. Investment in a first responder/EMT course is a good idea, it goes a step beyond general first aid/cpr and can make the difference in a myriad of situations...


Mneme

 

[rick_reno]

Make a mayonnaise poultice - you'll be fine in a day or two.

 

[Lupinus]

Keep ice packs arounds, the ones you have to punch or twist and get cold by chemicle reaation. Also hand warmers, not just for keeping warm but they work great as small makeshift heating pads.

Aside fro mthat a good selection of things to cover small to large cuts burns and the like. My medical kit is crammed into a 24" stanley plastic toolbox so it is kind of large and to inventory it all would take awhile so I wont bore you with it lol.

 

[grover13]

A fistfull of prescription painkillers and some bourbon (at least seven years old, please.) Seriously, though, the less critical, moderately painfull, annoying beyond belief injuries and illnesses are far more common than the life-threatening stuff. Don't waste $$ on commercial first aid kits. Get band-aids, 4x4 Dressings, roller gauze, tape, ace wraps, and disinfectant. Get some painkillers, Benadryl, Cough/cold meds, and any meds that you take regularly to live. Other more sophisticated items (splints, etc.) can often be improvised later, and you really don't have room for all that crap in a BOB anyway. (Space Blankets are handy, small, and can also be used for backup tinfoil hats.) And, lastly, get trained. Red Cross or AHA First Aid classes are a cheap thrill and an excellent source of information. First Responder classes happening in your area? It's a 40 hour investment in your future. Got a few extra hundred dollars and six months to kill? Go take an EMT class. Great information. The point is, get what training you can afford. Then, evaluate your situation. You'll have a much better idea what you need once you get some base knowledge.

 

[NMshooter]

A SAM splint and a couple cravats could be your best friend...

Military self aid and buddy care or Red Cross first aid are good starting points.

You can improvise a lot if you know what you are doing.

 

[Thefabulousfink]

Look for Red Cross first-aid classes, I took one for backpacking called "Frist-Aid: When Help Is Delayed". It was all about treating serious injury when help was more than 24 hours away. It was very interesting, and covered techniques for saving lives (not allways limbs) with the type of equipment that a backpacker is likely to carry. Take this and a few other basic first-aid classes and you should be able to take care of most injuries w/o carrying the contents of a hospital on your back.

Remember the most important equipment to have in a SHTF situation is a well trained mind. Also, with the exception of medicine, most first-aid equipment can be improvised from everyday items.

 

[Kodiaz]

I keep a couple of first aid bags (1 in my car 1 in my kayak 1 in my house)
This is what I keep in them

A basic first aid kit 20 bucks at walmart then add the following

a bottle of solarcain burn lotion (this stuff is priceless if you get a burn even bad burns the trick is you have to put it on right away)

4 Bandanas. They work well for a lot of different things you can use them as a large bandage, a compress, a sling

4 rolls of athletic tape the good stuff 1 1/2 " wide

2 rolls of underwrap

1 can of bandage spray

3 4" and 3 3" ace bandages (get the ACE brand the others aren't as good)

a dozen of the biggest gauze pads you can find 6" x 6"

a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a large iodine

Now these are the most recent uses of the firstaid kit

I'm at my favorite weekend hangout (an island in the intracoastal waterway) drinking and grilling and I see a guy with deep cut on his forearm 3/4" in about
I clean it out with a lot of peroxide then i use one of the bandanas as a compress and i wrap the whole thing in tape. I used the bandana instead of gauze because the guy had to swim to his boat and the gauze wouldn't last long in the water(I can't take him to his boat I have a kayak). Another time my friend slipped off the little ladder getting into his boat and he cut his leg he got the same treatment. I was at my aunt's house and her neighbor hurt her leg I wrapped it in an ACE bandage so she could getherself to a doctor.

I learned from the high school athletics trainer when I was in school and due to all my hobbies got to keep in practice fixing myself. I have a couple of basic first aid books. I would recommend going to the local high school and asking the trainer what book on sports medicine he would recommend.

This is by no means a SHTF First aid kit. It is what I can use with a high level of skill. Now first aid kits that have a lot of stuff are available online for about 200 $ but I wouldn't know what to do with most of that stuff. But I will eventually get one of those because Going to a hospital after a hurricane may not be possible or they will be busy with real emergencies and not have time for a hairline fracture or a deep cut.

 

[chopinbloc]

What medical supplies and training have you worked into your bugout plan?

you asked: i have several cls (combat life saver) bags. each has a couple bags of NaCl, lines, needles, quick clot, dressings, neosporin, hydrocortisone, sam splint, OPAs, scissors, cravats, ibuprofen, yes, there's atropine in there, tourniquette, probably forgetting something. i also keep a blowout kit on my plate carrier with bag, lines, needles, quick clot, dressings, scissors, tourniquet, and a flashlight.

i keep forgetting to add crazy glue and tampons. think i'm joking?

while we're on the topic, i think i'll start a new thread showing how to make a one hand tourniquet, soon as i take some pictures.

oh, training - lucky enough to have FREE training from uncle sam as a combat lifesaver - not a medic - and a refresher course from the sf medics that gave a little more down to earth assesment of what techniques to use. the main thing i took away from that was that they BELIEVE in tourniquets. you see blood, put it on. apply 'em early and often to save lives. it was the complete opposite of what the army cls course taught. army doctrine says tourniquet only as a last resort and you can't take it off. sf says put it on first, then dress and if you think the wound is light enough for the dressing to stop it, then loosen carefully and if the bleeding has stopped, go ahead and take it off.

 

[TexasRifleman]

In addition to the regular first aid kit, pretty comprehensive, I do keep prescription painkillers. That's the only real drug I have in the kit but never underestimate the value of some powerful narcotics if someone is seriously hurt.

You very well may be in a situation where medical help is unavailable, and it's impractical for most of us to have equipment to deal with serious things, but having some painkillers at least allows you to relieve some suffering.

 

[QuickDraw]

I've used The Miracle Duct Tape for everything from
keeping a bandaid on to splinting a leg/finger.Works great for
wrapping a sprained ankle,wrap right over the sock
(or even boot/shoe)for easy removal.
One can never under estimate the importance of the
mighty Duct Tape!
You DO carry some,don't you?

QuickDraw

 

[CAS700850]

For those of us blessed and/or cursed with bad ankles and bad feet, you learn two things:

1. The value of Advil/Motrin/ibuprofin. It not only helps with the pain, but also helps with swelling. Despite the labels, you can do 800mgs every 6 hours safely, especially if you eat something with it to avoid stomach issues.

2. The value of learning to suck it up and drive on. Yeah, it hurts. Bad. BUt you do what you have to do. I've learned to limp well, and can cover ground if I have to. Not very fast, but I can at least get to where I need to go.

 

[Mnemesyne]

the OB brand or other stringless unscented tampons work best (from anything to a bullet wound to a nosebleed)...also some form of super glue works nicely as a wound sealer if it's not too deep (believe it or not, they have used it in hospital settings under a different name)...and if I recall, I believe they've marketed a super glue type wound sealant available at the local store...

Mneme

 

[Thefabulousfink]

the main thing i took away from that was that they BELIEVE in tourniquets. you see blood, put it on. apply 'em early and often to save lives. it was the complete opposite of what the army cls course taught. army doctrine says tourniquet only as a last resort and you can't take it off. sf says put it on first, then dress and if you think the wound is light enough for the dressing to stop it, then loosen carefully and if the bleeding has stopped, go ahead and take it off.

I was allways taught the same as you, put on a turniquet only if nothing else will stop the bleeding or the wound it serious. From what I understand, once a turniquet is applied, the blood begins to clot behind it. If you remove the turniquet, the clot can travel through the veins and clog in places causeing loss of bloodflow to a limb or serious heart trouble, depending on which way the blood is flowing. Normally a hoslpital would use some sort of anti-clotting drug before removing a turniquet.

Like I said that is what I was taught by people who should know (paramedics), however, that was a few years ago and theories may have changed. I still follow the way I was orriginally train though (better safe than sorry), it seems to make more sense to me.