Survival/ First Aid kit.

[Queen_of_Thunder]

you should include some alcohol/betadine, pain and anti-inflamatory meds, some water purification tabs, and some electrical tape, which is useful for closing significant soft tissue injuries in an expediency.

Duct tape

BTW what about super glue?

 

[Bobson]

Must agree with the first aid training.

Agreed. I'd rather venture into the woods with no first aid kit whatsoever, but with knowledge of first aid skills, than vice versa.

Any moron can apply a bandaid, but if all you need is a bandaid, that first aid kit isn't very impprtant. If you need to have your life saved, the contents of a kit aren't going to be sufficient without knowledge of first aid and at least BLS skills.

 

[conw]

Based on discussions with experts and analysis of likely preventable fatal injuries, my bare minimum is a tourniquet.

If I can't carry a CAT I carry a TK4-L which is smaller but still big enough for a man's leg.

If I have room the second thing I add is h&h PriMed vacuum packed gauze.

The 3rd thing is Quikclot z fold combat gauze.

In fall or winter clothes it's a cinch to carry those things in various pockets, rather than try to stick them all into a "kit."

Since this is a self care oriented loadout I don't carry gloves but they are the first thing added to other kits. I also don't carry a chest needle or seal because those are above my level of training but I believe that would be how I'd round out a larger combat FAK if I had the expertise.

 

[Kayaker 1960]

"Based on discussions with experts and analysis of likely preventable fatal injuries, my bare minimum is a tourniquet"

A tourniquet is a last ditch tool and can lead to loss of the affected limb. I'm not saying that they don't have a use but it should be used after a lot of consideration.

 

[conw]

"Based on discussions with experts and analysis of likely preventable fatal injuries, my bare minimum is a tourniquet"

A tourniquet is a last ditch tool and can lead to loss of the affected limb. I'm not saying that they don't have a use but it should be used after a lot of consideration.

You know, I'm glad you brought that point of view up. I was told the same thing in much more vivid terms in a FA class I took about 8-9 years ago.

The interesting thing is, they are actually much more effective and less dangerous than previously thought. My understanding is that this was brought to light due to good data collection on battlefield injuries in the two wars the US fought in the 2000s.

A term like "last resort" may not be the proper way to refer to something that can easily be applied to oneself, and is potentially faster and more realistic to apply than pressure bandages and elevation in an ongoing danger/combat type scenario.

Don't listen to me, I'm just a random guy on the internet. Here's a study excerpt and also a news story from a recent event, not involving military application (the Boston Marathon bombing this year).

Results: The 232 patients had 428 tourniquets applied on 309 injured limbs. The most effective tourniquets were the Emergency Medical Tourniquet (92%) and the Combat Application Tourniquet (79%). Four patients (1.7%) sustained transient nerve palsy at the level of the tourniquet, whereas six had palsies at the wound level. No association was seen between tourniquet time and morbidity. There was no apparent association of total tourniquet time and morbidity (clots, myonecrosis, rigor, pain, palsies, renal failure, amputation, and fasciotomy). No amputations resulted solely from tourniquet use. However, six (2.6%) casualties with eight preexisting traumatic amputation injuries then had completion surgical amputations and also had tourniquets on for >2 hours. The rate of limbs with fasciotomies with tourniquet time <2 hours was 28% (75 of 272) and >2 hours was 36% (9 of 25, p 0.4).

Conclusions: Morbidity risk was low, and there was a positive risk benefit ratio in light of the survival benefit. No limbs were lost because of tourniquet use, and tourniquet duration was not associated with increased morbidity. Education for early military tourniquet use should continue.

(From http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA480277

all emphasis added)

and

(From http://medtech.syrene.net/forum/showthread.php?4187-Without-Tourniquets-Many-Wouldn-t-Have-Survived)

Without Tourniquets, Many Wouldn't Have Survived

MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Source: AP Chief Medical Writer
Created: April 17, 2013

Mooney at first doubted the emergency call to prepare for many seriously injured patients. Then he saw the 10-year-old boy with the badly injured leg.

"My first thought was, 'He's really hurt. This isn't just some EMS overcall,'" Mooney said. "Someone at the scene put on a big tourniquet. He had singed hair, singed eyebrows, soot all over his face."

The 9-year-old girl also was in bad shape and singed. "Whoever got to her first saved her life" by putting on a tourniquet, Mooney said. "If they hadn't done that, she would have died."

Fast work by emergency responders no doubt saved many lives, doctors at many Boston area hospitals said. The blast occurred near the marathon's finish line where medical tents were set up to care for injured or tired runners.

People at the scene used different things as tourniquets, including lanyards with marathon credentials many wore around their necks. Some police officers gave their belts, said Dr. Martin Levine, a New Jersey family physician who was one of the doctors being paid to help elite athletes recover after they finish the race.

Note: original article is no longer at the original source but the above link provides a complete copy

The above site is a forum with comments from EMT types, and I found both of the below replies very telling, too:

And thats why I spend so much time in my classes on improvised proven TQ use.
Also the importance of protocols and considerations in field removal in austere settings.

I will echo this. People live or die because of quick TQ use.

When I was in Afghanistan I carried two of them (CAT) for self-use when ever I left the compound.

A good improvised TQ works just as good as a CAT if you are putting it on someone else.

As I said, I didn't just form this opinion out of thin air. I have spoken to a lot of people with more medical knowledge than I have who have said a TQ is the best single life-saving item you can carry in terms of self-care in the field.

 

[Armored farmer]

I keep zip-ties in my hunting coat. they basically weigh nothing and are so useful.
Everything from fixing gear, bootlaces, gunslings, zipper tabs...etc, to tourniquets...2 larges zipped together, or a big industrial sized one.

Bic lighter
compass
spare knife
flashlight
cellphone
hand sanitizer

 

[Kayaker 1960]

1st aid supplies

5 or 6 assorted band aids, butterfly strips, tincture of benzene (allows band aids etc. to stick to wet skin) , antibiotic ointment packets, blood clot compression, Benadryll, advil, aspirin, gauze, medical tape, Ace bandage, space blanket, butane lighter, 6 cotton balls coated with Vasaline in a 35mm film canister ( burn aprox 5 minutes each, even in a light rain) small flashlight and compass.
all of this is in a freezer weight 1 qt. ziplock bag. When I'm kayaking it's in my dry bag, if i'm hiking or hunting it gets transfered to a day pack. I also carry enough water and food plus a water filter for long hikes.
In my car I always have a complete 1st aid kit.

I have a SAM splint in the car, I need to get one for my small kit to stabilize broken limbs. A year ago we had a broken leg on the river. I need good prescription pain killers too.

 

[lpsharp88]

My get home bag/survival bag is still a work in progress, but I think I have a good start.
Medications:
Tums
Ibuprofen
Excederin Migraine

Calories/Energy:
3 Cliff Bars
1 5 hour energy drink

Water:
3 liter bladder, keep bottled water in trunk of car

Defense:
Glock 26/Beretta M9 (each with spare) carried on person
Benchmade Griptilian in pocket at all times
Another reload for carry weapon
Spare folder

First Aid:
Cheap Walmart Red Cross First Aid Kit (Few bandaids of various sizes, etc)
Blow out kit: pressure bandage, Israeli Bandage, quick clot bandage, SOFTT-W tourniquet, gauze, rubber gloves
Medical Training: Completed Army CLS training 4 times

Other:
Surefire Flashlight
Headlamp
Spare batteries
Pen
Paper
Fleece Watch Cap
Shemagh
Neck Gaiter
Gloves
100' 550 Cord
iPhone 5s
Gerber multitool

Needs:
Lighter
Space Blanket
Tinder (Vaseline soaked cotton balls?)

 

[hso]

A tourniquet is a last ditch tool and can lead to loss of the affected limb.

That view of them has changed in the past few years, but the point that you had better understand exactly what modern tourniquet protocols are is critical to their safe use. I carry one in my kit, but then I've taken, and retaken, training on them. Without that training they can be misapplied and cause more problems than they resolve.

 

[slumlord44]

A lot of the replies were related to survival supplies, not first aid. thankfully some good info on actual first aid supplies and equipment. Little mention was made of a cell phone. Recently got a new Iphone5. Has a built in compass and a map that shows exactly where you are on a satellite photo. By moving the map around you can locate landmarks in any direction. Not sure how it works in the wilderness but it could be helpful if you get lost or need to know what is in the area. I am never without my cell phone as most people are today.

 

[Hunter125]

My hunting pack is starting to look more and more like my emergency pack all the time.
What I've found is I tend to use redundancy as insurance. I have more than one of almost everything, fire kit, compass, knives, wire saws, water purification, shelter, snare wire.
I have most of what has already been mentioned in mine, though my FA kit needs some upgrading. Some things I have that haven't been mentioned yet:
-needle & thread - broken gear or wounds, weighs next to nothing
-glow sticks
-fishing gear - line could also be used for gear or wound repair
-incidentally plastic sewing machine bobbins are great for stowing small amounts of thread or fishing line
-filet knife
-snare wires
-there is a certain brand of metal cup, I forget which one, but they fit on the bottom of a 32oz Nalgene - I have two of each, the cups are about 12-16 oz
-wire saws
-haven't seen a whistle mentioned yet, maybe I just missed it
-signal mirror
-wetfire - individually wrapped tinder, burns even while floating on water- I have tons of it stashed throughout my pack
-I have a kit within a kit on both packs, the hunting pack's is much smaller - basically one of those watertight plastic containers, could use a widemouth nalgene, but it holds all of the absolute essentials - if I had to leave my pack for some reason, my chances with just that small kit are still pretty decent

Like I said, I tend to have at least two of everything. I guess I hold to the two is one and one is none idea on survival gear.

If you are serious about uour emergency pack, check out Creek Stewart's book http://www.amazon.com/Build-Perfect-Bug-Out-Bag/dp/1440318743

 

[conw]

One thing I find helpful is making sure my booboo items (bandaids, Neosporin, etc) don't make their way into my serious first aid kit.

Some extra nonessential "stuff" might be confusing or get in the way in a chaotic situation, especially in the dark, etc.

 

[Armored farmer]

Btw....the hand Sanitizer that I mentioned in my kit is flammable. It has multiple uses.

 

[Water-Man]

. QuickClot
. Snake-bite kit
. Spare ammo
. Tourniquet

 

[Kayaker 1960]

I recently read up on snake bite kits, looks like they do more harm than good.

Here is one of many articles available on the subject

http://voices.yahoo.com/snake-bite-urban-myths-not-if-you-107480.html?cat=5

 

[Hunter125]

The tubes of Carmex that you squeeze out also serve a dual purpose. It's essentially petroleum jelly, so you can use it on chapped or chaffed skin, but it's also flammable, especially good soaked or rubbed into something like a cotton ball or piece of cloth.

 

[TEAM101]

My backcountry hunting pack always contains the following:

ER Shelter- 1 Mil poncho, 2 55 gallon drum liners, 1 space blanket
Fire- 1 lighter, 2 blocks of trioxane
Cutting- 1 mora carbon, 1 folding saw, 1 diamond rod
Water- 2 liter bladder, stainless 32 ounce bottle, iodine, 2 drink packs
Light source- 1 headlamp, 1 small 200 lumen light, 3 spare AAA batteries
Signaling- whistle, flagging tape
Navigation- compass, GPS, 2 spare AA batteries. The compass doubles as a signaling mirror.
Cordage- 1 50ft and 1 25 ft piece of 550, 15 ft drag rope
Rations- 1 can of sardines, 2 power bars, 1 pouch of salmon
Misc-small roll of gorilla tape, 1 needle, 5 aspirin, 4 immodium, 3 Percocet, ziplock of TP, 1 wool sweater, 1 pr wool glove liners, 1 pr of wool socks, 1 fleece cap, 1 tube of Vaseline, 4 hand warmers.

I carry a cell phone, firearm, knife, and lighter on my person.

This can and has seen me through some unexpected scenarios.

 

[Armored farmer]

I enjoy this thread very much, but I feel that I should repeat what a trail hardened old Canadian trapper/hermit told me once about my overloaded, newbie, flatlander pack.

"All that stuff is nice to have if you get in a jam.....packing all that crap around on your back can get you in a jam real quick...go light."

He was right. I about gave myself a coronary getting across a bog while carrying that very pack.

 

[TEAM101]

"All that stuff is nice to have if you get in a jam.....packing all that crap around on your back can get you in a jam real quick...go light."

My pack weighs +/-12 lbs. and could easily see me through anything I encounter. I'll gladly pack the weight.

 

[RBid]

After about 2 years of exposure to me and my ways of thinking, my lady has finally been coming around over the last few months, and appreciating the value of having some emergency stuff other than FAKs on hand. As a nurse, she has always had 2 FAKs in her vehicle.

A few days ago, we hit a few stops, built her a kit, and added some trauma considerations (ACE wrap, self-gripping bandage wrap, gauze) to my kit, had some refresher conversation about applying this stuff, added aspirin to my kit, etc.

Long story behind potential value point:
When I was about 10 years old, my mother, brother (then 8), and I were in our car, headed over a mountain pass on Christmas Day. We came around a blind corner, and my mom was forced to make an instanct decision to either go over a cliff to the left, hit a car that was turned sideways in the center of the road ahead of us, or try to somehow defy the ice and actually get into a snowbank on the INSIDE of the turn. Miraculously, she maneuvered the car in a way where we hit the bank very hard at an angle that prevented any injuries in the vehicle.

Here's the problem:

There were a lot of vehicles on the road, and the snow bank was so massive that it had basically eaten the shoulder of the road. Our car was about 1/2 way out in the road, with more cars coming around that blind corner.

We had to get OUT of- and AWAY from the vehicle, in temperatures well below freezing.

By itself, that sucked.

Factoring in the distance from town, and the number of roadside accidents taking place through that area on that day, it was many hours before we were able to be retrieved, and we were not in good shape by the time help arrived. Thankfully, Mom is a nurse, and she was able to problem solve some things along the way to prevent the situation from having been any worse.

Potential value point:
We now have X+1 each of space blankets and folding ponchos stored in our vehicles, where X is the number of people in our immediate family. For us, X = 5 (my lady, myself, 3 daughters). This is in addition to my lady and I each having a poncho and space blanket in our emergency bags. The spares are to cover damage, spare passengers, or temporary constructs (zip ties + these items can quickly become a nice barrier).

These items cost VERY little. IIRC, the ponchos were $1 each, and the space blankets were also less than $2 each.

Added benefit: at that price, you can stock up on extras in case you're at an outdoor event of some sort and simply get uncomfortable.

 

[Ironclad]

I have a backpack in my truck box with the following:

Survival

.22 revolver and a small box of shells (depending on where I am)
a few reloads for my CCW
kbar
water bottles x4
granola bars and spam
Duct tape
tarp
paracord
25 ft rope / carabiner
flashlight
multi tool
sm. Pocket knife
lighter
whetstones
leather gloves

First Aid

cpr mask
medical gloves
triangle bandages
trauma shears
gauze
tape
roll up splint
plastic bag (occlusive dressing)
iodine (also sterilizes water)
butterfly closures
ibuprofen

My first aid kit is geared toward survival but also car wrecks where I don't know the people involved, hence the CPR barrier and the rubber gloves. I don't carry bandaids or anything like that because you can do the same thing with gauze and tape if you really feel it is needed. I'm thinking about adding benedryl for allergic reactions.


In the truck I also have a wool blanket, typical roadside emergency tools (jumpers, jack, etc.), an axe, fishing pole and tackle box, and a tow chain.

Additionally, I always have at least a pocketknife, flashlight, and cellphone on my person. I typically have a pistol either on my person or in the truck, and I try to always carry a little cash. I always dress for the weather, no shorts and t shirt in the winter even if I'm only going to be gone for a couple minutes.

And never, under any circumstances, do I leave the house in flipflops

 

[Kayaker 1960]

CPR mask

Recent studies have found no statistical benefit of mouth to mouth during CPR, just do the heart compressions.
Keep in mind that if the victims heart has stopped only about 6% of those receiving CPR survive. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work.

 

[Librarian]

Recent studies have found no statistical benefit of mouth to mouth during CPR, just do the heart compressions.

That isn't quite what the studies I have seen show, but in the bystander CPR situation, that's a good operative summary.

It is important to acknowledge that during cardiac arrest without lung inflation and ventilation, there is a continuous decrement of blood oxygen saturation. At some point in time, the possible hemodynamic advantage conferred by continuous chest compressions (without ventilations) will be offset by this reduction in oxygen saturation, and the ultimate result will be a compromise in oxygen delivery. One porcine cardiac arrest study18 (3 minutes of untreated ventricular fibrillation, then 12 minutes of CPR) suggests that after 4 minutes of continuous chest compressions without rescue breathing, the delivery of 2 rescue breaths every 100 compressions provides a survival advantage over chest compressions alone (LOE 6*).

Animal studies19,20 mimicking bystander CPR with good quality compressions for asphyxia-precipitated cardiac arrests demonstrated that the addition of rescue breathing to compressions results in much better outcomes than chest compressions alone (LOE 6*). Chest compressions alone, however, were superior to no CPR at all, even with asphyxia-precipitated cardiac arrest. These studies support the need for rescue breathing as a critical component of CPR for asphyxia-precipitated cardiac arrests, such as those associated with drowning, trauma, airway obstruction, acute respiratory diseases and apnea (eg, with drug overdoses), pediatric arrests, and prolonged cardiac arrest.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/117/16/2162.full

That is, you've got about 4 minutes of oxygen in the blood (ETA one study I just read suggests up to 10 minutes), and just circulation from chest compressions gets that where it's needed. If someone calls 911 and you get quick response, the outcome from CPR would be about the same with or without ventilation. So, if you actually see a person collapse, you know about how long you have.

OTOH, if you come upon a victim, with no idea how long he/she has been not breathing and without circulation, better to do the ventilation AND compressions.

4 minutes of CPR, by the way, is a long time for a single rescuer.

 

[Manny]

I have certain edc gear in my pockets virtually anytime I leave the house. Benchmade 555 mini grip, Surefire E1B, bandana, and an iPhone 4s w/ mophie battery case. I also have an edc bag that is with me pretty much constantly carrying a weeks supply of daily meds, a small stash of various otc meds, a Surefire headlamp, small fak w/ nitrile gloves and antiseptic wipes, .5 liter bottle of water, couple bic lighters, plug in charger for iPhone/mophie and a few other goodies. It's basically stuff I use daily for life and work, but reading many of the posts here has convinced me I need to make some additions and revisions. Great topic with some terrific info. I'm mighty glad the OP brought this up.

 

[hso]

That isn't quite what the studies I have seen show

Rescue breathing is no longer taught, so that's is the gist of it. I've tracked this issue for myself and employer for over a decade and have discussed it with high level FA/CPR trainers (not some guy who just took the Train the Trainer course). The early recognition of this came in Scandinavia and has spread. Even more surprising is the controversy of whether CPR itself provides enough benefit to be worth doing if you're the only one available to get professional medical help for a victim in the field as opposed to dedicating every moment to get a paramedic and their equipment there.