What's in your FAK?

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MaterDei

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I know THR members and their penchant for using TLAs. :D

What's in your first aid kits? I'm putting one together for the house and thought you guys could help me with the list of items to add. Also, what items would you consider necessary for a travel kit? Thanks in advance.

Blue Skies,

MaterDei
 
I got my Army surplus, civil war era.

Short on drugs, but heavy on amputation tools. :)

I really don't have one in the house; at least not a formal one. I have bandages, some ointments and unguents and the like in a tackle box...

I have a Johnson & Johnson light duty kit in the car.

It's getting kind of long in the tooth, I should replace it.
 
Ummm, here's my hiker's kit. Designed to treat cuts & sprains, mostly.

-Moleskin (for blisters--the most common malady)
-Band-aids
-Triple-antibiotic ointment

That takes care of small cuts.

For big cuts & sprains--

-Washed cotton cloth long enough to wrap around a leg a few times.
-Dozen or so gauze paks.
-Ibuprofen.

That's it. The long cotton cloth can also serve as a wrap for stabilizing a sprained ankle, or a sling for arm. See Boy Scout Manual for wrapping instructions.
 
You see that Rubbermaid tote over there...

From bandaids , steristrips, dermabond, latex/surgical gloves, 4x4's, betadine, triple antibiotic ointment, scapels, sutures, silk tape, transpore, ace bandages, Kling, lap sponges Kerlix...

I have some doctor, surgeons, nurse type friends,sales rep med types. I used to work in main OR, and just asked for samples.

I had some close friends / family going through med surg stuff,I went through some myself.

I just asked for and rec'd. My personal doc and I shot together as a team...private joke at the office with nurses and his pards when a new girl comes to work is..." Careful if he asks if you wanna play doctor, he knows the anatomy and he ain't wanting to put a bandaid on the boo boo on your knee" :)
 
As I used to be a nurse and am married to a (former) nurse, I have a pretty complete one. We can do minor surgery and suture as well as set bones if needed.

One of my goals in life is the overthrow of the HMO system.

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
I carry an EMT bag in the truck, which is never far away. I am not an EMT, but I do know how to treat a sucking chest wound :D

And to scare you further, I also have a field surgeon kit :what:

And I am a good samaritan. So be safe :eek:
 
Remember, in a pinch Honey can be used on wounds, as it is an antibacterial agent.

One in the house, one in the car. Car actually came with one that I should have kept original and just bought a new one instead of butchering it. Figured out that the 20yr old bandaids wouldnt stick to a peice of paper, much less me.

I also carry blackpowder and a lighter for wounds.;)
 
Redirect,

In a no doubt futile attempt to redirect this thread back on topic, how about people suggest items for my kit that would not be considered typical. Honey, for example was one suggestion (I'm not sure what to think of this suggestion, btw).

What items other then bandaids, gauze, antibiotic cream, pain killers, black powder, etc. would you suggest in a first aid kit for a family?

sm, I would love to include Dermabond in my kit. Recently my son had an incident where Dermabond was used to close a gash under his eye. Some of that stuff at home would be helpful. Can it be bought OTC anywhere? I tend to be tool man Tim-like and wind up getting stitches every other year or so. If I had Dermabond in the house I could save a trip to the Doc.
 
I have a pretty thorough kit some one gave me. I added bandaids by the dozen. I have kids and we use bandaids more than any other item.

I always put in tweezers (this kit came with them) I keep several 16ga Hypodermic needles (great for digging out splinters) and a new, never used pocket knife. I have a small Swiss Army multi tool I got for b-day one time that I through in there.

Keep meds that you normally take. I'm allergic to Tylenol, so I keep a supply of advil. If your prone to motion sickness, scours, heartburn, etc - keep appropriate remedies.

Taylor your kit to you and your family.

Smoke
 
MasterDei,

I'm not in the OR anymore, but at the time DermaBond ( Ethicon Inc. (tm)) was referred to as "high dollar superglue"...I mean this stuff was treated like gold. The word was another company was putting one out as well ( that R&D and generic vs name brand deal with meds) . There was going to be a OTC version as well.

I just told a Surgeon I wanted some and he gave me some free samples the Ethicon rep had been passing to promote - as you know how that works.

I don't know, however, I may check into it. For the rest of you this Dermabond is a Topical Skin Adhesive, ( 2-Octyl Cyanoacrylate). It is a liquid sterile topical adhesive, in a small vial , violet in color, with it's own single use applicator. IT holds the skin together.

IT IS NOT a "Second Skin" or "paint on bandaid"

Oh we often called it "suture in a vial"
 
ditto on Dermabond being the cat's jewels as far as handy stuff. I've used regular superglue on stuff in a pinch, but it's not 'sterile' (as if anything really could live in it anyway).

The Kerlix sticky bandage stuff is really nice to have as well. I get mine from a vet supply place now. If you have a farm and ranch supply or a good feed store nearby they usually will have plenty of items that can be used cross-species for less money than people-rated items and without weird looks from pharmacists.

Caveat Emptor.

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
I'm going from memory here... In my car kit:

BP Cuff
Stethoscope
EMT Shears, Tweezers, Hemostat, Bandage Sissors
Pens, Notepad
Bite Stick, Glucose Gel, Ammonia Inhalents
CPR Mask
Assorted Oral & Nasal Airways (with SurgiLube)
BandAids, Tape
Assorted 4x4, 2x2, Petrolium Gauze
Lots of Kling
BloodStopper Bandages
Triangle bandages
5x7 Pads
10x30(?) Abdominal Pads
Heat Pack & Ice Pack
Emesis Bags
6-8 pair Latex Gloves

It's a little heavy on truama equipment. Should probably be filled out a bit with personal meds, however since it lives in the car, it's probably not worth it.

Make sure you get some first aid training so you know how to use what you have.

For the record, I'm an EMT.

~W
 
The super-glue sounds promising. It works pretty good at bonding my skin to everything else. :uhoh:

Univerals precaution pack (bloodbourne pathogens)
Triangular Bandages
Emergency blankets
Sam splint pocket cast
Multi-traums dressing
Sterile burn sheet (5'x8')
Gauze rolls and pads (various sizes)
Surgipads
Adhesive tape (various)
Band-aids (various)
Burn-gel dressings

Providone
Bio-hand cleaner
Burn spray
Irrigation (NaCl, sterile)
First-aid spray
Hydrocortisone cream
Pain reliever
Potassium iodide (for those nuclear emergencies)

Tweezers
BP cuff
Stethoscope
CPR barrier (various)
Minor surgery kit
Suture set
Clamp
Lotsa gloves

In a 18"x18"x24" bag
 
On another board I mess with, timebomb2000, someone said the honey had to be raw. Honey apparently never really goes bad but most is usually pasturized, however that gets spelled, and this changes its ability to kill germs.

I also read that germs can't live in a wound if you use a sugar solution, or maybe it was also raw sugar.

Anyway, run a google on that site and then you can search on the main board of that site. It is heavy on the tin foil hat there, they know the best way to make one fit. But they also know their preps really well.

On topic, I have some basic car type kits I bought that way and they are about all I keep in a car since the temp changes around here will kill most anything if you don't take care of things in the middle of summer and the worst of winter. I figure any of the mole skin stuff would freeze tonight since it is going down to 8 degrees and my car lives outside. I do not want to trust something that has been frozen unless it is ok to do that, but even then the bottle or tube may leak.

I added a few things to the car kit that are more specific to things I do and left out anything that might be more for a kid or whatever. Since I started cutting wood to heat my place I looked into what would be useful if I hit myself with an ax, hatchet, chainsaw, or whatever. Basically something to stop the bleeding and let me call for help or drive for help.

I also recomend folks take some classes, I need to refresh my memory with a class soon since the last ones I had were from when I was a boy scout. For now I just keep a book or two in with the major kits.
 
don't forget a large ziplock style bag with the duct tape for 'sucking' chest wounds-
other heavy duty tape ok too, but regular sugical tape doesn't stick too good to bloody skin
TAMPONS! (you stick them IN the bullet holes/penetrating wounds...)
 
superglue for skin

it's called "
and it's made by eithicon -largest manufacturer of suture & closure devices
(READ: staplers)

any super glue will work, but it might sting a mite when it contacts the tissue
under the skin. Use a very fast acting superglue (hobby shops have various
with different speeds of setting). Hold very tightly while glue is setting
(even if it stings).

I am not sure if the ethicon product stings as I have only
used it in the operating room where patients were asleep.

FYI, you can use plastic bags as gloves (like zip lock, etc but not grocerybags)
to protect the skin you don't want to glue, as the superglue won't glue that
type of plastic
 
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