Forum Index > Gear Talk > What's in your first aid/emergency/repair kit? - What do you carry and why?
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Dante
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 2815 | TRs | Pics
Dante
Member
PostThu Feb 14, 2002 8:03 am 
I've been thinking about and going through my first aid kit as an off-season project, replacing things that have expired and reconsidering everything else. I'm concentrating on the treatment of pain (ibuprofen), cuts and scrapes (adhesive bandages, gauze, compresses, wound closures, betadine and triple antibiotic ointment) and the imobilization of ortopedic injuries (elastic bandage and SAM splint). I also have the guts of an ols Chouniard sewing kit and a few other emergency/repair items (duct tape wrapped around a Bic lighter, super glue, Seam-Grip adhesive, whistle, mirror, etc.). What do other people carry and why?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
-lol-
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 767 | TRs | Pics
-lol-
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 5:52 pm 

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Tom
Admin



Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17835 | TRs | Pics
Tom
Admin
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 6:21 pm 
my emergency kit? I'm ashamed to say... advil moleskin space bag nut 'n honey

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
polarbear
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 3680 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snow Lake hide-away
polarbear
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 8:55 pm 
Mostly bandaides, moleskin, aspirin. I've used the moleskin alot and you often run into people that need some.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
#19
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 2197 | TRs | Pics
#19
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 10:24 pm 
Mine is pretty similar to Dante's with a little less emphasis on repair stuff. After my wife took a first aide class at a community college she took the liberty of upgrading MY first kit with Kotex AND a tampon. I understand the first item she added, but when I asked what in the hey she put a tampon in my first aide kit she replied, "nose bleeds". Ok, I've got a bit of a honker for a nose - but it ain't that big!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
-lol-
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 767 | TRs | Pics
-lol-
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 10:37 pm 

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
catwoman
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 888 | TRs | Pics
Location: somewhere near Tacoma
catwoman
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 10:50 pm 
Some interesting ideas, 2drx! I might have to add a couple things to mine. I've got bandaids, etc., and mostly natural stuff like homeopathic remedies. My specialty item, though, is bentonite clay for bee stings. You get it as a powder from a natural foods store (super cheap - only cents - if you get some from the bulk jar). Mix a small amount with drop or two of water to make a paste and apply to the sting area and makes them completely vanish. Also, if you've got a particular itchy mosquito bite, it'll take the itch away. It's a natural thing that removes toxins and can be swallowed, too.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
polarbear
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 3680 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snow Lake hide-away
polarbear
Member
PostFri Feb 15, 2002 11:09 pm 
I have a similar bag, 2drx, that I won at WTA's expo downtown a couple years ago. It's a very nice kit but is also s too heavy. I also have a bee sting kit that I was given made or rather manufactured for Hart Health and Safety. It has several vials of fluid that look pretty potent. Wish I'd had it on my last nest-stepping incident.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Dante
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 2815 | TRs | Pics
Dante
Member
PostMon Feb 18, 2002 8:30 am 
A couple of other things spurred me to review my kit. I'm not as immortal as I once thought I was and I take my kids with me more and more. My pack's also generally lighter than it used to be, too, so I can afford to be better prepared. I'm using the "Basic Medical Kit" HERE (scroll down) as a guide, but am paring it down a little. You can find better deals on many first aid supplies HERE than at the outdoor oriented sites I visited.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
twocoots
Member
Member


Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 31 | TRs | Pics
twocoots
Member
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 9:15 am 
My advice? Don't be silly with what you carry, but don't scrimp either. Having a brother in law who died cross country skiing (alone - big mistake) and a buddy who broke a leg on a cross country ski trip not to mention the close calls that I'm sure we have all experienced has made me well aware of my mortality. You can cram a lot of emergency gear into a pound or so and with luck you will never need more than a band aid or moleskin. But considering your very life may depend on what you have with you it would seem the height of foolishness to shave weight in this area. Live long and prosper.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Two Tired
Guest




Two Tired
Guest
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 12:32 pm 
Sorry to hear what happened to your bro-in-law. Perhaps we can learn something though. What happened?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote View IP address of poster
twocoots
Member
Member


Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 31 | TRs | Pics
twocoots
Member
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 1:20 pm 
The main thing I learned is to hike/ski/paddle/whatever with a buddy. He was in college in Minnesota and went out for a solo x-country ski in the morning. We don't know all the details (he was alone) but it's cold in Minnesota in the winter and he evidently fell, broke his leg, and died of exposure. My buddy's broken leg came on a simple little downhill run near Blewett Pass that we had already made and had walked back up for a second run. He just fell awkwardly and broke the bone that goes into the hip. Anyway, I had to ski out over a mile and then drive down to the nearest phone (a half hour away in pre-cell phone days) to call 911. It was three hours before we got back to him (he could have used some of that vicodin!). Fortunately we were well prepared with a foam pad, extra clothes, space blanket, etc. and he turned out fine after the snowmobile/ambulance ride to Wenatchee and the three long screws they put in his hip.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Jonathan
Member
Member


Joined: 21 Dec 2001
Posts: 98 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bothell
Jonathan
Member
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 2:38 pm 
Pappy as for the tampons I do have first hand experience with this. I wrestled in high school and at a tournament I was dropped full force on my nose, busting it like a piece of soft fruit. You only get two minutes of medical time in a match so tampons were shoved up my nose so I could continue. They work in the since that blood was not coming out my nose but in was still coming; now draining down my throat. It is very difficult to breath with them in and gasping for air and then swallowing blood over and over got old very fast. The goal was not to get blood on my opponent but after he busted my nose I didn’t care what happened to him. I got tired of this pretty fast and pinned him in about 45 seconds after I returned just so I could get those dammed things out of my nose. The removal was hard because the tampons swell as they absorb and my nose was swelling also, it was a bit like pulling a wine cork without a corkscrew. Our team didn’t have a full protective face mask and I still had two more matches to go so the rest of the day was and experience in pain. Personally I would have to say remove them from you first aid kit, at least for nose bleeds, it is better to bleed out the front of your nose. If she needs them for something else or she wants to put them up her own nose well leave them in, there is little else as funny looking as someone with tampons hanging out of the nose, especially if the strings are still there.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
salish
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 2322 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
salish
Member
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 9:06 pm 
Jonathon, I think I'll show up at the next High Lakers meeting with little strings hanging out of my nose just for old time's sake. Actually, I understand completely. I boxed a little bit as a kid and had my snotbox broken a couple of times, and the guy shoved cottom balls up there and I was able to continue the bout. But I didn't pin the guy in 45 seconds....I lost. It was a short career as a boxer. My med kit carries many of the same items mentioned above. I'm going to second the kotex - I carry one, also. And I don't know how I would get along without moleskin. I've tried "new skin" or "second skin" or whatever it's called, and I just don't like it as well as moleskin. I've also tried the Band Aid brand "Blister Blocks", which work really well, but they're expensive. I have a bad back and carry those Canadian "222's" smuggled out of B.C. I think it's Tyenol #3 (codeine?). It seems to work well. I use it so seldomly I end up having a bottle that has 295 pills left after the expiration date. One more thing, and as Karl Malden would say, never leave home without it - a Sam Splint. Having broken both arms - and having to wait several hours each time for medical attention with a goofy splint, such as sticks or a newspaper, I carry my SS with me where ever I go. When you have a broken bone like that the pain can be intense and sometime even the best medication doesn't help all that much. Having a good splint that molds itself like the SS really helps. Catwoman - I am very interested in homeopathic remedies and I've heard of Bentonite being used for bee stings. Can you get it at Peoples Market? Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
catwoman
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 888 | TRs | Pics
Location: somewhere near Tacoma
catwoman
Member
PostFri Feb 22, 2002 10:45 pm 
I do keep homeopathic remedies on hand but bentonite is a natural clay, not a homeopathic remedy. I don't know what Peoples Market is, either, but if it's a natural foods store, then probably yes. I get most of my supplements and natural stuff at Marlene's in Federal Way or Tacoma - but that's 'cuz they're in my neck o' the woods. That bentonite clay is so awesome. I have a neighbor that called me up on the phone last summer and mentioned he'd gotten a bee sting earlier in the day and it was throbbing and a bit swollen. I told him to come on over and I'd fix him right up but he hesitated. He wound up coming over and I applied the paste of bentonite clay and he said he could almost instantly feel the pain 'draining' away. Which is exactly how it worked on me but his situation was hours after the fact. Very awesome stuff.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Gear Talk > What's in your first aid/emergency/repair kit? - What do you carry and why?
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum