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Thread: Individual First Aid Kit

  1. #1
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    Default Individual First Aid Kit

    I see rumblings around the web of the coming "civil" war. I see posts often discussing weapons, ammunition, even training's and tactics. What I don't see is every bit as critical as anything I have mentioned, maybe more.

    Do you have an Individual First Aid Kit?
    With the help of eBay you can build one, a pretty good one in fact, for less that the cost of a day at the range.
    In the event of excitement breaking out it might mean all the difference to you, or someone you know.


    Here's what to get:


    This is a basic kit that has several of the necessities- rubber gloves, CAT Tourniquet, Compressed Gauze, Tape, a Trauma bandage, shears, and a nasopharangeal airway.



    To that add a chest seal. The twin pack is good for a through and through. These are what I carry:



    In order to help with body shots that are heavy bleeders add some Celox. It comes in various forms, packets or treated dressings:



    Cravats and space blankets are also advised


    Abdominal Bandage can be added to a larger kit, as well as burn dressing and SAM splint. But these items are too bulky for a personal kit.

    The whole thing can be stuffed into a IFAK pouch. This one is on eBay for under $7 shipped.



    None of this will keep you alive for very long. But it will give you a chance to get to medical care instead of dying where you stand.
    Think about it.
    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

    George Orwell



    Police dog 1, bad guy nothin':

  2. #2
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    Thanks Bear.

    It's good to get a reminder from time to time on some of the essentials. One of the things it does is remind us that some of the things we have for medical use has an expiration date, and we need to check and refresh.

    There are a couple of things you could comment on:

    In an emergency could you use something like an ink pen for an nasopharyngeal airway?

    Using an alcohol prep pad to sterilize, etc.....

    What about a piece of plastic (garbage bag) and an ace bandage for a lung wound?

    Tampons for bullet wounds? And major deep cuts, punctures?

    There is also a book called "Medicine for Mountaineering" that I thought was good for emergency stuff, until you get to a doctor, of course (or a vet. LOL)

    Thoughts comments?

    Wise Men Still Seek Him

  3. #3
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    I have several, including a Personal Trauma Kit I keep in my range bag just in case God forbid.

    Besides the usual gloves, masks and alcohol swabs I added an upgraded military tourniquet and Israeli combat bandages.
    And a couple of tampons for bullet holes.

    Cary the pen for an airway's a good one. I actually saw someone do that once.
    Remember the Prepper's Motto: "Panic early and avoid the rush!"
    Everything I post is Fiction and shouldn't be taken seriously by anyone.
    88 = Heil Hitler


  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by BugoutBear View Post
    I have several, including a Personal Trauma Kit I keep in my range bag just in case God forbid.

    Besides the usual gloves, masks and alcohol swabs I added an upgraded military tourniquet and Israeli combat bandages.
    And a couple of tampons for bullet holes.

    Cary the pen for an airway's a good one. I actually saw someone do that once.
    I'm no medic, far from it. I'd be trying to treat someone, and throwing up at the same time.

    And it's great to have the "kit" stuff on hand, and we do, but if Bear has medic knowledge I would appreciate knowing about it. You might not like me retching, but I would try, and do something.

    The plastic over a lung wound is what we were taught in basic against napalm, deprive it of air. Just seems to make sense to also use it for a lung wound.

    Tourniquets in a pinch can be made from shoe/boot laces, belts, tear the bottom inch off a shirt, unraveled paracord bracelets, and use a stick, screwdriver, knife (still folded) etc. for the torque.

    One of the things in the Medical Mountaineering book was to never stitch a wound out in the wild. The wound needs to be flushed out. Out in the wild you might stitch up some dirt, grass, wood etc, in the wound, and actually make the situation worse, than leaving it unstitched.

    The tampons don't just have to be for bullet wounds either. If you slash your leg open with a hatchet you can just lay them down in the wound, and pack 'em in.

    'Course if we need to know how to get fish hooks out of legs or hands, you might be the one we need to talk to. LOL Have you ever had a fellow Cod fisherman hook ya?
    Wise Men Still Seek Him

  5. #5
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    While that's one heck of a kit for someone with decent advanced training in first aid, it's going to be overkill for almost any average person. If you really believe you might end up treating gunshot wounds, or other "combat" injuries, I can't stress strongly enough how important it is to get good training NOW!!

    For a basic first aid kit, I think more along the lines of Vetwrap, ABD pads, stretch gauze bandage, gauze pads (both sterile and not... Amazon and vet supply places sell paper sleeves of 200 3x3" or 4x4" gauze pads that aren't sterile and individually wrapped. However, they're one heck of a lot cheaper than the sterile type, and after all, you really only need sterile ones for the first layer in contact with the skin. I've used many hundreds of the non-sterile gauze squares in bandaging applications over the years, by first applying a sterile gauze pad over the wound, and then a few layers of non-sterile, before applying tape or bandage to hold it in place.

    In the event of serious bleeding, while an ABD pad works best (and a women's sanitary napkin/maxipad is an excellent, though non-sterile substitute), a handful of the non-sterile gauze pads laid onto the bleeding wound and then direct pressure applied- either manually or by use of a firm application of VetWrap, works pretty darned well on all but severe arterial bleeding.

    Last summer, a frantic Amish neighbor pounded on my door.. there had been a bad wreck (two teams of horses, pulling mowing machines and being driven by kids had been driving on the road and the team in back spooked and climbed over the top of the mowing machine and kid in front) and one of the horses was 'bleeding to death". Could I come?

    I grabbed my kit and ran, and when I got there, there was a nice Belgian mare standing in the middle of about 18 Amish men, in puddles of blood, with blood flowing like a hose from a vein about the size of a large pencil from a laceration on her hind foot, just below the ankle. I first cut off the tourniquet they'd fashioned from baling twine and wrapped about 6" above the hock... it wasn't going to do anything for venous bleeding (veins flow TO the heart, arteries away from it... putting a tourniquet between a bleeding vein and the heart actually can increase blood flow, as it increases blood pressure in the area!). I then slapped an ABD pad over the wound, and wrapped a roll of vet wrap tightly over it, as fast as I could manage. Instant results!

    Unfortunately, they'd used everything from white flour to cayenne pepper to turpentine in the wound, in their attempts to stop the bleeding, and the combination of a bandage over the turpentine made her go nuts from the burning... she started kicking as hard as she could, in every direction, and I've got to tell you, 1500# of horse throwing a temper tantrum from pain is impressive as hell, but darned difficult to help!

    After using several times the normal dosage of tranquilizer/painkiller (it would have put any horse without that much adrenaline in them flat on the ground) we managed to calm her enough I was able to reapply the bandage and stop the bleeding again (she had kicked the entire wrap off, and of course, aggravated the bleeding, with her violent kicking)

    Once that was done, I was able to staple an 18" gash (after first sewing some of the muscles back into place) on her other flank, as well as repairing a couple other superficial (just through the skin layers) tears. It appeared that the mower had caught her in the foot with a knife, and the flank probably happened when one of the mower teeth punched in deep and then tore down the entire flank. Thankfully, nothing had severed any tendons, although I could feel a pretty good "nick" in the flexor tendon in that back foot laceration.

    Because of all the crap they'd put into that cut, I didn't feel comfortable sewing it up... it probably would have failed and just opened anyway. So we let it heal from the inside out, using pressure wraps to keep the edges of the skin together as much as possible. And amazingly, it healed well. I took the 40 staples out 10 days later, and while there was some infection we had to treat for a few weeks, she healed almost without visible scarring.

    My main point, though, is I went through half a dozen rolls of vetwrap, a couple packs of sutures (and if I hadn't had a skin stapler on hand, I would have probably used half a dozen more), 6 ABD pads, and half a sleeve of 4" gauze pads. And that was just during the initial treatment process! The owners then went through several dozen ABD pads, a bunch of roll stretch gauze, a few quarts of colloidal silver, and a case of vetwrap bandages before she was healed. NOT cheap!

    Unless you've ever dealt with a major injury and the aftercare, you will not believe how much material you'll use!

    BoB... how do you use a pen for an airway? The disposable airways they sell (as in your first post) are curved so they fit the throat: would a pen work? It would work for an emergency tracheotomy, but that's not something I ever want to think about having to do!

    Cary... in the old days, for a sucking chest wound, they used oiled parchment paper and honey to stick it to the skin! Something like Saran Wrap and duct tape would be a reasonable adaptive bandage for that.

    God forbid that any of us ever have to actually use the stuff in BoB's original post, although I'm NOT saying not to get and keep things on hand, just in case. But especially if funds are limited, start with more basic stuff that will be more likely to be used everyday.

    Also, if you work with your hands, I can't recommend enough the stuff called "Surgitube" gauze. It's tubular gauze that comes in various sizes... the 7/8" size works best for most adult fingers... 5/8" is better for kids. You apply it with an applicator on which you first slide the tube of gauze over. Then you slide the applicator over the injured digit, pull it off, holding the gauze at the base so it stays on and covers the injury. You twist the applicator 2-3 times, then slide it back over the finger, anchor the gauze with your hand once more and remove the applicator... it gives you a multilayer bandage which covers the entire fingertip,shaped to fit. And it WORKS. After trying for years to wrap fingers with stretch gauze or a gauze square that you then try to tape into place. This stuff is magical!

    You can get 50 yards of the stuff on Amazon for about the same price as you'll pay for 5 yards of it at any local drugstore. Look at more than just the top listing on Amazon, though- prices vary wildly, and you shouldn't have to pay more than about $12 for a 50 yard roll.

    BTW, the applicators are sold separately, and their prices are NUTS. $30 for a wire "cage" is ridiculous. We make our own... usually with the body of an empty syringe, but something like a plastic medicine bottle of the appropriate size would work. Or buy a piece of lightweight PVC at the local hardware store. Cut it to the approximate length (6" seems to work just fine), smooth the edges and enjoy your $29 savings!

    Summerthyme

  6. #6
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    Thanks Summerthyme for your always valuable info!

    Unless we all have some type of medical training, even advanced training in some cases, I think all that will be available in a SHTF situation is basic medical care for most people, until or unless we can get to a doctor or hospital. What I fear most in a medical sense are arterial wounds, gunshot wounds, and injuries that cause internal bleeding. I know that for ourselves, we aren't able to handle those type of injuries on our own even though I have had some basic medical training as an RNA and subbing for regular RN's and LPN's at times while working in our local hospital in my younger years. We had a severe nursing shortage.
    Last edited by Sherree; 01-31-2018 at 02:59 PM.

  7. #7
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    A warrior lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting.

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    They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
    “As a general rule, the earlier you recognize someone is trying to kill you, the better off you’ll be.”

    "You think a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a sheet of glass."



  9. #9
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    OK, I think I need to clarify a few things.
    These are supplies an individual officer, or other potential combatant, should have on or about his person as he enters any situation where hostile use of deadly weapons is likely or expected.
    The purpose of the kit I described is for the use of a combatant, a warrior (not a farmer, or a homesteader- which is not to say you may not end up as a combatant/ warrior yourself).
    The kit is specifically designed to treat wounds of battle, gun or knife, where the wounding is immediately life threatening.
    The training necessary to use the kit is minimal, but so is its scope. There is no antiseptic, and not all items are sterile, as that makes little sense in the scenario of expected use. Again, these items are for immediate prevention of imminent death by bleeding.
    The rule is establish airway, stop bleeding, treat for shock and transport to medical. Some may remember the old first aid ABCs, Airway, Breathing, Circulation, (and followed by D for defibrillation if you have that capability).
    But we're not trying to doctor anyone, or even initiate anything beside immediate essential life saving measures. This is not a whimper kit for minor wounds.

    Regarding the questions of things like pens or other tubular objects for airway- you do what you have to do. I would avoid it at all cost. Chance of doing severe additional injury in a field situation with a severely injured person is unacceptable.
    That's why you get these items before you need them, and keep them around. Most don't "go bad", though expiration may come, again, sterility isn't our first concern here.
    The chest seals I showed are much improved over plastic, tin foil, duct tape, or greased gauze because they vent. This is critical. They have a one way seal to allow air out of the chest, but not in.
    Likewise the NAR Tourniquet- its designed for a combat application- hence the name CAT- Combat Application Tourniquet. It can be applied one handed- as in to YOURSELF.
    Quick Clot, Celox, is a miracle if you've ever seen it work, but direct pressure works too, and the two in concert are even better. Remember the goal is keeping someone alive for the golden hour.

    An Item I didn't list but I do carry is a chest decompression kit. This requires more training, but can be a true life saver in the situation of a tension Pneumothorax. This condition is not uncommon in penetrating chest wounds.

    And there are other airways that are better than a naso. Esophageal Obturator types for example, but again much more training and significant risk of misplacement (very bad) disqualify them for our purpose.
    We're not Doctors, and we're not in a hospital. We're probably in the mud, and the rain, at night, in the winter.
    The Military outfits its people with much of what I listed, and these items should be considered essentials for anyone who thinks they'll be in harms way when the flag goes up.
    Last edited by Bear; 01-31-2018 at 06:13 PM.
    People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

    George Orwell



    Police dog 1, bad guy nothin':

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the clarification, Bear.

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