First Aid Kit

[Titu & Gail]

As a registered nurse, the most important medication that hasn't been mentioned is BENADRYL. You never know when someone is going to have an allergic reaction to a bug bite, plants, food, etc. I have provided Benadryl more than once to my AS friends at rallies.


Gail

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Titu & Gail

As a registered nurse, the most important medication that hasn't been mentioned is BENADRYL. You never know when someone is going to have an allergic reaction to a bug bite, plants, food, etc. I have provided Benadryl more than once to my AS friends at rallies.


Gail

Benadryl liquid works fastest, in many cases with allergic reactions, faster is better.

[Chaplain Kent]

What a timely thread to reapear. I have just completed a major project in Chummy, which means I have used up the band aides, anti-septics, gauze wraps, aspirin, and ear plugs, (don't ask). After each major job completion I immediately restock the first aide kit so it is ready for me when I foolishly begin another project.

[rebel beck]

This has reminded me to stock up on more items. We always have to have the band-aids my son is 7 and we go thru a box like you wouldn't believe. Also we are the worlds worst to only have one first-aid kit. So today I'm going out and getting one just for Peppy the Airstream.


Becky


Chaplain, We have a case of (ear plugs) in the Airstream at all times.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by KIMILI

Just my 0.02: please do not carry equipment &/or drugs you are not trained and comfortable in using. We see many patients harmed from well intentioned people.

hi all you candy stripe'rs, aid'ers and do good'rs and 'well intentioned people'....

i saw this first aid thread the other day......
and have been thinking about how to respond.....

while agree with the warning in the above post.....it limits the true picture. and calling 911 only works in the zones....

and i travel without a phone.....

our trailers are mini homes on wheels......so the truth is,
we carry some of everything from home.....right?

it isn't like we are hiking and limited to a pocket of stuff.....and we do carry lots of stuff...

so i'd suggest carry lots......even if you aren't skilled in using it....someone else might be...

1. carry all your own personal regular prescription meds and supples....this might be pills, inhalers, insulin, needles..or meds for htn, asthma, arthritis, cancer, contact lens or a security blanket...

2. carry some of the less common meds you still might use occasionally...sleeping pills, antianxiety, narcotics....and so on...

3. legally all prescription meds should be in original containers...labeled...but the truth is something else....i suggest at least making a photo copy of the labels for everything...

4. type or print a list of these usual prescription meds and dosages and put is somewhere near the door/fire canister....in an envelope for folks to find easy...also list allergies reactions and a emergency contact, if ya have one.

5. all the above for children, dependents, pets and spouses...

6. carry over the counter things ya may need.....pain, fever, rash, itches, allergic reactions, hay fever, sunburn, eye wash, condoms, spermacides, antidiarrhea meds, heartburn, gas...and so on....otc you might use....they are many former scripted meds now otc......good stuff and dangerous if used incorrectly....still think about the home med cabinet...

7. first aid kit.......the usual bag of bandages, tape, water purification and so on.....blister bandages and eye patches are very handy as is eye wash and an ace bandage or 2....spints are easy to make from supplies at hand....

8. nitryl gloves......stronger than latex, last longer, and you can use them to change the oil or transplant a kidney...

9. epi pen....these are handy and useful in allergic emergencies....peanuts, bee stings and so on....

10. snake bite kits if your travels indicate...

11. a barrier mask for cpr......these are inexpensive and make it safer to provide mouth 2 mouth....when needed

12. i used to carry an ob/delivery pack.....just in case....no longer do...

13. steri strips......these can be used to close small superficial lacs....or get some wound glue....this stuff works great and is easy to use...but you'll need a script to get it

14. suture, needles and wound supplies........if this is really needed ya might want to take the wound to a er or clinic...closing it yourself risks infection and nasty scars....stick with #13 here..

15. magnifying glass and good tweezers......alway useful

16. a good first aid book or basic medical care book....you can read it anytime and they are interesting

there are other things......so come on let's list em..

and some folks may actually carry a portable defib unit...really.

i'll think of other things...

cheers
2air'

[nickcrowhurst]

Good list 2Air. I have to have my curved needle and thread with me at all times! Three occasions in my life I've cut myself badly when out of range of immediate medical help. I've always done any cleaning with my drinking water, sterilized the needle with a flame, and got to it. It's tough without any local anaesthetic, but the results have been perfect each time, with minimal scarring and no infection. My three were 1. Sewing back on the top quarter inch of an index finger. after a Stanley knife incident 2. A slash wound on a wrist from the top of a double-sided wood saw blade (I won't use one again.) and 3. A slash down my leg from dropping a car engine flywheel while trying to carry it. The teeth on a worn starter ring gear can be pretty sharp. The only tricky bit is tying the knots with one hand when the wound is on a hand or lower arm. My wife has been with me on all 3 occasions, and each time she has fainted when asked to tie the knots!
I don't relate this as a recommendation for anyone else. I'm sure there's the potential for anything from tetanus to a violent, sudden and unnatural death. Just an anecdote.
P.S Half an hour later, I've just remembered a 4th sewing and fainting session, with a nasty wound down to the ligaments in the palm of my hand. This was as a result of a fight with a spider in Portugal. The spider won.

Nick

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by nickcrowhurst

P.S Half an hour later, I've just remembered a 4th sewing and fainting session, with a nasty wound down to the ligaments in the palm of my hand. This was as a result of a fight with a spider in Portugal. The spider won.

Nick

As a law-enforcement professional, I can tell you that of all the hazards one may encounter in one's travels, there is NOTHING more dangerous than a knife-wielding spider. When in a knife-fight with a human, there are only two hands to watch. With a spider there are eight... I'm tellin' ya, they're devastating!

Roger

<Sorry, Nick... I just couldn't help m'self... >

[clancy_boy]

I believe that's the name of the stuff. Mole Skin, always have some on hand. Most of us lead sedentary lives in our day-to-day jobs and the walking and hiking on vacation can put some large blisters on my feet. This stuff helps.

[nickcrowhurst]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

As a law-enforcement professional........... When in a knife-fight with a human, there are only two hands to watch. With a spider there are eight...

As another scarred and retired law enforcement professional, I can only agree. This was a particularly tough cookie (think New Jersey arachnid). A veritable monster with great hairy legs, and I'd been told that sort was poisonous.I thought he wasn't tooled up, and he was in the corner of the wall and ceiling of a house we had rented for the winter in Portugal. I decided to wack him before reading him his rights, so I picked up the house broom, cupped the end of the handle in my right hand, and jabbed the bristle end of the broom hard at the malignant beastie. What I had neglected to realize was that the broom handle was a thin-walled steel tube with no end plug. This tube end slammed into my palm and exposed various bits of me that weren't intended to see daylight. The hood legged it, and was last heard of in the Bronx. There's an APB on him for interstate flight.
Nick.

[AirstreamGypsy]

I don't mean to be indelicate, but I always bring tampons. They are the best cotton absorbers out there for copious blood loss. Your can even pack a wound with them. I started bringing these along when I began hiking. They take up no room.

[nickcrowhurst]

Originally Posted by AirstrmGypsy

They are the best cotton absorbers out there for copious blood loss.

Yep, I agree they are absolutely the best. Period.
Nick.

[65glbtrotter]

I check and restock ours before we go out each year. It has a content list on the inside of the top, plus I pack a few extra items and a few female pads cause I heard about how well they worked for absorbing blood in a CPR class. When I check the one for the AS I also check our vehicles and house kits (daughter seems to rob the bandaids from the house one).

[azflycaster]

Don't forget that your pets may require first aid also.
http://www.cpr-savers.com/consumer/c...+aid+kit#pf432

[2airishuman]

hi nick and all you travelin' gonzos...

well nick you should include a rawhide chew in your kit for chomping on while suturing you brits are a tuff lot.....

most folks can't tolerate the pain, so they don't clean the wound carfully....which gets the dirt ball rollin'....

there are now topical anesthetic creams...like emla and lmx4;
usually these are combo products with 3-6% lidocaine....and are very effective for skin....
they aren't intended for open wounds....but would still work.

nick, you might consider getting some epi glue.....
this stuff comes in single use tubes and will make a nice clean repair....

don't try super glue....sure it might work...but some of the contents are nasty human use...

here is a guide to tying suture one handed.....i used to teach this stuff....
suture tying is fun if done correctly....
http://people.musc.edu/~neilseea/knot/knot.htm

back to the raw hide chew.... tongue depressors are useful in the kit.....lots of applications from finger splints to applying salves....oh yea, and depressing tongues....

a disposeable plastic airway is also useful.......
i've been on group trips where someone had a seizure or other airway issue and these work much better than a finger......bit off...

airstrmgypsy....not indelicate at all.....
tampons are great for many emergency needs......stick with the cotton ones....i've packed many nose bleeds with these (in the clinic we labeled them nasal packing....we could charge more) and while camping eye patches, wound packing, amputated digits and so on....also the little white paper sleeve and be split and used for a finger splint....just not too tight please...

and as cory notes sanitary napkins are also great for open wound care...and handy in the kit.

clancy boy.......
yep mole skin comes in handy......use in beforehand to delay or prevent blisters.....

there are better products now once the blister has developed...that keep it clean and protect but breath a little...

for durable goods and other things that don't really expire....i use a food grade vacumn sealer and bags. items can be wrapped, seen and labled...very good storage.

there are also other meds some might consider carrying for emergencies....

1-2 aspirin sealed and dry.......a first line myocardial infarction/acute coronary syndrome.....treatment...

2-5 days of some specific antibiotics.....for example some spider bites are best treated this way......

same with some prednisone......oral tabs can be used for a variety of severe allergic reactions...

silver sulfadiazine (silvadene) is a superbe burn cream....and a good item...


most of our travels in the usa, don't isolate us from civilization...really.
but thinking about what is carried on a working fishing boat or at sea....
is a good reference for our land yachts...

again know how to use this stuff, or know some one in the group does....


cheers
2air'

my advice here is not a recommendation for treatment....your mileage may vary....yadda, yadda.